1995, having played the character for over a decade. Dean was not the only original cast member to announce their departure that year; Susan Tully (Michelle Fowler) and Bill Treacher (Arthur Fowler) also quit, leaving just Wendy Richard (Pauline Fowler), Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), and Gillian Taylforth (Kathy Beale) as the only original cast remaining at that time. Dean, who was aged 26 at the time, has since reflected on her decision to leave, suggesting she went through an identity crisis when she found herself thinking "who am I? Am I Sharon Watts or am I an actress?". Sally Vincent, interviewing Dean for The Guardian, surmised: "it nagged away at [Dean] for ages until she thought, hell, she owed it to herself, and started telling the producers she'd been thinking about trying new things. In those days, they didn't let you off for the odd panto or anything. It was full-time work. She remembers being dithery and apologetic about it, but her feet were itchy and, though she never really wanted to close the door behind her, she talked about going until one day, much to her consternation, [the producers] said all right then, off you go, lots of luck. They didn't ask her to reconsider, so she thought, 'Ooooh, charmin', and off she went." Dean added, "I felt the need to spread my wings and try my hand at other things. I didn't want to feel there were parts out there I hadn't had a chance to play. When I left I felt this mixture of excitement and fear. I went on the last walk with Susan Tully [who played Michelle Fowler] around the Square, talking quietly, and I felt quite sad. But at the same time it felt like the right thing to do." Sharon's exit on 6 July 1995 surrounded the continual fall-out from the Sharongate saga. 18 million viewers saw Grant bully Sharon into a divorce in the Christmas 1994 episodes; after a brief hiatus, she returned in 1995 for several months to gain revenge on Grant. The build-up for revenge saw Sharon coaxing Grant into making a public plea for marital reconciliation. However, as Thomas Sutcliffe writing for The Independent surmised, "In the end, Sharon recoiled from the full horror of public humiliation in the Queen Vic and conducted a minor-key revenge on the pavement outside. For a while, there seemed a good chance that