Angie Watts
Encyclopedia
Angela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Anita Dobson
from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out.
Angie was well known for her cheeky banter, her huge shaggy perm
and turning to alcohol
during her stormy marriage to cheating Den
which ended when he handed her divorce papers on Christmas Day, in an episode watched by a record-breaking 30.1 million viewers. Despite being the loud and feisty lady of Walford, and having a close relationship with her beloved adopted daughter Sharon, she didn't have much real happiness during her time in Albert Square
and alcoholism
finally claimed her life in 2002 when she died of cirrhosis
of the liver
.
pub on Albert Square. Angie and Den doted on their spoilt, teenage, adopted
daughter, Sharon
, who carried on loving them despite her resentment of Den's affairs and Angie's binge drinking.
Angie was good at putting on a front for the punters, dressing to kill, screeching outrageously with the girls, but inside she was a mess. Despite all her bravado, all she really wanted was a happy marriage with Den, who she never stopped loving, despite the fact that he treated her like dirt.
Den and Angie started 1985 by celebrating their seventeenth wedding anniversary, but it soon became clear that their marriage was a sham. Behind the scenes of their great business partnership, there was not much of a relationship going on. Den had been carrying on with his posh mistress Jan Hammond for a while, a fact that Angie was all too aware of. Early in the year, Den even managed to wangle a holiday to Spain
with Jan, under the pretext that he was checking out a possible time-share holiday home purchase. With Den gone, Angie did what she always did in times of trouble, she turned to alcohol to drown her sorrows. She also set about trying to seduce the men of Walford in a bid to get back at her philandering husband. Lofty Holloway
, Simon Wicks
and even Arthur Fowler
all fell victim to Angie's not-so-subtle flirting, but her only successful conquest was local builder, Tony Carpenter
. Tony fell for Angie, but she was only using him to get back at Den. The affair was conducted in secret but they were caught in a passionate clinch in the middle of The Vic by Sharon. Angie had to bribe her daughter to ensure her silence, and even informed her about Den's infidelity. Sharon was disgusted that both her parents were guilty of adultery. Upon Den's return from his holiday, Angie called off the affair
, but it wasn't long before Sharon gave Den the impression that her mother had been up to no good. Den confronted Angie, and she admitted to the affair, but unfortunately for her, Den wasn't concerned about her infidelity, more about his reputation, which only sought to upset Angie even more.
Although Angie tried to stop drinking, her attempts always failed dismally and by the end of the year she'd even been arrested for drink-driving when she crashed Den's car on the way home from a darts match. 1986 would prove to bring more trauma for Angie when Den's mistress, Jan, started to frequent The Vic. The physical arrival of Jan sent Angie's marriage into further decline as she was unable to contain her jealousy and anger. Angie became so depressed
that she took a near lethal cocktail of booze and pills in an attempted suicide
. By chance, Den returned home early following an argument with Jan, discovered Angie and rushed her to the hospital
where she had her stomach pumped. Angie recovered, but was left shaken when she discovered how close to death she actually came. Upon recovering, Angie decided to play Den at his own game and so she began another affair with Andy O'Brien. Den was furious when he discovered them in bed together, but his rage was short-lived as he had more pressing things on his mind, such as the birth of his illegitimate daughter, Vicki Fowler
. Angie's affair with Andy only lasted a month, ending when Andy got back with his ex-girlfriend Debbie Wilkins
. Andy died in a road accident shortly afterwards.
As the year moved on, Den decided that he wanted to leave Angie so he could settle down and marry Jan. He finally got round to telling Angie his intentions in October, after which Angie became distraught. Desperate to hold on to her husband, announced that she was terminally ill and only had six months to live. Upon hearing this, Den became wracked with guilt, so he begrudgingly decided to revise his plans and stay with Angie. He set about organising a second honeymoon for them in Venice
. However their holiday was ruined, when Jan turned up, and upon seeing her and Den together Angie went straight back on the gin
that she'd not long given up. On the way home from Venice on the Orient Express
a drunk Angie told the barman all about her big lie. Unfortunately for Angie, Den heard every word and from that moment on he reverted to his original plan to leave her, although he decided to wait a while before letting Angie know that he know about her "secret". On Christmas Day that year, Den decided to get his revenge. Thinking that her marriage was safe, Angie was happier than ever, that was until Den informed her that he'd heard her conversation with the barman on the Orient Express and then served her divorce
papers as a Christmas present (this episode pulled in the highest amount of viewers the show has ever seen since its 1985 arrival - 30 million). In response, Angie and Sharon packed their bags and walked out of the pub, choosing to take the route through the public area to cause Den the most embarrassment possible.
