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Is Letitia Dean on another break at the moment?


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Old 15-11-2013, 13:28
jamesc_715
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Sharon hasn't appeared for 2 weeks and she is not going to appear on the show for the next 2 weeks. I'm guessing Letitia Dean is on a break? To be honest, I'm glad Sharon is offscreen now under Lorraine Newman. She's just got worse and worse. If Sharon and Denny storyline was still ongoing now, Sharon would be more hated.

Can't wait for DTC to fix Sharon soon!! By 2014, we will probably see the old Sharon Watts, one of the most popular characters ever!! (Well she isn't popular now but she used to be...)

So Letitia must be having time off?
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Old 15-11-2013, 13:34
Broken_Arrow
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It just goes to show how inconsequential Sharon is now. When she'd take breaks in her previous stints it would be written into the show. Now she just vanishes because she's not important anymore. Great job, Lorraine.

I hope DTC can restore Sharon to her former glory because her return has been a sick joke.
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Old 15-11-2013, 13:42
vaslav37
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Thank heavens for DTC...
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Old 15-11-2013, 13:53
bumpandgrind
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Lots of characters get rested when they don't have big plots - it's hardly unusual. I can't help but feel this thread has been created to have another dig at Newman or Letitia.
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Old 15-11-2013, 13:59
jamesc_715
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Lots of characters get rested when they don't have big plots - it's hardly unusual. I can't help but feel this thread has been created to have another dig at Newman or Letitia.
No it isn't.. Nothing to do with LN or Letitia. I'm a big fan of Sharon so I'm only asking this genuinely. Sharon is not mentioned in the next 3/4 weeks spoilers. She is supposed to be a big character. I do agree that characters should be rested. But from June onwards, Sharon had become a background character IMO.
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:06
Uncle Quentin
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Sharon needs her rest more than any other character.

It must be exhausting carrying those huge shoulder pads around all day.
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:07
bumpandgrind
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No it isn't.. Nothing to do with LN or Letitia. I'm a big fan of Sharon so I'm only asking this genuinely. Sharon is not mentioned in the next 3/4 weeks spoilers. She is supposed to be a big character. I do agree that characters should be rested. But from June onwards, Sharon had become a background character IMO.

She’s had more screentime than most this year – they still have her in scenes even when she doesn’t have a major storyline. She featured heavily a few weeks about with the Whitney plot and the weeks leading up to it.

Compare her to people like Dot, Kim, Denise, Whitney etc… it’s clear that she gets a healthy amount of screen time.

We also know that they film out of sequence. A character not appearing in a few weeks doesn’t mean the actor / actress isn’t on set.

Spoilers are also no indication of whether a character appears or not – they’re not a scene by scene breakdown.
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:07
vaslav37
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I have faith in DTC...he will rebuild Sharon next year.
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:17
DUNDEEBOY
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However the challenge for the writing of Sharon in the future is to make her character the newer viewers of eastenders care about.

If you were to do a most disliked character in eastenders poll she would be near the top.

That is going to take a lot of work to change
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:22
Broken_Arrow
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I wouldn't say she featured heavily in the Whitney plot. The whole storyline was about Whitney. Sharon and Denny were plot devices. She hasn't been featured heavily in many months. All she does is show up to be a bitch to someone and then vanish from the rest of the episode. I suppose it's pointless moaning about the lack of storylines for Sharon given the fact until recently there weren't any storylines at all. Newman's material can't be off the screen quick enough for me. The woman never should have been allowed to run the show into the ground.
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:33
bumpandgrind
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I wouldn't say she featured heavily in the Whitney plot. The whole storyline was about Whitney. Sharon and Denny were plot devices. She hasn't been featured heavily in many months. All she does is show up to be a bitch to someone and then vanish from the rest of the episode. I suppose it's pointless moaning about the lack of storylines for Sharon given the fact until recently there weren't any storylines at all. Newman's material can't be off the screen quick enough for me. The woman never should have been allowed to run the show into the ground.
Sam aside, I actually think Newman did alright in terms of castings and building up families again (Beales and Mitchells in particular), as well as slim lining the Brannings. However I agree that she’s not a storyteller and at the end of the day, if there are no big plots, there is gonna be less interest in the show.

As for Sharon, I think she has featured prominently since her arrival. She had her initial ‘will I stay will I go plot’ then immediately thrown together with Jack, the stupid friendship with Tanya, chased after by Phil, involved with the Lexy plot, plus the awful pill addiction. Then she had her non-wedding with Jack and now the overbearing parent storyline.

I agree that most of these plots have been abysmal, but it’s certainly more than most females on the Square have had. For example, we’re only seeing more of Carol now that David is back, and other than her relationship with Ian, Denise has been underused for years. Janine has had the Michael plot but was doing very little until the build up to his murder. I appreciate June Brown is getting on a bit, but Dot has done very little.

