Sharongate
Encyclopedia
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...
, which reached its climax on 24 October 1994, attracting 25.3 million viewers. The plot was written by EastEnders scriptwriter, Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
. In the storyline, Sharon Mitchell
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...
(Letitia Dean
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...
) confessed on tape that she had slept with her husband’s brother, Phil
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
(Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden
Steve McFadden is an English actor, known for his role as Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which he has played since1990.-Early life:...
). The truth came out in the middle of a packed Queen Vic
The 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:...
. Grant
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...
(Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
) attacked his brother and Phil was lucky to survive.
Storyline development
One of the most notable and popular EastEnders storylines was a love triangle between the characters Grant Mitchell, his wife SharonSharon 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...
and his brother Phil. The plot has been described by former Executive Producer of EastEnders and BBC's Head of Drama Serials, John Yorke, as a "Tristan and Isolde
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
story".
Despite the fact that Sharon married Grant initially, EastEnders writer Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan
Tony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
has revealed in The Mitchells - The Full Story that the love-triangle storyline had been planned since Phil and Grant's introduction in 1990, after the writers came to the realisation that Sharon was perfect for them both.
This storyline was slow burning and was spread over several years, providing a plethora of dramatic tension along the way. The episode in which Phil betrayed his brother with Sharon occurred in September 1992 in one of the soap's notorious three-handers. Sue Dunderdale directed the episodes and the performances of McFadden, Kemp and Dean have been described as memorable and filled with high-tension drama. Things finally came to a head in October 1994 with some of EastEnders most popular and renowned episodes, which have been dubbed "Sharongate".
The episodes — which were watched by 25.3 million viewers — centred around Grant's discovery of the affair and his startling reaction. On-screen Grant accidentally heard Sharon unwittingly confessing to the affair on tape. He reacted by playing it to a pub full of people at Phil's engagement party and then beat his brother unconscious. The aftermath of the storyline eventually saw the character of Sharon depart Walford after ten years in the show and the repercussions of Phil's betrayal contributed to many subsequent storylines involving the Mitchell brothers throughout the 1990s.
Writer of Sharongate, Tony Jordan, has stated that of all the storylines he has penned for the soap, Sharongate is the one he is most proud of. He comments "Three of the strongest characters that have ever been in EastEnders are the Mitchell brothers and Sharon... when we actually blew that story it was incredible... being able to reach that many people with your work is what makes EastEnders exciting." Sharongate's success with viewers was not equalled until six years later, in 2001, when EastEnders screened the highly publicised Who Shot Phil?
Who Shot Phil?
"Who Shot Phil?" was a storyline of the BBC soap opera EastEnders which evolved during 2001.-Background:The storyline centred around one of EastEnders longest running characters, Phil Mitchell . The build up to the storyline occurred throughout 2000-2001. The character became darker and a more...
storyline. Reporter for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Sally Vincent, has commented on Sharongate's success: "It wasn't so much the guilt-stacked, long-drawn-out business of Sharon 'n' Phil's helpless lust for each other - all that unseemly face-sucking while her hubby/his brother, the ape-like Grant, languished in gaol for trying to set fire to everyone - that broke the ratings record, nor was it the ingenious ruse of using the baby's alarm system to broadcast Sharon's poignant little confession to the entire clientele of Walford's Queen Vic. It was the fact that we'd all watched Sharon grow up. We knew that she was a nice little person, vulnerable, brave, sweet-natured and kind to the dog. We were sorry for her...Neither of those Mitchells deserved her, so when one punched the other into the garage pit and half-killed him for tampering with his lady-wife, we didn't much care. We were sorry to see [Sharon] go."
Plot
Sharon had become part of the Mitchell family when she married Grant in December 1991. But months later the couple began rowing. Grant wanted a wife who behaved like one, and Sharon refused to comply. He also wanted a baby but Sharon preferred to concentrate on making The Queen Vic a success.During a major row in July 1992, Sharon confessed that she had carried on taking the contraceptive pill because she didn't want to have a baby with Grant. He went berserk and after smashing the pub up he disappeared for a few weeks, leaving Phil to comfort a devastated Sharon. Sharon began to wonder if she had married the wrong brother. Grant returned, and despite promises to try harder he immediately returned to his old ways, staying out with his friends all night and leaving Phil to help Sharon at The Vic in his place. Grant's thuggish behaviour only drove Sharon and Phil closer. Sharon found herself confiding in Phil and one night they both kissed, this eventually led to Phil and Sharon going to bed together; marking the beginning of their affair. However, Sharon could not bring herself to leave Grant and upon his return she chose him rather than Phil.