Angie began 1987 by securing herself a job as the manageress of The Vic's rival drinking establishment, The Dagmar. Owner, James Willmott-Brown
, was only too happy to have Angie's expertise on board for his new, suave wine bar. Angie and Den continued to row constantly and in a bid for revenge, Angie vowed to take Den 'to the cleaners' for her divorce settlement. In retaliation Den installed his mistress, Jan, as the new land lady of The Vic, which only sought to infuriate Angie even more. However, Den and Jan's cohabitation eventually led to the end of their relationship, when Den decided that Jan was too posh for him and so by the summer of that year he had given her her marching orders.
The Vic was floundering without Angie, a fact that she seemed to delight over, and the sheer pleasure of watching Den suffer was all she needed to make her 'grin and bear' The Dagmar's yuppie clientele. However, behind her front, Angie was a wreck, drinking more heavily than ever and going on 'over the top' shopping sprees. By May of that year the divorce papers finally came through, but it seemed that neither Den nor Angie were coping without each other, and although they both professed to be pleased about the divorce, it was obvious to everyone else that they were far from happy. Seeing her parents' misery, Sharon decided to intervene by setting up a dinner date between them, which ended with them in bed together again. Angie and Den decided to keep their reconciliation quiet for a while, but by the end of the year, Angie finally lost her patience with The Dagmar clientele, and after slapping one of the customers in the face, she marched over to The Vic and offered to come back to work, but only as a business partner this time and not a wife.
Angie began 1988 with a health scare when she was rushed to hospital with kidney-failure; brought on by her excessive alcohol abuse. Upon her recovery Angie decided to take a well-earned holiday to Spain with her friends, Sonny and Ree. This led to Angie and Sonny falling in love and embarking on an affair. Sonny made arrangements for them to start a new life together, running a bar in Spain.
Angie returned to Walford (with her plans still secret) and tried to show interest in Den's plan to move the location of The Vic, but it was plain to see that her mind was elsewhere. Den soon 'cottoned on' that she was seeing someone else, and although he didn't care that she was with another man, he was concerned for the state of his business. Den visited a solicitor
and returned with papers protecting himself and his business should Angie decide to leave him again. Angie did decide to leave in May of that year, still under a cloak of secrecy and only divulging her plan to leave on the night of her departure. Unfortunately for Angie, Den had already 'second guessed' her and when she attempted to leave he cruelly informed her that he'd sorted things so she wouldn't be able to get a penny out of him. After their final showdown Angie got into her taxicab
and left Walford.
This was Angie's last appearance. Later that year, while Den was in prison
, Sharon decided to join Angie in Spain and arrived unannounced, only to learn from Sonny that Angie had left him and moved to the United States
. It was subsequently revealed that she moved to Miami where she remarried in February 1991. Sharon joined Angie in 1995 after the breakdown of her marriage to Grant Mitchell
.
In 2001 Sharon returned to Walford, and in April 2002, news reached London
that years of heavy drinking had finally caught up with Angie and she had died from cirrhosis of the liver, at the age of 52. Despite having remarried, Angie had requested to be buried next to Den, which Sharon did for her when she returned her body to London in order to reunite her two 'dead' parents. Sharon's new club was re-named Angie's Den in her and Den's honour.
In fact, the body thought to be Den's was actually that of the mysterious Mr. Vinnicombe, the boss of The Firm
- who had ordered Den's assassination. 14 years after Den's disappearance, it turned out that he had not died after all, and had faked his own death in order to get away from the gangsters who had been employed to kill him. However, Den eventually met his demise at the hands of second wife Chrissie
in February 2005. A body found under the basement of the Queen Vic six months later was quickly identified as Den's, and buried in his 'original' grave next to Angie.
and Julia Smith
. The character of Angie was originally going to be named Pearl and she, her husband and adopted daughter were to be the occupants of the soap's local pub, now famously known as The Queen Vic. Holland, who had worked as a barman in his youth, called upon his own personal experiences to invent the Watts family and the pub they lived in. Holland and Smith had always been critical of the way pubs had been portrayed on television feeling they lacked vitality and life, so they were determined that their pub and occupants were going to be more 'real'. The Watts were seen by Holland as integral to the shows success, partly because he had already guessed that the pub was going to be a monstrous battleground where emotions would run high on a regular basis, and also because the occupants would be providing the majority of the drama.
