Chrissie Watts
| Chrissie Watts | |||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Tracy-Ann Oberman | ||||||||
| Duration | 2004–2005 | ||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 2719 29 April 2004 |
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| Last appearance | Episode 3059 9 December 2005 |
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| Introduced by | Louise Berridge | ||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation | Businesswoman Barmaid Pub landlady Hairdresser |
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| Family | Watts |
|---|---|
| Husband | Den Watts (until 2005) |
| Stepsons | Dennis Rickman |
| Stepdaughters |
Sharon Watts (adoptive) Vicki Fowler |
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 2005 she was the focus of one of "the programme's biggest and most high-profile narratives" when she killed her husband in a fit of rage during the special 20th anniversary episode. The broadcast, airing on 18 February, was watched by 14.34 million people, with "almost 60% of possible viewers" tuning in to see Chrissie take revenge. The character was credited by former head of BBC Drama Serials, Mal Young, as "anchoring the success of the anniversary storyline", and was described on the news programme BBC Breakfast as the "centrepiece" of the show, with the on-screen drama playing out over the course of the year and culminating in Chrissie's departure in December.
Chrissie Watts was created by the production team to be more the "equal" of her notorious and villainous husband than his long-suffering first wife, Angie. The character was described by Oberman as being like Angie "but with 15 more years of feminism behind her", and was hailed by the TV editor of the Evening Standard as "the only strong woman left in Walford". She became well known for her deviousness and "scheming", echoing the traits of her husband, with the official EastEnders website characterising her as "happy to play mind games" and "often two steps ahead" of Den. As part of the Watts family, her story lines centre on her tumultuous marriage to Den, her relationship with his children, and the ongoing feud with the rival Mitchell family. She was involved in numerous clashes with other female characters, Oberman noting that Chrissie had "had more fights on EastEnders than most women have in their whole lives", and was constantly scheming against those who got in her way, earning her the sobriquet of "super-bitch".
Oberman won praise for her "three-dimensional portrayal of a classic soap bitch", with Chrissie hailed as "helping revive the show's fortunes that had been lagging somewhat in recent years". According to the Daily Mirror reporter Elizabeth Hassell, the character became a "national TV heroine" to viewers shortly after arriving, for standing up to the antics of her dastardly husband, and is most often cited as a "strong" and "clever" woman; "hard as nails" in "the grand tradition of landladies of the Queen Vic". Although generally well received by viewers, the character was described as a "ludicrous Lady MacBeth wannabe" by Jim Shelley of the Daily Mirror. Other critics have variously called Chrissie a "witch", "venomous", and the show's resident "black widow".
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Wikipedia