Letitia Dean

Dean was born in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire to parents Leslie (a tailor) and Ellie Dean, in a cottage rented on the estate of English romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, known as Camfield Place."[http://www.hertfordshirelife.co.uk/?id=480 Back To Square One]", Hertfordshirelife.co.uk. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006. Dean has two older brothers."[https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,,492968,00.html Second skin]", The Guardian. URL last accessed on 10 October 2007.

Dean's family moved to the north Buckinghamshire village of Stoke Goldington near Newport Pagnell when she was three years old. She acquired a penchant for performing at an early age; both she and her older brother Stephen attended a local dance school, the Sylvia Mitchell School of Dance, and they also performed a dance act together on stage.{{Cite book|last= Kingsley|first= Hilary|title= The EastEnders Handbook |year=1990|publisher=BBC books|isbn=0-685-52957-6 }} This later prompted Dean's successful application to attend the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts at ten years old, and later the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London."[http://www.sylviayoungtheatreschool.co.uk/pages/satsch.html Sylvia Young Theatre School notable Alumni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126014655/http://www.sylviayoungtheatreschool.co.uk/pages/satsch.html |date=26 November 2005 }}", Sylviayoungtheatreschool.co.uk. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006.

Dean began performing professionally at the age of 12, when she was cast as Pepper in the musical Annie at London's Victoria Palace Theatre. A trained singer, she played the lead female, Sandy, in the musical Grease, and also sang with a rock group called The Young Uns, who toured the country supporting stage acts such as Bobby Davro and Tom O'Connor."[http://www.freewebs.com/letitiaxdean/spotlight.htm Spotlight] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310091641/http://www.freewebs.com/letitiaxdean/spotlight.htm |date=10 March 2009 }}", Letitia-Dean.co.uk. URL last accessed on 10 October 2007.

Between the ages of 13 and 17, Dean appeared in numerous television programmes, including: Love Story;{{Cite book|last= Lynch|first= Tony|title= EastEnders Special |year=1986|publisher=BBC books|isbn=0-86227-384-6}} Tales Out Of School; the Matthew Kelly sitcom Relative Strangers;"[https://web.archive.org/web/20071213061120/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/157976?view=credit&page=2 DEAN, Letitia filmography]", BFI. URL last accessed on 10 October 2007. Grange Hill, playing a student named Lucinda Oliver (credited as Titia Dean);"[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/grangehill/grangehill.htm Grange Hill cast list]", museum.tv. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006. and the role of Dawn in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside."[http://www.brooksidesoapbox.co.uk/facts_2.htm Brookside facts]", Brookesidesoapbox.co.uk. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006.

In 1984, Dean auditioned to play one of the original characters in BBC One's new soap opera, EastEnders; she was selected for an interview on the strength of a photograph alone.{{Cite book|last=Smith|first= Julia|author-link= Julia Smith (producer)|author2=Holland, Tony |author-link2=Tony Holland |title= EastEnders – The Inside Story |year=1987|publisher=Book Club Associates|isbn=0-563-20601-2}} The creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, were looking for a "bouncy, attractive, oddly vulnerable young woman" to play the part of Sharon Watts, and out of the various applicants they had seen, they believed that only Dean had all of those qualities. Dean lied about her roots to get the part. As the casting directors were only looking for real East End actors, she falsely claimed that she was born and brought up in Hackney, east London."[http://www.freewebs.com/letitiaxdean/womanjuly.htm Letitia Dean interview in Woman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310091645/http://www.freewebs.com/letitiaxdean/womanjuly.htm |date=10 March 2009 }}", LetitiaDean.co.uk. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006. The lie paid off and she got the part, clinching the deal because of her laugh, which Holland and Smith described as "the dirtiest in the world!" She debuted in the role in the show's first episode broadcast on 19 February 1985.

Dean's character Sharon, the troubled and spoilt adopted daughter of landlords "Dirty" Den (Leslie Grantham) and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), has become one of the most popular and long-running characters in the serial."[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20040502/ai_n12893097 EastEnders In Crisis: I CAN'T GO SHAR ON] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308055211/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20040502/ai_n12893097 |date= 8 March 2009 }}", Sunday Mirror. URL last accessed on 6 October 2007. She featured in one of the soap's most popular storylines in 1994, a love triangle featuring Sharon, her husband Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and his brother Phil (Steve McFadden). The plot, nicknamed "Sharongate", gave the soap one of its highest episode ratings in October 1994 with over 25.3 million viewers."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4403694.stm Profiles: EastEnders Kemp and McFadden]", BBC. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. A desire to pursue other acting roles prompted Dean to leave the soap in 1995.