Angie's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story
. In this passage, Angie will be referred to as Pearl, her husband as Jack, her daughter as Tracey and her dog as Prince (known now as Den
, Sharon and Roly
respectively).
was recommended for the part by the writer, Mathew Robinson. Fennell was born in the East End of London
and both Holland and Smith considered her to have unique qualities to her personality, which combined "vitality and vulnerability, and an almost desperate nervous energy" - all of which were perfect for Angie. Fennell was given the role, however during rehearsals Holland and Smith began to realise that Fennell was wrong for the part. Julia Smith made the decision to re-cast the role of Angie, a decision which did not sit well with Fennell. With only four days to the first studio recording of EastEnders, Smith set about finding a suitable actress. Smith had taught the actress Anita Dobson
many years earlier and remembered her as "sharp, brittle, very theatrical, with a vitality that was almost intense and a range of emotions that were alarming considering her youth." After a very successful reading Dobson was cast as Angie.
from the top of the ratings chart.
During 1986 the series became dominated by Angie and Den's storylines and the focus of the programme was very much concentrated on their combustible relationship. The emphasis began early in 1986 with the arrival of Den's mistress Jan Hammond. Jan had been a powerful off-screen presence for the first year. Her menacing voice at the end of the telephone severely affected the mood of both Den and Angie and kept the audience on edge every time the phone rang. Jan's physical arrival at the Vic in January 1986 was one of the show's dramatic highlights. Her invasion of Angie's territory was a springboard to future emotional fireworks and a pre-cursor to Angie's further dependence on alcohol and her attempted suicide
. Dobson had been opposed to the suicide storyline from the beginning, she fought hard to get the scripts changed but she was eventually persuaded to play the scenes and was applauded for a "brilliant performance". However Angie's suicide attempt provoked a massive reaction, not all of it favourable. There was a public outcry about the last two shots of the suicide episode, and Julia Smith subsequently had to cut one of them for the omnibus edition. Some accused the programme of sensationalising suicide and giving ideas to copy-cats. The build up to Angie's desperate action and its sickening aftermath were intended to demonstrate the full despair of her situation and Holland and Smith have maintained that the horror of its on-screen depiction was meant to deter, not encourage, the act.
Den and Angie's traumatic two-hander episode in October 1986 was a risky experiment. A thirty minute episode with only two people in it had never been attempted in a soap before. Holland and Smith feared that the episode would not hold up, however press and audience alike were in agreement that it did. Once it was done, it set a precedent and the programme has featured two-handers ever since. The episode was structured like a "tennis match" between Angie and Den, with a non-speaking window-cleaner forever strolling innocently into the action. It began with Den trying to tell Angie that he wanted a divorce. Angie was shocked and for a moment defeated, but she then dropped her bombshell and told Den that she only had six months to live. At first Den didn't believe her, but eventually Angie's hysterical performance convinced him. He crumbled and promised to stay with her and only after he left did Angie smile in triumph, letting the audience in on her secret that it was all a big lie. Written by Jane Hollowood and directed by Antonia Bird, this episode is considered to be one of the finest episodes in EastEnders catalogue.
The Den/Angie/Jan triangle was to continue for many months. The climax was a trip to Venice
when Angie, convinced that Den had finished with his mistress, was taken there for a second-honeymoon, returning to London on the Orient Express
. This gave the writers and producers an opportunity to open the show up from the confines of Albert Square. However the trip to Venice was fraught with problems and Dobson, Leslie Grantham
(Den) and Jane How
(Jan) were hounded by the press at all times. Their photographs appeared in British newspapers, thus ruining the shock surprise that Tony Holland had created, by including Den's mistress in the episode. Despite huge efforts from all involved the Venice episodes were only moderately successful, although the revelations discovered by Den in the episode set the scene for one of EastEnders most renown episodes, which aired on Christmas Day that year. After over-hearing his wife confess that her illness was fabricated, Den filed for divorce. 30.1 million viewers tuned in on Christmas Day in 1986 to witness Den handing Angie her divorce papers, giving the soap its highest ever episode rating, which has yet to be beaten by any other plotline from any other soap in the UK.
