A love story that ended in a huge tragedy (Picture: BBC)
Keanu Taylor’s (Danny Walters) return has brought back traumatic memories for Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) in EastEnders.
The mechanic, as viewers know, staged a surprise comeback earlier this week, arriving home after a three-year absence.
His presence caused quite the stir with a number of locals, including Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), but it was Sharon who was ultimately the one most taken by surprise.
Keanu’s hopes of reuniting with Sharon and two-year-old son Albie were soon dashed, with Sharon refusing to let him see Albie, before ordering him to stay away.
But why is Sharon so adamant that Keanu must keep his distance?
There are a number of reasons for thus, such as the fact that her affair with Keanu destroyed her life with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who subsequently tried to murder her lover.
The biggest reason, however, is because last time she saw Keanu was on the night of son Dennis ‘Denny’ Rickman’s (Bleu Landau) demise.
Struggling to remember the ins and outs of what transpired? Fear not, as we’ve got you covered with a little refresher below.
What happened between Sharon and Keanu in EastEnders?
Sharon and Keanu struggled to resist the chemistry between one another back in 2018, and before long, they embarked on a passionate affair, which lasted for a number of months.
Phil, who had been in Spain on business, returned to the Square and almost caught the lovers together in his bed, but they succeeded in covering their tracks.
Sharon and Keanu had quite the romance (Picture: BBC / Jack Barnes)
Sharon and Keanu broke off their passion, fearing that the truth would come out and that Phil would take revenge, but Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) later found out about the fling when Sharon fell pregnant – and proceeded to blackmail Sharon in a bid to get whatever she wanted.
Tragedy struck in October 2019, however, when Mel and Sharon were involved in a high-speed car chase. Knowing Phil was on his way home from the airport, Mel set off to reveal all to the hard-man.
Sharon gave chase, and thus Mel decided on a different course of action, telephoning Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) and asking him to put the phone on speaker in the club. Before she could reveal anything, however, Mel’s car collided with another, and she ended up in a crash – and the events which followed ultimately claimed her life.
The affair secret remained just that – a secret.
That is, until Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin), who had been tipped off by Mel, put thoughts about Sharon’s infidelity in Phil’s head, making him certain that his beloved wife was cheating away – though he didn’t know with who.
Keanu and Sharon tried to keep their relationship a secret (Picture: BBC / Kieron McCarron)
The truth was revealed on Christmas Day 2019, when Phil confronted Sharon shortly after Louise (Tilly Keeper), who was dating Keanu at the time, informed him of her beau and Sharon’s betrayal.
Phil kicked pregnant Sharon out onto the streets, while Louise led Keanu into a trap, as he was kidnapped by Martin Fowler (James Bye), who at the time was on a dark path, taking part in all sorts of dodgy dealings in order to protect his family from Ben, who had threatened their lives.
Martin was unable to fulfil his promise to kill Keanu, and thus he and Linda assisted the mechanic in faking his own death. Sharon was devastated to learn about Keanu’s so-called demise, but Linda – who in the throes of her addiction to alcohol at the time – spilled the beans after a booze binge.
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Keanu, despite the risks, later returned to the Square, much to the horror of Phil, who tried to kill his love rival once more, this time on board the party boat on the Thames, and his actions ultimately led to Dennis, Sharon’s beloved son, ending up dead.
Keanu subsequently left the Square, after Sharon ordered him out of her hospital room shortly after giving birth to baby Kayden, who was later re-named Albie.
How did Denny die in EastEnders and is Keanu to blame for his death?
Dennis lost his life on board the party boat on the Thames in 2020 (Picture: BBC)
Denny died on board the party boat on the Thames in February, 2020.
Keanu holds himself personally responsible, though one could argue that he couldn’t have possibly known what would transpire when he returned to hospital, with the events on the boat having since been deemed a tragic accident.
Sharon, however, blamed Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) for her son’s demise, given that it was her oldest friend who locked Denny in a room on the boat shortly before the crash – making his escape from the water nearly impossible.
Ian, as fans will recall, locked Denny below deck on that fateful night as a way to teach him a lesson, after discovering the teenager’s cruel online campaign had led to Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) being attacked.
Dennis had posted information about Bobby online which led to the young Beale being hospitalised after an Islamophobic attack.
Ian trapped Dennis on the boat (Picture: BBC)
However, when it became clear the boat was starting to sink and his life was at risk, Ian returned to the room to save him.
Sharon later found out what Ian had done and tried to poison him to death in a controversial storyline that saw her marry him as a way to get close to him, before exacting her revenge.
Fans, meanwhile, reckon that Phil is to blame for Denny’s death, considering it was his desire for blood and revenge that led to the boat crashing in the first place.
EastEnders continues Friday December 16 at 7:30pm on BBC One.
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Keanu’s return has brought back traumatic memories for Sharon.