During her first stint on EastEnders, she forayed into singing with her fellow EastEnders castmate, Paul Medford (who played Kelvin Carpenter). A song penned for the pair as part of a plotline in EastEnders (known as The Banned) prompted the BBC to release the song as a single. The song, "Something Outa Nothing", reached number 12 in the UK singles chart in November 1986.{{cite book

| first= David

| last= Roberts

| year= 2006

| title= British Hit Singles & Albums

| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited

| location= London

| isbn= 1-904994-10-5

| page= 146}}

Six years following her initial exit, Dean was lured back to EastEnders by producer John Yorke,"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1348913.stm Letitia Dean back in EastEnders]", BBC. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. reprising the role of Sharon from 2001 to 2006. In December 2004, Sunday Mirror reported that executive producer Kathleen Hutchison offered to double Dean's salary from £150,000 a year to £300,000 a year, to persuade her to remain in the show, making her one of the highest paid actresses in British soap."[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20041205/ai_n12913774 ENDERS' PAY RISE TO LURE LETITIA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308154203/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20041205/ai_n12913774 |date= 8 March 2009 }}", Sunday Mirror. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006. Dean's character left the serial again in January 2006. Her exit was announced in August 2005 and an official EastEnders press report initially stated that she was only taking a scheduled break and was due back on set later in 2006;"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4148146.stm Dennis and Sharon quit EastEnders ]", BBC. URL last accessed on 6 March 2008. however, this did not happen, and in June 2006 the BBC denied press speculation that there were any immediate plans for her to return to the series."[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds34077.html Who is returning to 'EastEnders'?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007193308/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds34077.html |date=7 October 2006 }}", Digital Spy. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006.

In February 2012, producer Bryan Kirkwood announced that Dean would make a second return to EastEnders, having been absent for a period of six years. She made her return on 13 August 2012 after fleeing from her wedding to her fiancé John Hewland, with her son, Dennis Rickman Jr. and Phil Mitchell. She is one of three remaining original cast members, along with Gillian Taylforth and Adam Woodyatt.

Away from EastEnders Dean has had various theatre and television roles. She starred in two seasons of the BBC drama The Hello Girls, set in a Derby telephone exchange in the 1960s; medical dramas Casualty and Doctors; the ITV police drama The Bill; romantic comedy Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, and the Channel 4 sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey as a weathergirl. She also starred in the 1995 film England, My England, which told the story of the musician and court composer Henry Purcell.

On stage, she starred as Nurse Fay in the Joe Orton comedy play, Loot, working alongside actor Michael Elphick. She also played a prostitute in the revival of Charles Dyer's 1960s play Rattle of a Simple Man at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.

In 2007, Dean participated in the fifth series of the BBC celebrity dance contest, Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with the professional dancer, Darren Bennett."[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/a74598/letitia-dean-joining-new-strictly-series.html Letitia Dean joining new 'Strictly' series]", Digital spy. URL last accessed on 30 August 2007. Dean and Bennett were voted out in the quarter-finals (week 10), one week before the semi-final. Commenting on her experience, Dean said "It's been incredible. I've got to thank [Darren Bennett] for all his patience, hard work, all the injuries. It's been wonderful.""[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/a81398/letitia-dean-is-voted-off-strictly.html Leititia Dean Voted Off Strictly Come Dancing]", Digital spy. URL last accessed on 30 December 2007. Dean was one of several celebrities who took part in the 2008 Strictly Come Dancing UK arena tour. The tour began in January 2008 and visited various venues throughout the UK, with all the proceeds going to the Children in Need appeal."[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/a77563/letitia-dean-joins-strictly-uk-arena-tour.html Letitia Dean joins 'Strictly' UK arena tour]", Digital spy. URL last accessed on 30 December 2007.

In April 2008, it was announced that she would be starring in the stage show High School Musical as Ms Darbus. Dean commented, "It's a lovely opportunity for me [...] It's something completely different to anything I've ever done – doing an American accent and playing this kind of character." The production played at London's Hammersmith Apollo from June 2008 until 31 August 2008."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7351000/7351995.stm High School Musical gets new star]", BBC. URL last accessed on 26 April 2008.

In January 2009, Dean released a fitness DVD entitled Letitia Dean's Lean Routine. She joined the cast of the stage production of Calendar Girls the same year, playing Cora (Miss July).

