Angie Watts

Angela 'Angie' Watts (née Shaw) made her first appearance on the 19th February 1986. She is the adoptive mother of Sharon Mitchell and the ex-wife of Den Watts. Angie departed on the 19th May 1988 to live in Spain after finding new love with Sonny.

Backstory
Angie and Den married in 1968 and they tried for a child of their own for almost 5 years, however, she and Den were unable to have children of their own. She and Den privately fostered Sharon at the age of 4 until Den told his solicitor, Margaret Midhurst, that he wanted to be Sharon's father and he wanted the law to recognize it, so she and Den went through the adoption process.

Angie's attempted suicide
In March 1986, Jan Hammond visits Angie at The Vic to talk, but Angie is less than receptive of her. Angie learns that Den is staying with her, something that she was unaware of and Jan thought she'd been told. Angie accuses Jan of ruining everything she and Den had and she has lost everything before declaring to Jan that she hates her. Angie physically throws Jan out of the kitchen before breaking down in tears. After closing time at the pub in the kitchen, a distraught Angie takes on overdose of sleepers mixed with gin.

Den later returns to The Vic after talking with Jan, who was furious with him for his lies. He finds Angie slouched at the kitchen table and he assumes she is drunk, however she doesn't wake up and he notices the empty pill bottles. Den immediately calls for an ambulance and he tries his best to get Angie to wake up by moving her whilst pleading for her to hang in there. The ambulance crew soon arrive at The Vic, which Mary Smith witnesses and Angie's airways are cleared in case she chokes before being loaded onto a stretcher to be taken to hospital. Angie's stomach is pumped and the ambulance crew member tells Den that Angie will be fine.

Angie returns home to following day with Den after signing the discharge papers. Upstairs, Den tells Angie that he has decided to come back to her and he apologizes for the way things have turned out. In the bar, Mary tells Angie that she saw the ambulance through her window when Annie woke up and her illness must have been bad. Angie fetches Den from the other side of the bar and Den asks her to keep quiet about it. Sharon, unaware of what happened the previous night, is suspicious of where her parents were and they make up the story that they went to a party and spent the night at their friends, Sonny and Ree's.

Angie's kidney failure
One morning, Angie finds herself clutching her side. Later that day at The Vic, Angie goes into the back and Angie develops another pain as she tries to hold back her tears. After closing, Pat shouts Den upstairs and Pat tells Den that she found Angie in terrible pain and crying. Angie had blacked out before Pat could get any sense of what happened and Den calls an ambulance.

Angie is placed on a ward after coming out of intensive care. Sharon accuses Den of not caring about Angie and that he doesn't want to know as she's the one that's been by her side. Sharon tells him that Angie is in pain and currently on a dialysis machine to clean out her blood and to do the kidney's functions. Sharon adds that it's renal shutdown and that her mum will have to be on the machine every day until her kidney's start working and if they start working, because if they don't, she'll be dependent on the machine for the rest of her life. Sharon urges Den to sit with Angie and show her some encouragement and that he cares and if he doesn't, then pretend to care. Kathy later visits Angie after Sharon said she was family as Angie isn't well enough for visitors and Sharon says that Angie will wake up soon as she wakes up and goes to sleep. Sharon becomes emotional and is led out of Angie's room by Kathy and Duncan. Kathy talks with Sharon and tells her that Angie isn't a victim, but a survivor and they have to do everything to be there for her.

Pat visits Angie at the hospital with nail varnish to do Angie's nails. Angie has a theory that Den is paying the doctors to keep her in and Den doesn't need a reason to do such a thing. Angie asks Pat if she can get Den to visit more often and she could perhaps do the books whilst in hospital. Angie also wants to get out of the hospital so she can see Kenny Beale and Angie reckons that Kenny always fancied Pat and she married the wrong brother.

During a chat with the consultant, the consultant tells Den that keeping Angie in hospital will do no good and that she is as well as can be expected after what she's been through and what she needs is rest and a return to normal life. Den is adamant that it will be impossible as The Vic is a normal life for them and he believes she will be back drinking as soon as his back is turned. The consultant tells him that the way Angie will remain off alcohol is if she doesn't want to drink and she feels that Angie doesn't want to drink, but Den think she will drink and the consultant tells Den that he is underestimating her. Den points out that he's lived with her more than half of his life and support groups will do no good and the consultant addresses Den that she gets the impression he doesn't want her home. Den insists he looks after his own and the consultant informs him that they will be discharging Angie in a week.

