| Chrissie Watts | |||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Tracy-Ann Oberman | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2004–2005, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 2720 29 April 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 6973 12 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Louise Berridge (2004) Chris Clenshaw (2024) | ||||||||||||||||
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Chrissie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tracy-Ann Oberman. She first appeared on 29 April 2004 and transpired to be the second wife of the show's "most enduring character", Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) - and thus became a prominent regular for the next 18 months. In 2005, Chrissie was the focus of one of "the programme's biggest and most high-profile narratives" when she killed her husband in self-defence at the end of the special 20th anniversary episode. The broadcast, airing on 18 February, was watched by 14.34 million people - with "almost 60% of possible viewers" tuning in to see Chrissie killing Den. The character was credited by former head of BBC Drama Serials, Mal Young, as "anchoring the success of the anniversary storyline", and was described on the news programme BBC Breakfast as the "centrepiece" of the show, with the on-screen drama playing out over the course of 2005 and culminating in Chrissie's departure on 9 December 2005. On 3 July 2024, it was announced that Oberman would be reprising the role later in the year for a short stint. Chrissie's return aired on 5 September 2024 in prison, and she departed the show on 12 September, following her release after serving nearly 19 years for the murder of Den.
Chrissie Watts was created by the production team to be more the "equal" of her notorious and villainous husband than his long-suffering first wife, Angie (Anita Dobson). The character was described by Oberman as being like Angie "but with 15 more years of feminism behind her", and was hailed by the TV editor of the Evening Standard as "the only strong woman left in Walford". She became well known for her deviousness and "scheming", echoing the traits of her husband, with the official EastEnders website characterising her as "happy to play mind games" and "often two steps ahead" of Den. As part of the Watts family and the last of its major members to have appeared on the show, Chrissie's storylines explored her tumultuous marriage to Den; bonding with his adopted daughter Sharon (Letitia Dean) and her two adoptive siblings, Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) and Vicki Fowler (Scarlett Alice Johnson); conspiring with Den to retake ownership of The Queen Victoria public house; forming a relationship with her boyfriend Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) following Den's murder; attempting to sell the Queen Vic to Jake's gangland boss Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) and local businessman Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt); being blackmailed by young wayward Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner); and feuding with the rival Mitchell family. During her time on the show, Chrissie sparked numerous clashes with other female characters - such as her archenemy Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf); Stacey's cousin Kat (Jessie Wallace); Phil's girlfriend Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny); Kat's daughter Zoe (Michelle Ryan); and Sam's mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor). It was noted by Oberman herself that Chrissie "had more fights on EastEnders than most women have in their whole lives", and was constantly scheming against those who got in her way, thereby earning her the sobriquet of "super-bitch".
Oberman won praise for her "three-dimensional portrayal of a classic soap bitch", with Chrissie hailed as "helping revive the show's fortunes that had been lagging somewhat in recent years". According to the Daily Mirror reporter Elizabeth Hassell, the character became a "national TV heroine" to viewers shortly after arriving, for standing up to the antics of her dastardly husband, and is most often cited as a "strong" and "clever" woman, as well as being "hard as nails" in "the grand tradition of landladies of The Queen Vic". Although generally well received by viewers, the character was described as a "ludicrous Lady MacBeth wannabe" by Jim Shelley of the Daily Mirror. Other critics have variously called Chrissie a "witch", "venomous", and the show's resident "black widow".