This storyline saw the separation of Den and Angie. Holland and Smith had anticipated that Den and Angie would be popular, but they had not guessed how hysterical the reaction to them would be. It was decided that Den and Angie would have to be played down for a while so that other characters would have the opportunity to shine through. The next few years saw Den and Angie struggle to get by without each other and eventually they reunited as business partners. However in 1988 Anita Dobson decided that she wanted to move on after three years playing Angie. She left in May 1988. Despite many alleged attempts at getting Dobson to reprise the role, she never accepted, commenting: "Why tarnish the gorgeous creation that was Angie Watts?". The character of Angie Watts was subsequently killed off-screen in 2002 (dying of a drink related illness) and brought home to be buried by her on-screen daughter Sharon in order to facilitate the return of the actress Letitia Dean
. In 2010, Dobson said she was glad her character was killed off, as it was unrealistic that the character would ever return.
In February 2011 Dobson said that she had no regrets being in EastEnders, as it propelled her to fame, and said she believed that people were drawn to Angie because she is a survivor and funny—qualities that drew Dobson herself to Angie. She said "[Angie] could be on the floor, drunk, weeping buckets, mascara everywhere, then drag herself up the next morning in that old blue dressing gown, tidy herself up and be in the bar that night telling jokes and looking a million dollars."
.
She was voted the number one television barmaid, the fifth most popular Queen of soaps and the 75th greatest television character of all time in separate Channel 4
polls. In addition, the moment that Den served Angie divorce papers has been voted the number one soap moment of all time in a 2004 poll.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out.
Angie was well known for her cheeky banter, her huge shaggy perm
Permanent wave
A permanent wave, commonly called a perm, involves the use of chemicals to break and reform the bonds of the hair. The hair is washed and wrapped on a perm rod and waving lotion is applied with a base. This solution creates a chemical reaction that softens the inner structure of the hair by...
and turning to alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
during her stormy marriage to cheating Den
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
which ended when he handed her divorce papers on Christmas Day, in an episode watched by a record-breaking 30.1 million viewers. Despite being the loud and feisty lady of Walford, and having a close relationship with her beloved adopted daughter Sharon, she didn't have much real happiness during her time in Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
finally claimed her life in 2002 when she died of cirrhosis
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
of the liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
.
Storylines
Alcoholic Angie shared a love/hate marriage to her womanising husband, Den Watts, and refused to let him go even during their rockiest times. They had been married since 18 February 1968 - exactly 17 years before the series began - and together they ran and lived in The Queen VictoriaThe Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
pub on Albert Square. Angie and Den doted on their spoilt, teenage, adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
daughter, Sharon
Sharon Rickman
Sharon Anne Rickman is a fictional character from the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders, played by Letitia Dean, who was a regular cast member for the first 10 years after the programme began on 19 February 1985. She returned in May 2001, and appeared on and off, having most recently appeared in...
, who carried on loving them despite her resentment of Den's affairs and Angie's binge drinking.
Angie was good at putting on a front for the punters, dressing to kill, screeching outrageously with the girls, but inside she was a mess. Despite all her bravado, all she really wanted was a happy marriage with Den, who she never stopped loving, despite the fact that he treated her like dirt.
Den and Angie started 1985 by celebrating their seventeenth wedding anniversary, but it soon became clear that their marriage was a sham. Behind the scenes of their great business partnership, there was not much of a relationship going on. Den had been carrying on with his posh mistress Jan Hammond for a while, a fact that Angie was all too aware of. Early in the year, Den even managed to wangle a holiday to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with Jan, under the pretext that he was checking out a possible time-share holiday home purchase. With Den gone, Angie did what she always did in times of trouble, she turned to alcohol to drown her sorrows. She also set about trying to seduce the men of Walford in a bid to get back at her philandering husband. Lofty Holloway
Lofty Holloway
George "Lofty" Holloway is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tom Watt. Lofty is one of the serial's original characters, making his first appearance in the third episode, 26 February 1985....
