The reunion of Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) on EastEnders this week served as a reminder of one of the show’s more strange previous plotlines.
Sharon and Ian appeared together for the first time since that specific twist, which saw Ian leave Walford after Sharon attempted to murder him, after Cindy Beale’s shocking return to Walford (Michelle Collins).
When the two met in person for the first time since that terrible night in 2021, Sharon said that she had given the events there a lot of thought since she didn’t want them to damage their former friendship.
Sharon was able to finish the entire tale with only one phrase as Ian pointed out that she had attempted to kill him.
So did Cindy, but you appeared to overcome it, said Cindy.
Ouch. But specifically what happened between Ian and Sharon that almost resulted in his murder?
What you need to know is as follows:
What transpired in EastEnders between Sharon and Ian?
Older fans will be familiar with Sharon and Ian, two members of the original cast who grew up in Walford together and have been friends ever since. However, everything changed in 2020.
In February of that year, the soap celebrated its 35th anniversary with a week of episodes centered around a boat party that ended in disaster after the boat crashed, and Sharon’s teenage son Dennis later drowned. This was before Covid put the world on lockdown, forcing EastEnders off the air for the first time in its history.
After learning that Ian had imprisoned Denny in a room below deck as retaliation for publishing information about Bobby online that caused him to be the target of an Islamophobic assault, Sharon held Ian accountable for Denny’s death.
Denny was ultimately let free by Ian, but by then it was too late, and Denny drowned in the Thames.
When the program resumed airing in September of that same year, Dotty informed Sharon of what had transpired, and she later learned that Ian was accountable.
In one of the strangest plots in EastEnders history, she started poisoning him in an effort to get revenge; at this time, Ian and Sharon also got married after he was hospitalized following an incident at the Queen Vic that left him fearing for his life.
Because of Sharon’s antics, Ian went for testing believing he had a mysterious sickness. However, when she gave him a poisoned carbonara, he realized what she was up to.
When Sharon played Ian’s last voicemail to her, in which he decided to do the job for her by beginning to eat from the poisoned dish, the reality about what he had actually done the night that Denny died became clear.
He eventually left Walford when Sharon persuaded him not to.
After that, Adam Woodyatt left the program, however Ian Beale continued to appear on it.
During Dot Cotton’s (June Brown) burial in December 2022, the soap icon made a fleeting appearance while observing the casket being taken into the church.
He did, however, formally make a reappearance earlier this year when it was discovered that he was residing in France with Cindy.
Thursday at 7.30 p.m. on BBC One, EastEnders will resume.