As Den is about to leave the hospital, he is stopped by a sister, who tells him that Angie is expecting him and he tries to leave, but Angie notices him. Angie vows to Den that she will not touch another drop of alcohol and this time, she really means it. Angie points out she is a alcoholic and always has been and always will, meaning she'll always want a drink, but she isn't going to. Angie reminds Den that they made a deal that they were partners and she wants to make a go of it. Angie suggests to Den that they should get out of Walford because with The Vic, they will always have problems and the partnership between them can continue elsewhere. Angie explains that she has put up with a lot from him and she can always turn to the bottle and walk out on him, but she needs him. Den says it won't be easy to leave Walford due to certain things he can't leave behind and Angie asks him to give her one reason, apart from Sharon, why they can't leave and he has to make a decision.

Den visits Angie at the hospital and Angie is determined to stay of alcohol, despite telling another patient that she wanted a drink. Den thinks that is the best thing or she'll end up back in hospital or worse and Angie knows that she shouldn't kill herself over drinking. Den brings up Angie's suicide attempt from 2 years ago and he asks whether she really meant it or did she know he would find her and Angie admits that she did hope he would find her. Angie says it wasn't simple and a gamble and Den then mentions the time she told him she had 6 months to live and Angie says that nearly came true for her. Angie then changes the conversation to the future and they have to be in a pub because of money, but they can't stay in Walford and Den agrees to Angie's idea of moving to Richmond and he'll check some places out. Angie then begins to tell Den about her other idea, which would be the ideal thing or freak him out and she explains that despite being partners, there is something between them and she wants him to go home and think about it before she tells him her idea.

Den comes back and Angie says that going home is one thing as they have the new pub to look forward to and Angie thinks Den has changed his mind when she notices his lack of enthusiasm, but Den says he hasn't. Angie says that they are both Walford born and bred and she would understand he would find it hard to leave it all behind and she would be disappointed if he didn't want to leave, but she would understand. Angie then goes onto say that if they want to start again, then they have to wipe the slate clean and the fact they've made a lot of fresh starts proves they belong together and that she has only ever wanted Den and she looked at other men to make him jealous. Angie finally manages to get to the real idea and she says that she wants to start again, but not have things turn out how they did and she suggests to Den they could get married. Den points out they were married for 18 years and to look at how it turned out, but Angie says that he never regretted it and they had good and bad times. Angie feels things might be different as they were just kids the first time and Den agrees that they were just kids, but there's no excuse this time. Den realizes that Angie is serious about marriage, but Den says that she is great as partner, but he wouldn't marry her as she got the divorce and bled him dry and they will forget the conversation to not destroy their business partnership. Days later, Den brings Angie home from hospital and Angie is glad to be back.

Angie's departure
On the day Angie is leaving, she gets some things from the shop and allows Arthur to keep the change out of £50 whilst she asks Kathy for a suitcase. At Kathy's flat, Angie tells Kathy that she is her best friend and can always go to her and Kathy asks what is going on. Later, Angie asks Frank for help with her cases and Frank tells Pat what Angie is doing and Pat has been trying to tell Den all day and she gets Frank to have a go. Angie heads over to Sharon and Michelle's flat, where they are holding a party and where Den is, and she gives Den and Sharon both a letter and Sharon is surprised that her mum is leaving. Angie tells Den that she has fallen in love and Sonny is good, kind and funny as well as that he looks after her and most importantly, he loves her. Angie explains how they are going to fly to Marbella the following morning and they are going to run a beach restaurant, something she's always wanted. Den agrees with Angie when she says that things wouldn't work between them and that she managed to surprise them all this time. When Angie is going to her taxi, Den informs her that he knew of her plans all along and he saw his solicitor to ensure she doesn't get a penny out of him.

Angie's death


In 2002, Angie's heavy drinking finally caught up with her as she died of cirrhosis of the liver with Sharon by her side. Sharon brought Angie back home for her funeral and buried her parents next to each other.