, Simon Wicks
Simon Wicks
Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another character, Mark Fowler; Mark's actor David Scarboro had left...
and even Arthur Fowler
Arthur Fowler
Arthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Bill Treacher.The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man, but he made some foolish choices and he always ended up paying dearly for them, also being bossed to the brink of insanity by...
all fell victim to Angie's not-so-subtle flirting, but her only successful conquest was local builder, Tony Carpenter
Tony Carpenter
Tony Carpenter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Oscar James.Happy go lucky Tony tried to carve himself a successful business and steady home for his family, but nothing he did was ever good enough for his nagging wife.-Storylines:Trinidadian born Tony, married...
. Tony fell for Angie, but she was only using him to get back at Den. The affair was conducted in secret but they were caught in a passionate clinch in the middle of The Vic by Sharon. Angie had to bribe her daughter to ensure her silence, and even informed her about Den's infidelity. Sharon was disgusted that both her parents were guilty of adultery. Upon Den's return from his holiday, Angie called off the affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
, but it wasn't long before Sharon gave Den the impression that her mother had been up to no good. Den confronted Angie, and she admitted to the affair, but unfortunately for her, Den wasn't concerned about her infidelity, more about his reputation, which only sought to upset Angie even more.
Although Angie tried to stop drinking, her attempts always failed dismally and by the end of the year she'd even been arrested for drink-driving when she crashed Den's car on the way home from a darts match. 1986 would prove to bring more trauma for Angie when Den's mistress, Jan, started to frequent The Vic. The physical arrival of Jan sent Angie's marriage into further decline as she was unable to contain her jealousy and anger. Angie became so depressed
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
that she took a near lethal cocktail of booze and pills in an attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. By chance, Den returned home early following an argument with Jan, discovered Angie and rushed her to the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
where she had her stomach pumped. Angie recovered, but was left shaken when she discovered how close to death she actually came. Upon recovering, Angie decided to play Den at his own game and so she began another affair with Andy O'Brien. Den was furious when he discovered them in bed together, but his rage was short-lived as he had more pressing things on his mind, such as the birth of his illegitimate daughter, Vicki Fowler
Vicki Fowler
Victoria Louise "Vicki" Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Emma Herry from the character's birth in 1986 to 1988, Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995, and Scarlett Johnson from 2003 to 2004. The character was born in the serial, conceived in a...
. Angie's affair with Andy only lasted a month, ending when Andy got back with his ex-girlfriend Debbie Wilkins
Debbie Wilkins
Deborah "Debbie" Wilkins is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shirley Cheriton.Debbie was Walford's first upwardly mobile character...
. Andy died in a road accident shortly afterwards.
As the year moved on, Den decided that he wanted to leave Angie so he could settle down and marry Jan. He finally got round to telling Angie his intentions in October, after which Angie became distraught. Desperate to hold on to her husband, announced that she was terminally ill and only had six months to live. Upon hearing this, Den became wracked with guilt, so he begrudgingly decided to revise his plans and stay with Angie. He set about organising a second honeymoon for them in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. However their holiday was ruined, when Jan turned up, and upon seeing her and Den together Angie went straight back on the gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
that she'd not long given up. On the way home from Venice on the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
a drunk Angie told the barman all about her big lie. Unfortunately for Angie, Den heard every word and from that moment on he reverted to his original plan to leave her, although he decided to wait a while before letting Angie know that he know about her "secret". On Christmas Day that year, Den decided to get his revenge. Thinking that her marriage was safe, Angie was happier than ever, that was until Den informed her that he'd heard her conversation with the barman on the Orient Express and then served her divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
papers as a Christmas present (this episode pulled in the highest amount of viewers the show has ever seen since its 1985 arrival - 30 million). In response, Angie and Sharon packed their bags and walked out of the pub, choosing to take the route through the public area to cause Den the most embarrassment possible.
James Willmott-Brown
James Sebastian Willmott-Brown is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by William Boyde.- Background :Willmott-Brown was an ex-army officer, arriving in Albert Square in March 1986 as area manager for 'Luxford and Copley', the brewery that owned The Queen Vic...
, was only too happy to have Angie's expertise on board for his new, suave wine bar. Angie and Den continued to row constantly and in a bid for revenge, Angie vowed to take Den 'to the cleaners' for her divorce settlement. In retaliation Den installed his mistress, Jan, as the new land lady of The Vic, which only sought to infuriate Angie even more. However, Den and Jan's cohabitation eventually led to the end of their relationship, when Den decided that Jan was too posh for him and so by the summer of that year he had given her her marching orders.
