Eastenders star Letitia Dean accepted a prestigious award at the British Soap Awards but then revealed devastating personal news that has rocked her and her family in recent days.
The actress, who has played Sharon Watts in the hit soap since 1985, picked up the Outstanding Achievement Award at last night’s bash as recognition for her performances over more than three decades. To get the latest What's On newsletters from WalesOnline, click here.
When she collected the award, she revealed that her and her family had been dealing with tragedy over the past few days following the death of her father. Dedicating the award to him, she said: “I lost my daddy a week ago so this is for him. I hope he is proud. This is for my daddy and my darling mummy, I hope you're enjoying your fish and chips."
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The star was handed the gong by actress Anita Dobson, who famously played Sharon Watts’ mum, Angie Watts, on screen. The pair embraced on stage and Letitia said that she hadn’t seen her “mummy” for a long time, reports Birmingham Live.
Paying tribute to her on-screen daughter, Dobson said: “She has been in 2,000 episodes, she has had 237 “doof-doof’s”, and she has also been landlord of the Queen Vic six times. She has had amazing storylines, the death of her son, return from the grave of her father, and her affair with Phil Mitchell which brought in 23.5 million viewers. She is quirky, funny, talented, glamorous, and iconic.”
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