As well as television and theatre work, Dean regularly appears in seasonal pantomimes; she was reported to have a special clause in her EastEnders contract that permits her time off from filming to star in a pantomime each year. In 2001, she starred in Snow White at the Orchard in Dartford; and in 2004, she starred in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Birmingham Hippodrome, alongside British comedians Joe Pasquale and Don Maclean. In 2006, Dean appeared as the wicked witch in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Deco, Northampton, taking over the role from her EastEnders co-star, Gillian Taylforth, who pulled out due to ill health."[http://www.thedeco.co.uk/news.asp?id=94 EASTENDERS’ SHARON SAVES THE DAY!]", Deco.co.uk. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. December 2007 saw her appear as the Fairy godmother in Cinderella, at the Regent Theatre, Ipswich. In December 2008, she appeared as the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable, and she played the role again at the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon in 2009."[http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/entertainment/Star-interview-Fairfield-panto-stars-Snow-White-Seven-Dwarfs/article-1587018-detail/article.html Star interview: Fairfield panto stars in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130505063910/http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/entertainment/Star-interview-Fairfield-panto-stars-Snow-White-Seven-Dwarfs/article-1587018-detail/article.html |date=5 May 2013 }}", Surrey today. URL last accessed on 1 January 2010.

In 2004, Dean was nominated for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards."[http://www.thecustard.tv/linksandlists/soapawards.html 2004 British soap awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202094430/http://www.thecustard.tv/linksandlists/soapawards.html |date= 2 February 2008 }}", thecustard.Tv. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. At the 2005 Inside Soap awards, she was presented with the award for outstanding achievement as homage to her work in EastEnders. She was also nominated in the category of Best Couple (shared with Nigel Harman)."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4284104.stm EastEnders on top at soap awards]", BBC. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. In 2022, Dean won the Outstanding Achievement award at the British Soap Awards.{{Cite news |last=Duke |first=Simon |date=11 June 2022 |title=Letitia Dean wins British Soap Awards Special Recognition trophy and breaks tragic news in speech |work=Evening Chronicle |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/letitia-dean-soap-awards-dad-24204400 |access-date=11 June 2022}}

Growing up in the public eye was reportedly hard for Dean, and the constant media attention on her appearance was something she found especially tough. Dean says her self-confidence was damaged during this time, and this, as well as back pain, contributed to her decision to get a breast reduction in her teens. By her 30s, she considered herself to be a lot more comfortable in her own skin{{huh|date=December 2024}}, and far more relaxed about public interest than she used to be as a teenager, commenting: "I have stopped pleasing people – and I'm calmer and more self assured than I've ever been.""[https://archive.today/20240524163238/https://www.webcitation.org/5knyNK6No?url=http://www.geocities.com/jostokes1104/engagement.html Letitia announces plans to wed Jason Pethers]", Hello!. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006.

In 2001, Dean became engaged to jobbing actor Jason Pethers after knowing him for only a few months. They married in September 2002 at All Saints' Church in Marylebone. Her close friend and EastEnders co-star, Susan Tully, was a bridesmaid at the wedding. Many of Dean's fellow castmates from EastEnders attended the wedding."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2288599.stm EastEnders' Dean weds]", BBC. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. After five years of marriage, it was announced in 2007 that Dean and Pethers had separated because Pethers was reluctant to have children."[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/a76230/letitia-dean-hopes-to-get-over-break-up.html Letitia Dean hopes to get over break-up]", Digital spy. URL last accessed on 23 September 2007.

As well as acting, Dean is a keen singer (with a mezzo-soprano voice) and tap dancer."[https://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/backstage/cast/cast_content/cast_letitia_d.shtml BBC profiles – Letitia Dean]", BBC. URL last accessed on 18 September 2006. She currently{{when|date=May 2021}} lives in the Bedfordshire village of Wootton.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZiOnYwCYQg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/GZiOnYwCYQg |archive-date=22 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=Letitia Dean on Secrets from the Square|date=29 June 2020 |access-date=23 October 2021|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

In June 2022, when accepting an award at the British Soap Awards, she revealed that her father had died and she dedicated the award to him.{{Cite news |last=Duke |first=Simon |date=11 June 2022 |title=Letitia Dean wins British Soap Awards Special Recognition trophy and breaks tragic news in speech |work=Evening Chronicle |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/letitia-dean-soap-awards-dad-24204400 |access-date=11 June 2022}}

In 1997, Dean, along with Susan Tully, was involved with the Third World charity Plan International; they were sent to a remote village in Senegal to help highlight one of the organisation's aid projects, designed to bring running water to drought-hit areas."[http://www.freewebs.com/letitiaxdean/lifeaftersharon.htm Life After Sharon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310091631/http://www.freewebs.com/letitiaxdean/lifeaftersharon.htm |date=10 March 2009 }}", LetitiaDean.co.uk. URL last accessed on 20 December 2006.

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name}}
• {{AllMusic}}
• {{Discogs artist}}

{{British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Letitia}}

Category:1967 births

Category:Living people

Category:British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement winners

Category:English soap opera actresses

Category:English film actresses

Category:English stage actresses

Category:English women singers

Category:People from Potters Bar

Category:Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School

Category:Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts

Category:English television actresses

Category:Musicians from Hertfordshire

Category:Actresses from Hertfordshire

Category:BBC Records artists

Category:Actors from Hertsmere