The Vic was floundering without Angie, a fact that she seemed to delight over, and the sheer pleasure of watching Den suffer was all she needed to make her 'grin and bear' The Dagmar's yuppie clientele. However, behind her front, Angie was a wreck, drinking more heavily than ever and going on 'over the top' shopping sprees. By May of that year the divorce papers finally came through, but it seemed that neither Den nor Angie were coping without each other, and although they both professed to be pleased about the divorce, it was obvious to everyone else that they were far from happy. Seeing her parents' misery, Sharon decided to intervene by setting up a dinner date between them, which ended with them in bed together again. Angie and Den decided to keep their reconciliation quiet for a while, but by the end of the year, Angie finally lost her patience with The Dagmar clientele, and after slapping one of the customers in the face, she marched over to The Vic and offered to come back to work, but only as a business partner this time and not a wife.
Angie began 1988 with a health scare when she was rushed to hospital with kidney-failure; brought on by her excessive alcohol abuse. Upon her recovery Angie decided to take a well-earned holiday to Spain with her friends, Sonny and Ree. This led to Angie and Sonny falling in love and embarking on an affair. Sonny made arrangements for them to start a new life together, running a bar in Spain.
Angie returned to Walford (with her plans still secret) and tried to show interest in Den's plan to move the location of The Vic, but it was plain to see that her mind was elsewhere. Den soon 'cottoned on' that she was seeing someone else, and although he didn't care that she was with another man, he was concerned for the state of his business. Den visited a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and returned with papers protecting himself and his business should Angie decide to leave him again. Angie did decide to leave in May of that year, still under a cloak of secrecy and only divulging her plan to leave on the night of her departure. Unfortunately for Angie, Den had already 'second guessed' her and when she attempted to leave he cruelly informed her that he'd sorted things so she wouldn't be able to get a penny out of him. After their final showdown Angie got into her taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
and left Walford.
This was Angie's last appearance. Later that year, while Den was in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, Sharon decided to join Angie in Spain and arrived unannounced, only to learn from Sonny that Angie had left him and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was subsequently revealed that she moved to Miami where she remarried in February 1991. Sharon joined Angie in 1995 after the breakdown of her marriage to Grant Mitchell
Grant Mitchell (EastEnders)
Grant Anthony Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. Grant first appeared in 1990, introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show. Kemp remained until 1999 when he opted to leave...
.
In 2001 Sharon returned to Walford, and in April 2002, news reached London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
that years of heavy drinking had finally caught up with Angie and she had died from cirrhosis of the liver, at the age of 52. Despite having remarried, Angie had requested to be buried next to Den, which Sharon did for her when she returned her body to London in order to reunite her two 'dead' parents. Sharon's new club was re-named Angie's Den in her and Den's honour.
In fact, the body thought to be Den's was actually that of the mysterious Mr. Vinnicombe, the boss of The Firm
The Firm (EastEnders)
The Firm is a fictional gangland organisation in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-1980s era:The Firm, aka "Walford Investments", was first introduced to the show in 1988, and was represented by the sharp-suited Gregory Mantel , the lackeys Brad Williams and Joanne Francis , and the elusive boss Mr...
- who had ordered Den's assassination. 14 years after Den's disappearance, it turned out that he had not died after all, and had faked his own death in order to get away from the gangsters who had been employed to kill him. However, Den eventually met his demise at the hands of second wife Chrissie
Chrissie Watts
Christine "Chrissie" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tracy-Ann Oberman. She first appeared in April 2004 as the second wife of the show's "most enduring character", Den Watts, becoming a prominent regular for the next 18 months...
in February 2005. A body found under the basement of the Queen Vic six months later was quickly identified as Den's, and buried in his 'original' grave next to Angie.
Background
Angie Watts was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony HollandTony Holland
Anthony John "Tony" Holland was an English television screenwriter best known as a writer and co-creator of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early career:...
and Julia Smith
Julia Smith
Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
. The character of Angie was originally going to be named Pearl and she, her husband and adopted daughter were to be the occupants of the soap's local pub, now famously known as The Queen Vic. Holland, who had worked as a barman in his youth, called upon his own personal experiences to invent the Watts family and the pub they lived in. Holland and Smith had always been critical of the way pubs had been portrayed on television feeling they lacked vitality and life, so they were determined that their pub and occupants were going to be more 'real'. The Watts were seen by Holland as integral to the shows success, partly because he had already guessed that the pub was going to be a monstrous battleground where emotions would run high on a regular basis, and also because the occupants would be providing the majority of the drama.
