Letitia Dean

Letitia Dean
Dean in 2009 at Wendy Richard's funeral service
Born	Letitia Jane Dean (1967-11-14) 14 November 1967 (age 49) Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Jason Pethers (m. 2002–07)

Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress and singer. She is known for her role as Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again from 2012 onwards.

In 1986, along with Paul Medford, Dean had a UK Top 20 hit with "Something Outa Nothing". Her other television roles include The Hello Girls (1996–98), and Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married (1999–2000). In 2007, she participated in the fifth series of the popular BBC dance competition Strictly Come Dancing, finishing fourth. On stage, she starred in the West End production of High School Musical in 2008, and in the UK touring production of Calendar Girls in 2010.

Dean was born in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire to parents Leslie (a tailor) and Ellie Dean, in a cottage rented on the grand estate of English romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, known as Camfield Place. The youngest of three children, Dean has two older brothers, Stephen and Martin.

Dean's family moved to the north Buckinghamshire village of Stoke Goldington 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, and they also performed a dance act together on stage. This later prompted Dean's successful application to attend the Italia Conti Academy Theatre Arts at ten years old, and later the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London, which has famously produced some of Britain's most familiar television and musical stars. Dean stayed at the school as a full-time student for several years learning her trades of acting, singing and dancing.