EastEnders ' Letitia Dean was in tears last night as she revealed that her dad had died just a week prior during an emotional acceptance speech.
The soap legend, who has played Sharon Watts since the BBC soap first began in 1985, won an award for outstanding achievement at the British Soap Awards.
After her co-stars paid tribute to the Walford icon, she was welcomed on stage by her on-screen mum Anita Dobson.
Anita had said: "She has been in 2,000 episodes, she has had 237 'doof-doof's', and she has also been landlord of the Queen Vic six times.
"She has had amazing storylines, the death of her son, return from the grave of her father, and her affair with Phil Mitchell which brought in 23.5 million viewers. She is quirky, funny, talented, glamorous, and iconic."
Taking to the stage, Letitia was overcome with emotion as she revealed that she was dedicating her award to her dad.
"I lost my daddy a week ago so this is for him. I hope he is proud," she said.
"This is for my daddy and my darling mummy, I hope you're enjoying your fish and chips."
Among those to gush about her in tributes included Kellie Bright, Diane Parish, Steve McFadden and Gillian Taylforth.
Letitia shocked viewers earlier this month with her body transformation after dropping several dress sizes.
The actress has spoken openly about her yo-yoing weight over the years and back in 2020 revealed how she had been targeted by cruel trolls.
"I had quite a lot of horrible things said about me. 'She's too fat, the other actors complain they can't fit on the same set with her', she said on spin-off show Secrets from the Square.
She was one of the originals on the show when it first began and was only aged 17 at the time.
Letitia previously spoke about how she was faced with constant criticism over her body image- so much so it damaged her self-confidence and contributed to her getting a breast reduction when she was a teenager.
While there were also medical reasons she chose to go under the knife, Letitia admitted vile remarks contributed to her decision.
"Backache had a lot to do with that decision too" she told Hello! magazine in October 2001. "But I was a lot less secure about myself and there was a lot of focus on how I looked."
"Occasionally, the attention on my appearance still bothers me - it bothers all women, doesn't it? - but I have those things in perspective nowadays."
*British Soap Awards is available on ITV Hub