Angie's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story
EastEnders books
This is a list of books about or relating to the British soap opera EastEnders.-Non-fiction books:* EastEnders: The Inside Story* Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience* EastEnders Special...
. In this passage, Angie will be referred to as Pearl, her husband as Jack, her daughter as Tracey and her dog as Prince (known now as Den
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
, Sharon and Roly
Roly
Roly is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Roly was an apricot coloured Standard Poodle, who appeared in the first episode of the programme and remained in the show until 1993.-Storylines:...
respectively).
- "Jack and Pearl are not criminals. They're not angels either. Villains perhaps? Well, he certainly is. They've been married for fifteen years, and haven't had sex with each other for thirteen of them. The marriage is a front for the sake of the pub's image. The daughter, Tracey is adopted - maybe for the same reason. They have a dog too - Prince - an AlsatianGerman Shepherd DogThe German Shepherd Dog , also known as an Alsatian or just the German Shepherd, is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany. The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with its origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog...
...Pearl met Jack at school, and they were sweethearts from the word go. Money and things are what interest her. Jack didn't give her these fast enough in the early stages of their marriage, which is partly why it turned sour. It also went wrong because of sex: he just didn't turn her on...or didn't turn her on enough. And she never stops reminding him of how much of a man he isn't. She is basically a scrubber, trying to reform herself. "Nobody turns me on like Jack" she says loudly in public, "I can't make it with another man." But she does, often...Class is what Pearl wants, and something she'll never pull off. Yes, she's attractive. She's also flash...Pearly the worker is no fool. She can keep two sets of booksTwo sets of booksThe concept of "two sets of books" refers to the practice of attempting to hide or disguise certain transactions from outsiders by having a set of fraudulent books for official use and another, the real set, for personal records....
with the best of them, hire with skill and fire without mercy. Sexual innuendo is the key to her character. The wink. The tease..."Have you seen the Honda 750? Take me for a ride any time!"...Her pub is spotless. And the customer's always right. Except when he isn't. Then she can be so polite, he'll wish he'd gone to a wine-bar...Sometimes Pearl gets so legless that Jack has to throw her over his shoulder and fireman's lift her upstairs to their flat, where they have separate bedrooms...She's fun, she tries and she's trapped. She's also larger than life." (page 63)
Casting
The actress Jean FennellJean Fennell
Jean Fennell is a British actress.Jean Fennell was a British actress and much loved Sanford Meisner acting teacher.After leaving Drama Centre, London, Jean made a successful start to her career as a stage actress. In 1984 she was chosen to act in the then new BBC series called EastEnders...
was recommended for the part by the writer, Mathew Robinson. Fennell was born in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
and both Holland and Smith considered her to have unique qualities to her personality, which combined "vitality and vulnerability, and an almost desperate nervous energy" - all of which were perfect for Angie. Fennell was given the role, however during rehearsals Holland and Smith began to realise that Fennell was wrong for the part. Julia Smith made the decision to re-cast the role of Angie, a decision which did not sit well with Fennell. With only four days to the first studio recording of EastEnders, Smith set about finding a suitable actress. Smith had taught the actress Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
many years earlier and remembered her as "sharp, brittle, very theatrical, with a vitality that was almost intense and a range of emotions that were alarming considering her youth." After a very successful reading Dobson was cast as Angie.
Character development
The Watts were the surprise hit characters of the show. Angie and Den were a live-wire couple whose on/off relationship made the Queen Vic pub exciting and unpredictable and millions of viewers tuned in to watch the destruction of their relationship on-screen. Den's clashes with Angie brought EastEnders to a peak of popularity and toppled rival soap Coronation StreetCoronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
from the top of the ratings chart.
