“Sharon’s determined to unite the Six!”
EASTENDERS RETURNEE LETITIA DEAN TELLS US WHY HER ALTER EGO’S NOT GOING DOWN FOR KEANU’S MURDER WITHOUT A FIGHT…
After a year of build-up pointed towards six Walford women dressed to kill, the absence of Sharon in the weeks following Keanu’s shocking Christmas murder has been keenly felt.
However, like so many of star Letitia Dean’s glorious Albert Square comebacks (see over the page), her return to the drama this week does not disappoint – as Sharon takes one look at the crumbling conspiracy, and moves to regain control…
“Sharon immediately realises that the trust is broken between all the women, so she quickly wants to restore some sense of order, and get them back to being united,” explains EastEnders legend Letitia Dean. “If one of them falls, they all do – Sharon is a woman on a mission!”
The group coming face to face as a six for the first time since early January is quite a moment to behold, as so much has happened since Sharon hopped on a plane to Australia. “It’s icy!” cringes Tish.
“Linda and all the women think Sharon left them in the lurch to flee to Australia while they’ve been panicking and covering this up back in Walford. Even though she’s dealing with her own heartbreak, I think Sharon soon realises just how much they’ve all sacrificed, what with Linda relapsing, Kathy losing Rocky by shopping him to the police, and Denise struggling to cope and her marriage breaking down. Sharon doesn’t take any of that for granted, and I think naively she wants to somehow put it all behind her and move forward.”
Even so, events spiralled so quickly in the wake of Keanu’s death that Sharon and Linda are yet to address the biggest elephant in the room – the fact that it was Linda who drove a meat thermometer into the back of her best friend’s lover. It was a moment born out of desperation to protect her dearest friend, but a decision that has undoubtedly changed the course of their relationship forever.
“The sad fact of the matter is that if Linda hadn’t stopped Keanu, he could have killed Sharon, and that’s an incredibly hard truth to swallow amongst everything else,” reconciles Letitia. “In fact, I don’t think Sharon even wants to believe it because, in her world, she can’t accept that.
“Now that Sharon’s back, she’s determined to be there for Linda and help her navigate everything with the rest of the women,” adds the actress. “I don’t think she has a plan – I don’t think any of them do, they’re just putting one foot in front of the other and hoping for the best!”
The ladies will need a lot of luck on their side if they’re to dodge the bullet of the collapsing café floor, which ultimately exposes Keanu’s resting place. Of course, the irony of the whole sorry mess is that for weeks they’ve been pushing the men in their lives away to protect the secret, yet now could do with a few allies! Could that be why Sharon gives in to Phil where young Albie is concerned?