To re-assert his authority and demonstrate Sharon's vulnerability, Phil hires two men to vandalise the bar, but his plan goes awry when Sharon is attacked by the vandals; she is hospitalised with a ruptured spleen. Phil confides in his ex-lover Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), who helps conceal his botched plan. When Shirley confesses she still loves Phil, he spurns her advances and instead proposes marriage to Sharon after she regains consciousness, which she accepts. Upon release from the hospital, Sharon fears being attacked again. She steals Ronnie's gun for protection but is horrified when Dennis almost finds it. While attempting to dispose of the gun, she overhears Shirley reprimanding Phil for arranging the attack on her. She vows revenge and recruits Phil's former lawyer, Marcus Christie (Stephen Churchett), to help fleece Phil. She later recants when she sees Phil's caring side but, unbeknownst to her, Phil has already discovered her deception. Phil begins an affair with Shirley and vows to humiliate Sharon by dumping her at their wedding so he can be with Shirley. On the wedding day, however, Phil cannot go through with this and after he and Sharon confront each other about their respective deceptions, they agree to marry. Enraged at Phil's rejection and unable to stop the marriage from going ahead, Shirley reveals her affair with Phil. Sharon decides to leave but Phil persuades her that he loves her. Shirley threatens to shoot him with Sharon's gun, but Phil dismisses her threats. In a tussle between the women, Shirley fires the gun and Phil is shot. When he recovers, they decide to give their marriage another try. When Sharon receives a letter from her birth mother, Carol, she is ambivalent about resuming contact. She eventually decides to reconnect but discovers her mother has recently died. She meets her half brother Kristopher (Jonathan Broadbent) who gives her old letters from her birth father, Gavin, revealing his interest in meeting Sharon. Sharon attempts to trace Gavin and visits Den's former solicitor, Margaret Midhurst (Jan Harvey), who reveals that Den specifically requested to adopt Sharon as he knew her father. Phil is blackmailed into signing The Albert over to Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood), forging Sharon's signature. Sharon is angry but Phil pacifies her by revealing he has traced her father, now going by the name of Gordon Cook (Stephen Marcus). Phil persuades Sharon not to pursue meeting Gordon, but she