During 1986 the series became dominated by Angie and Den's storylines and the focus of the programme was very much concentrated on their combustible relationship. The emphasis began early in 1986 with the arrival of Den's mistress Jan Hammond. Jan had been a powerful off-screen presence for the first year. Her menacing voice at the end of the telephone severely affected the mood of both Den and Angie and kept the audience on edge every time the phone rang. Jan's physical arrival at the Vic in January 1986 was one of the show's dramatic highlights. Her invasion of Angie's territory was a springboard to future emotional fireworks and a pre-cursor to Angie's further dependence on alcohol and her attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Dobson had been opposed to the suicide storyline from the beginning, she fought hard to get the scripts changed but she was eventually persuaded to play the scenes and was applauded for a "brilliant performance". However Angie's suicide attempt provoked a massive reaction, not all of it favourable. There was a public outcry about the last two shots of the suicide episode, and Julia Smith subsequently had to cut one of them for the omnibus edition. Some accused the programme of sensationalising suicide and giving ideas to copy-cats. The build up to Angie's desperate action and its sickening aftermath were intended to demonstrate the full despair of her situation and Holland and Smith have maintained that the horror of its on-screen depiction was meant to deter, not encourage, the act.
Den and Angie's traumatic two-hander episode in October 1986 was a risky experiment. A thirty minute episode with only two people in it had never been attempted in a soap before. Holland and Smith feared that the episode would not hold up, however press and audience alike were in agreement that it did. Once it was done, it set a precedent and the programme has featured two-handers ever since. The episode was structured like a "tennis match" between Angie and Den, with a non-speaking window-cleaner forever strolling innocently into the action. It began with Den trying to tell Angie that he wanted a divorce. Angie was shocked and for a moment defeated, but she then dropped her bombshell and told Den that she only had six months to live. At first Den didn't believe her, but eventually Angie's hysterical performance convinced him. He crumbled and promised to stay with her and only after he left did Angie smile in triumph, letting the audience in on her secret that it was all a big lie. Written by Jane Hollowood and directed by Antonia Bird, this episode is considered to be one of the finest episodes in EastEnders catalogue.
The Den/Angie/Jan triangle was to continue for many months. The climax was a trip to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
when Angie, convinced that Den had finished with his mistress, was taken there for a second-honeymoon, returning to London on the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
. This gave the writers and producers an opportunity to open the show up from the confines of Albert Square. However the trip to Venice was fraught with problems and Dobson, Leslie Grantham
Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. He is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal...
(Den) and Jane How
Jane How
Jane Onslow How is an English actress with a range of television,film and stage credits. In 1977 she married actor Mark Burns and had a son Jack in 1981...
(Jan) were hounded by the press at all times. Their photographs appeared in British newspapers, thus ruining the shock surprise that Tony Holland had created, by including Den's mistress in the episode. Despite huge efforts from all involved the Venice episodes were only moderately successful, although the revelations discovered by Den in the episode set the scene for one of EastEnders most renown episodes, which aired on Christmas Day that year. After over-hearing his wife confess that her illness was fabricated, Den filed for divorce. 30.1 million viewers tuned in on Christmas Day in 1986 to witness Den handing Angie her divorce papers, giving the soap its highest ever episode rating, which has yet to be beaten by any other plotline from any other soap in the UK.
Letitia Dean
Letitia Dean is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Sharon Watts in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, who was one of the serial's original characters. Dean was part of the original cast in 1985 and remained in the series until 1995...
. In 2010, Dobson said she was glad her character was killed off, as it was unrealistic that the character would ever return.
In February 2011 Dobson said that she had no regrets being in EastEnders, as it propelled her to fame, and said she believed that people were drawn to Angie because she is a survivor and funny—qualities that drew Dobson herself to Angie. She said "[Angie] could be on the floor, drunk, weeping buckets, mascara everywhere, then drag herself up the next morning in that old blue dressing gown, tidy herself up and be in the bar that night telling jokes and looking a million dollars."
Reception
Angie became one of the most iconic and popular characters in EastEnders history. The character was said to become such a "phenomenon" that when Anita Dobson announced she would be leaving in 1988, her departure was reported on the BBC Six O'Clock NewsBBC Six O'Clock News
The BBC News at Six is the evening news programme broadcast each night on British television channel BBC One and the BBC News channel at 18:00. For a long period the News at Six was the most watched news programme in the UK but since 2006 it has been over taken by the BBC News at Ten...
.
She was voted the number one television barmaid, the fifth most popular Queen of soaps and the 75th greatest television character of all time in separate Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
polls. In addition, the moment that Den served Angie divorce papers has been voted the number one soap moment of all time in a 2004 poll.