Grant's reign of terror continued, and he began to get involved with crime. He intimidated Sharon and her friends; he smashed up the Vic and later, torched it in an insurance scam, unaware that Sharon was inside. Sharon was furious when she discovered his involvement in the fire and decided to take a holiday to visit her mother in America in December 1992. Upon her return three months later, she attempted to seize Grant's half of the Vic and gain full control. More arguments followed and after another heated argument Grant beat Sharon across the face. Sharon tried to hide her injuries, but both Phil and Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
—Sharon's best friend—noticed there was something wrong.
When Grant's behaviour did not improve, Michelle called the police, but when they arrived Grant lost his temper and began attacking them. He badly injured one policeman and Michelle got punched by Grant. Grant was arrested and sent to prison on remand. With Grant out of the way, Sharon's affair with Phil went into full swing. While he was serving his prison sentence, Grant began to suspect that his wife may have been seeing someone else, and threatened to kill the man if he ever found him. Phil then had to meditate between his brother and his lover. However, Sharon and Phil were both tormented with feelings of guilt, and neither wanted to tell Grant the truth. When Grant was finally released from prison, Sharon took pity and by the end of June that year they had reunited. Phil, still in love with Sharon, married a Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n refugee so she could gain a visa, though their marriage was short-lived. After Phil's first marriage collapsed, he began a relationship with Kathy Beale and the two were eventually engaged. Sharon felt a twang of remorse when she discovered the engagement and went round to see Phil, with the hope of reigniting their affair. They kissed, but Phil suddenly remembered himself and threw her out.
The storyline eventually came to a dramatic climax in October 1994. Sharon had put her affair with Phil behind her and she and Grant were even thinking about starting a family. Michelle's boyfriend, Geoff Barnes
Geoff Barnes
Geoff Barnes is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by David Roper.Geoff was introduced as a love interest for the long running character, Michelle Fowler, in 1994. He was much older than Michelle, and their age difference caused most of the major problems in their...
, had an idea about interviewing local girls for his book about the 'social and economic importance of women in the East end'. Sharon agreed to contribute, so long as Michelle conducted the interview. During the autumn of 1994 the interview took place, with Michelle taping the conversation on a tape recorder. However the girls forgot to turn the tape recorder off after the interview finished, and prompted by Michelle, Sharon began to reveal the full details of her affair with Phil, leaving the incriminating evidence in the tape machine, which Grant found.
Weeks later, on the night of Phil and Kathy's engagement party, Grant went on an errand to collect some beer from a nearby pub. On his return he remembered the tape and finally got to listen to what was on it. Grant went into a state of shock and anger, he went over to the Vic, where Phil and Kathy were having their engagement party, stopped the music and played the tape to a packed Vic. Kathy reacted by slapping Sharon and calling her a slut, whilst Grant went to The Arches, later followed by Phil who went to explain. Grant then beat him up, leaving him hospitalised with a ruptured spleen.
Phil spent some time in intensive care, and went on to make a full recovery from his injuries. He and Grant reconciled after Grant coerced him into blaming Sharon for their affair. Grant made Sharon's life a misery. He constantly humiliated her in public—branding her "the pub whore"— and acted in an aggressive manner—smashing plates on the table where she was sitting. Sharon wanted to reconcile so she put up with the abuse for several months, refusing to give in to his demands for a divorce. However, Grant found ever more inventive ways to humiliate her and by Christmas Day that year Sharon finally agreed to sign the divorce papers. She moved to the United States to live with her mother Angie
Angie Watts
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....
. This led to the re-introduction and recasting of Peggy Mitchell
Peggy Mitchell
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in the series on a recurring basis over several weeks. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast and was then played by...
, the mother of Phil and Grant, who took over as acting landlady in Sharon's place.
Sharon returned in March 1995 to hostility from Grant, Phil and Peggy. Sharon was not perturbed and her gutsy behaviour eventually earned her the respect of Grant, who began to realise that he was still in love with her. Sharon was determined to get revenge for her mistreatment, so she led Grant on, while confessing to Michelle that it was really her plan to publicly humiliate him. She led him to believe that a public proposal of remarriage would seal their reunion. Grant decided to pop the question on The Vic's quiz night, and Sharon was ready to turn him down in front of a packed pub and his family. However, in the end, she couldn't go through with it, and stopped him from proposing before he humiliated himself. She then confessed to him that she still loved him, before heading for America to join her mother, leaving Grant shattered.
Reception
"Sharongate" has proven to be a popular storyline with viewers. In 2001 it was voted the second "Best Ever Soap Moment" in an ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
televised poll, and it was voted the sixth top soap opera moment of all time in a poll of 17,000 people for What's On TV magazine in 2003.