Sharongate

"Sharongate" is the term used for a storyline in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, which reached its climax on 24 October 1994, attracting 25.3 million viewers. The plot was written by EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan. In the storyline, Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) confessed on tape that she had had sex with her brother-in-law, Phil (Steve McFadden). The truth comes out in the middle of The Queen Victoria pub. Sharon's husband Grant (Ross Kemp) attacked Phil and he was lucky to survive.

A similar storyline, dubbed “Sheanu”, started in 2018 when Sharon, now married to Phil, began an affair with Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). Sharon later becomes pregnant and, following a DNA test, discovers Keanu is the father. The climax of the story aired on 25 December 2019 when Phil discovers the truth, attracting 7.21 million viewers. Her and Phil then divorce. However, in 2023, Sharon, now engaged to Keanu, discovers that her son, Albie Watts (Arthur Gentleman), is in fact Phil’s son, not Keanu’s. She discovers this after Albie is kidnapped, unaware that it was Keanu behind it. On Christmas Day 2023, Keanu’s sister Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) revealed to Sharon the truth about the kidnapping, before Sharon then revealed Albie’s true paternity, bringing a final conclusion to the storyline. Later in the episode, Keanu is killed off as part of The Six storyline. This episode attracted 5.45 million viewers.