any time!"...Her pub is spotless. And the customer's always right. Except when he isn't. Then she can be so polite, he'll wish he'd gone to a wine-bar...Sometimes Pearl gets so legless that Jack has to throw her over his shoulder and fireman's lift her upstairs to their flat, where they have separate bedrooms...She's fun, she tries and she's trapped. She's also larger than life." (page 63) Casting The actress Jean Fennell was recommended for the part by the director Matthew Robinson. Fennell was born in the East End of London and both Holland and Smith considered her to have unique qualities to her personality, which combined "vitality and vulnerability, and an almost desperate nervous energy" - all of which were perfect for Angie. Fennell was given the role, however during rehearsals Holland and Smith began to realise that Fennell was wrong for the part, and Smith made the decision to re-cast the role of Angie. With only four days to the first studio recording of EastEnders, Smith set about finding a suitable actress. Smith had taught the actress Anita Dobson many years earlier and remembered her as "sharp, brittle, very theatrical, with a vitality that was almost intense and a range of emotions that were alarming considering her youth", but was worried she was too young for the part. However, when Dobson was brought in for an audition it was noted she was "exactly the right age" after all. After a very successful reading Dobson was cast as Angie. Character development The Watts were the surprise hit characters of the show. Angie and Den were a live-wire couple whose on/off relationship made the Queen Vic pub exciting and unpredictable and millions of viewers tuned in to watch the destruction of their relationship on-screen. Den's clashes with Angie brought EastEnders to a peak of popularity and toppled rival soap Coronation Street from the top of the ratings chart. Den and Angie mania During 1986 the series became dominated by Angie and Den's storylines and the focus of the programme was very much concentrated on their combustible relationship. The emphasis began early in 1986 with the arrival of Den's mistress Jan Hammond. Jan had been a powerful off-screen presence for the first year. Her menacing voice at the end of the telephone severely affected the mood of both Den and Angie and kept the audience on edge every time the phone rang.