look after Phil's baby granddaughter Lexi and is found unconscious by Lola after taking painkillers. Discussing the storyline, Dean said, "Filming the scene where she collapses and Lola finds her was really difficult because it's so sad. Sharon thinks she is coping but she evidently isn't. She is on such a downward spiral. She can stop using the pills for periods of time, but then something happens and it all gets too much for her. That is the trouble when people rely on things like prescription medication — they'll go to any lengths to get what they want." Dean indicated that she was "fascinated" by this plot development given Sharon's history with her mother Angie's addiction to alcohol during the 1980s. Dean suggested that Sharon was always "disgusted" by her mother's addiction to the extent that she would not even smoke cigarettes, "so the fact that she's got this far in life and has now succumbed to an addiction is fascinating." Reunion with Phil Mitchell Although paired romantically with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) in 2012, Sharon's romantic history with Phil was continuously revisited: firstly when Phil and Jack competed for Sharon's hand in marriage, and secondly when Sharon kissed Phil despite having chosen to marry Jack. However, it was not until late 2013 when scriptwriters reunited Phil and Sharon legitimately, Sharon having weathered being jilted by Jack at their wedding earlier that year. Letitia Dean suggested in 2012 that "Sharon has always had a great fondness for Phil and he has always been there for her. She is very comfortable around him and they have a lot of history between them." Although Dean has speculated that Sharon and Phil are not right for each other, she acknowledged the connection between the characters, suggesting they "know each other inside and out". She added, "It was real lust between them back in the day. I don't think she's ever lost that feeling for him and vice versa [...] She likes to think there are no surprises with him but he's also got that edge to him that she's always liked as well. There's a familiarity there and he will help her to feel more settled in life [...] There's always been a deep affection. I think she did love him greatly but when they first got together, when she was married to his brother Grant, that love was never allowed to blossom