The theories thrown around on here that she’s underused just don’t add up.
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Old 15-11-2013, 14:49
Broken_Arrow
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You have a point that she's had a lot of material in comparison to other characters but I'd say in comparison to how heavily she was featured in the 90's and early 2000's she's been underused. I wonder if her scenes in recent months even add up to 20 minutes in total. She's a blink and you'll miss her character this time around. I'm not saying she's the only underused character by any means. I think the focus on a select few characters has damaged the show in recent times so I certainly wouldn't want it to revolve around one character anyway. I was enjoying the ensemble nature of the show in recent weeks but I have a horrible feeling we're headed back to Branningville now that Max is back.
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Old 15-11-2013, 15:00
bumpandgrind
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You have a point that she's had a lot of material in comparison to other characters but I'd say in comparison to how heavily she was featured in the 90's and early 2000's she's been underused. I wonder if her scenes in recent months even add up to 20 minutes in total. She's a blink and you'll miss her character this time around. I'm not saying she's the only underused character by any means. I think the focus on a select few characters has damaged the show in recent times so I certainly wouldn't want it to revolve around one character anyway. I was enjoying the ensemble nature of the show in recent weeks but I have a horrible feeling we're headed back to Branningville now that Max is back.
I think we’re pretty much on the same page here. It’s obviously not helped that viewers have fond memories of previous stints and therefore high expectations for the character.

I hope that DTC has sat down and looked at every individual on the show and mapped out plots for them. There is no reason why decent characters, played by good actors, should be rested for so long. The treatment of Diane Parish is a particular bugbear of mine – she is awesome and deserves a storyline.
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Old 15-11-2013, 15:16
vaslav37
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Diane along with Letitia needs refreshing, I agree Newman was way of her depth running a show like EE...
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Old 15-11-2013, 15:21
Hit Em Up Style
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It just goes to show how inconsequential Sharon is now. When she'd take breaks in her previous stints it would be written into the show. Now she just vanishes because she's not important anymore. Great job, Lorraine.

I hope DTC can restore Sharon to her former glory because her return has been a sick joke.
Characters just not appearing for a few weeks is better though. When characters go on constant holidays its OTT and unrealistic. I mean could Sharon even afford a holiday right now? Just having them not appear works better. All you need is the odd mention that they are still around from another character. They didn't need to really write Bianca out but obviously they did so Terry could come in. Take Dot for example. June rarely appears thesedays but we know she is still around. If they wrote Dot out each time June was on holiday it wouldn't ring true.
Diane along with Letitia needs refreshing, I agree Newman was way of her depth running a show like EE...
I really find your vendetta against Newman quite unhealthy. You cannot go two posts on here without telling us how awful she is.
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Old 15-11-2013, 15:46
dale0693
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Maybe they're just giving her a break to refresh the character ready to bring her back old style which I remember someone saying
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Old 15-11-2013, 16:01
vaslav37
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There's no vendetta...
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Old 15-11-2013, 16:40
bumpandgrind
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Characters just not appearing for a few weeks is better though. When characters go on constant holidays its OTT and unrealistic. I mean could Sharon even afford a holiday right now? Just having them not appear works better. All you need is the odd mention that they are still around from another character. They didn't need to really write Bianca out but obviously they did so Terry could come in. Take Dot for example. June rarely appears thesedays but we know she is still around. If they wrote Dot out each time June was on holiday it wouldn't ring true.

I really find your vendetta against Newman quite unhealthy. You cannot go two posts on here without telling us how awful she is.
BIB 1: I completely agree - it's hardly noticeable if a character disappears for a few weeks if they've not involved in a particular plot.

BIB 2: Also agree. It's stange behaviour.
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Old 15-11-2013, 16:45
vaslav37
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its like being in a boxing ring on these forums sometimes!
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Old 15-11-2013, 17:00
summer_ste
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Thank heavens for DTC...
Love how everyone always LOVES the new script producer, until of course he or she makes a mistake then everyone will be out for blood and everything they do will be wrong.
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Old 01-12-2013, 14:23
jamesc_715
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Having seen the cast list from the BBC EastEnders website, Sharon won't be appearing for the next 2 weeks. Letitia Dean had been absent from EastEnders for at least 6 weeks now.
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Old 01-12-2013, 14:29
Harlowe
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Yep is suspected she hardly been at all, I hope DTC is a man of his word when he said he be bring her back old school but it's starting to becoming annoying how she is being treated, maybe she been given a break so the other storylines/newcomers/exits can play out first, is she doing panto this year?
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Old 01-12-2013, 14:30
Broken_Arrow
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Having seen the cast list from the BBC EastEnders website, Sharon won't be appearing for the next 2 weeks. Letitia Dean had been absent from EastEnders for at least 6 weeks now.
Reading between the lines DTC said he's bringing Sharon back ''old style'' which strongly indicates there was a problem with how Sharon was being written. My guess is the character has been rested to allow DTC to come up with a new direction for her as Newman clearly had no idea nor inclination what to do with her.

I'd rather not see her at all than just have her pop up to make pointless cameo appearances where she acts totally out of character. Hopefully when we see her again she's on the path to being the old Sharon again.
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Old 01-12-2013, 18:59
sunny day
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Having seen the cast list from the BBC EastEnders website, Sharon won't be appearing for the next 2 weeks. Letitia Dean had been absent from EastEnders for at least 6 weeks now.
as she was on Children in Need dance she obviously hasn't gone far
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Old 01-12-2013, 20:01
Joe_Zel
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This forum is obsessed with actor's working hours and holidays.

Do you keep time sheets for them?

Simple answer: Eastenders is and always has been an ensemble show and as such the focus characters/stories change frequently meaning the cast rotate from being in the spotlight, to being a subplot to not appearing at all. That's always been the case and still is.
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