EastEnders: Who was Sharon's mum? Everything you need to know about Angie Watts and her tragic death

EastEnders aired emotional scenes for Sharon Watts and Linda Carter on Tuesday (June 11) as The Queen Vic landlady's drinking problem spiralled out of control. Sharon has been left fearing that something 'bad' will happen to Linda as she follows in the footsteps of Angie Watts - Sharon's late adoptive mum.

During a conversation with Kathy Beale, Sharon confessed her worries that her best friend will succumb to the drink. "She's gonna end up like mum", Sharon tells Kathy, "I need to help her". She goes on to explain that her mum couldn't beat alcoholism on her own.

"Maybe she could have if she'd had some support", Sharon adds before Kathy reassures her that her mum did have people around her that cared for her. Kathy adds: "In the end, she just didn't have it in her to change. It's the same with Linda."

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Who was Angie Watts in EastEnders?

Actor Anita Dobson is famed for being the first landlady of The Queen Vic in EastEnders. There was never a dull moment when Angie was pulling pints, and the wool over Den's eyes.

She played the emotionally drained and struggling alcoholic Angie Watts between 1985 and 1988, but has always remained an icon to the BBC show. On the soap, big haired Angie was the downtrodden wife to Den Watts, played by Leslie Grantham, and was the adoring adoptive mum to Sharon.

In an attempt to split up Den and his posh mistress Jan, Angie told Den that she had six months to live. Showing an uncharacteristic stripe of honour, Den (temporarily) finished with Jan and pledged to live out Ange's dying months with her.

But when the truth was revealed while on a trip onboard the Orient Express, it led to one of the show's biggest moments. To this day, the EastEnders episode of cheating Dirty Den handing Angie divorce papers on Christmas Day 1986 is still the most watched soap episode - EVER.

Angie left the Square in 1988 to be with her lover, Sonny, in Spain. She later moved to Miami and remarried. In the end, the drinking was her downfall, not Den – she died of cirrhosis of the liver in 2002.

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