The above face is one that needs no introduction, which is in many ways ironic, given that the familiarity of that very face is now counteracted by the unfamiliarity of the character she has become. Sharon Rickman, formerly of the Watts variety, has faced an immense backlash from viewers in recent years. And personally, it's the many theories behind the character's decline which interest me. Whether it be the writers, the storyliners or, Letitia Dean herself, the vast majority of viewers have their own opinion on which Sharon's ongoing stint has paled in comparison to her previous tenures on the show. And, here's mine:
Sharon is no longer 'the Princess' of Albert Square. There's no doubt about that, in my mind. From the show's inception to the character's first departure in the mid-nineties, Sharon had an incredible network of characters surrounding her. Sharon's adoptive parents, Den and Angie, catapulted Sharon to the forefront of the show within their roles as landlord and landlady of The Queen Victoria. The departures of her adoptive parents could have stalled Sharon's character progression but instead, she matured. The introduction of Phil and Grant Mitchell served to capatalise on the character's success and, the original 'Princess' became the unrivalled 'Queen of Albert Square'.
Sharon Mitchell, as she was now known, was undoubtedly one of the most recognisable faces on British television at that point in time. Sharon's relationship with her husband's brother, Phil, started a love story that would continue to rear its head almost twenty years later. The 'Sharongate' reveal was immense, it truly was. The buildup, the event itself and the aftermath were all executed wonderfully. Sharon's characterisation continued to excel itself and, although Sharon was scapegoated into accepting responsibility for the affair, she didn't lose the fighting spirit, nor the rebellion, that she had displayed from the show's inception. She may have been belittled and embarrassed by her husband, but, Sharon got the last laugh...
Sharon planned to reject Grant's public proposal, thus, leading him to feel the embarrassment that she herself had felt less than a year prior. However, Sharon's good nature pulled through in the end and she realised that, despite everything, she still loved Grant. Not enough to marry him, perhaps, but definitely enough to save him from the ultimate embarrassment. I personally believe that Sharon came to realise that embarrassment would only be a temporary punishment for Grant's mistreatment of her, instead, Grant would suffer much more without her in his life at all. Therefore, I was certainly rooting for Sharon (despite her own indiscrepancies) when she left Walford for America: after ten years on Albert Square.
Fastforward seventeen years, and we're now in 2012. Viewers of the now flailing soap opera have been promised the return 'Hurricane Sharon', last seen in 2006 following the murder of her husband, and half-brother Dennis Rickman. Sharon's father, Dirty Den, was certainly dead this time around and Dennis had also kicked the bucket, right in front of the viewer's eyes. Can Sharon Rickman continue her 100% character success rate? It's a question we were all asking ourselves, perhaps naively, given many of the main players in Sharon's past had left the Square. Phil Mitchell remained, of course - although his own popularity was declining...
Hurricane Sharon... was absolutely nowhere to be seen. Instead, we came face to face with a character who shared only the same appearance and name as the one that we came to love. Motherhood had tarnished Sharon's character, something which was apparent in 2013 when Demon Denny could do no wrong in the eyes of his mother. Not only that, but we were spoonfed the Square's greatest love story. Jack Branning and Sharon. Not only would Sharon not look twice at the Sperminator of Albert Square, she almost certainly wouldn't have considered marrying him, less than six months after their initial meeting. The proposal came on the anniversary of Dennis' death: not that Sharon cared, like.
We were also subjected to Sharon's incredibly contrived relationship with Tanya Branning. The less said about that, the better. Asides from Tanya and her incredibly tedious love triangle with Jack and Phil, we were given nothing. We sensed that something had happened during her six year absence, which would explain the changes in her character but, again, literally nothing. We did receive a painkiller addiction, however, there was practically no follow up to that as the writers seemingly forgot that Sharon was an addict, unless the plot necessarily required it.
As Sharon nears two years back on Albert Square, she's received nothing but poor material in that time. Sharon now knows that Phil was responsible for Dennis' death and, I hope, that she is currently double bluffing the audience as she plans her ultimate revenge. Who is Sharon Rickman? She's certainly not the tour-de-force she once was...
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