Ooh, She Does Like A Nice White Frock! The Most Wed Women In Soap (Part i)

Ever since that flash-forward scene first aired in EastEnders as part of the show's anniversary celebrations earlier this year - a first-ever for the soap - fans are eagerly awaiting to discover the identity of the man who lies dead on the floor of The Queen Vic... as well as the identity of his killer. We shall soon find out - and we cannot wait!

But another interesting detail from that scene caught our eye... Sharon in a wedding gown which indicated that unless there was a fancy dress party on at The Vic, she was getting married - again! In light of recent events, we're wondering if Sharon Watts/Mitchell/Rickman/Mitchell again/Beale/Watts/soon-to-be- Taylor (maybe!) will actually go through with her wedding to Keanu Taylor. So many mysteries to solve this Christmas!

Just before she actually married him herself, Sharon said of her oldest friend Ian that you only had to smile at him and he was ordering wedding cake. Quite a statement coming from a lady who's about to head up the aisle for the fifth time! During her many years on the Square, Sharon has had quite an eventful love-life. Sharon has been engaged to a vicar; had her heart broken by Simon Wicks; had her married lover return to his wife; lost her fiancé Tom in a house fire; was jilted just before her wedding by Jack Branning, had a fling with Kheerat Panesar... and those are just the ones we can remember! And that's all before we come to the infamous Sharongate...

Sharongate - one of the most famous storylines in EastEnders' history where Sharon embarked on an affair with her brother-in-law Phil, thus ending her marriage to the very volatile Grant Mitchell, causing Sharon to leave Walford and head to Florida. But upon her return, Phil and Sharon picked up where they had left off, continuing an on-off relationship that has lasted til present day (where they are currently 'off' again!) After marrying and divorcing Phil, Sharon entered into a marriage of convenience with Ian, which ended after he discovered that she was following in the footsteps of wife number one Cindy in trying to have him killed!

But it was her second husband, Dennis Rickman, who EastEnders' fans believe was the one true love of Sharon's life, and had he not been murdered by gangster Johnny Allen, there's a good chance they'd still be together now. When it was announced that Sharon was to fall for her adoptive dad's son, viewers wondered if writers had lost their minds! But we don't mind admitting that this was one of those times when we got it wrong, and Sharon and Dennis went on to become one of the best, though tragically short-lived, Albert Square couples. It would appear that Sharon was never the same after Dennis's death which probably led to her making some rather questionable choices over the years.

Of course Sharon isn't the only female soap character who has been keeping bridal stores in business. There are many women in soap who have made it to the altar more more times than they've had appointments at the local nail bar! EastEnders' Peggy Mitchell has been married three times, with Melanie Healy and Denise Fox outdoing her by getting married four times. And Kathy Beale has headed down the aisle a fourth time in a failed attempt to make an honest man out of Tom Cotton. Three was also the magic number for Neighbours' Gail Lewis and Helen Daniels, as it was for Home and Away's Pippa Fletcher. But they were all pipped at the post by Sunset Beach's Bette Kazenkazrahi who had married a whopping seven times!

We've already looked at some of the most married men in soap, and not wanting to leave out the ladies, we now turn our attention to the soap brides who are battling out to be soap's answer to Zsa-Zsa Gabor.

1. Gail Platt (Coronation Street)

 BRIAN TILSLEY (m. 1979)

'Our Gail' has never been what you might call lucky in love. It all started to go downhill in the late seventies when Gail met and married husband number one - Brian Tilsley. The marriage produced a son, Nicky in 1980, and unfortunately for Gail, a meddling mother-in-law, Ivy, who was the source of much friction for Gail and Brian. When the Tilsleys' marriage hit a rocky spot, both spouses had their heads turned by other people, and Brian eventually left to work overseas. The couple eventually patched up their marriage, and Brian settled into the street, opening up a garage. But money worries caused the couple to move in with Brian's parents which obviously pleased Gail and Ivy no end! Unsurprisingly marriage woes set in again, forcing Gail to walk out, taking little Nicky with her, though the Tilsleys eventually reunited. 

But the happy-ever-after didn't last long, when in 1986, Gail began an affair with Brian's cousin, Ian, but after getting pregnant, she realised that she didn't know who the baby's father was. After Sarah-Louise was born the following year, she was proven to be Brian's daughter. The damage however was done and Brian was unable to bond with his baby daughter. The Tilsleys split yet again with both going on to start new relationships and get divorced. Ironically however, it was Brian's failed attempt to kidnap his son that led to him reconciling with Gail and remarrying in 1988. But once again it wasn't to last and Gail asked for a divorce. But it was a night out at a club which ended the Tilsley's marriage once and for all when Brian was stabbed and tragically killed, resulting in a heartbroken Ivy unfairly blaming Gail.

MARTIN PLATT (m 1991)

Gail eventually found love again with Martin Platt, who moved in with her and the children, which caused a bit of a stir as he was ten years younger than her. When Gail discovered that she was pregnant in 1990, she decided to terminate the pregnancy as she didn't think she could cope with three children and didn't want Martin to feel burdened by fatherhood at such a young age. But Martin persuaded Gail to keep the baby and that Christmas baby David was born completing the Platt family with Martin going on to adopt Nicky and Sarah - a move that did not go down well with Ivy. 

But problems arose in the form of unstable nurse Carmel Finnen who developed an infatuation with Martin; a teenage Nicky's strained relationship with his adoptive father, and Martin's one-night stand with a colleague. But it was his affair with nurse Rebecca Hopkins, in which Martin was planning to leave Gail until he found out that Sarah was pregnant, that put the final nail into the coffin that was the Platts' marriage. However Martin and Gail were on good terms, though this was tested after Martin started a short-lived relationship with Gail's friend, Sally. Eventually Martin left the cobbles in 2005 for a new life in Liverpool with his new girlfriend Robyn where the two started a family of their own.

RICHARD HILLMAN (m.2002)

But it was while Martin was still living in Weatherfield, that Gail found love with the man who was to become the most infamous of all of Gail's husbands - the murderous Richard Hillman. Also known as Norman Bates with a briefcase! Richard was the cousin of Gail's dear friend Alma, and the two meet at Alma's funeral. Gail and Richard soon started a relationship and they went on to marry in the summer of 2002.

Unfortunately Richard hadn't been completely honest with Gail about his finances or that he was facing bankruptcy. This led to a chain of sinister incidents starting with Richard leaving his business partner, Duggie Ferguson to die after he had suffered an accident, before going on to kill his ex-wife Patricia with a shovel after she threatened to expose his fraudulent dealings. After this Richard's venomous behaviour knew no bounds and he resorted to all forms of devious behaviour: bribery, investment scams; kidnap; the attempted murders of his mother in law, Audrey, as well as Emily Bishop, and sadly murdering young mum, Maxine Peacock, and framed his stepdaughter's ex-boyfriend Aiden Critchley for her death.

With his crimes catching up with him, Richard eventually confessed all to a horrified Gail before leaving Weatherfield, apparently for good. But nothing's ever that simple in soapland, and Richard Hillman returned to the cobbles once again with the intention of killing his stepfamily as well as himself. But when his initial plan was thwarted by Martin and Audrey, Richard abducted the family, driving straight into a canal. Gail and her family survived. Richard didn't. And so was the demise of one of soap's most notorious villains.

JOE McINTYRE (2010)

It's OK ladies - Our Gail did not marry a New Kid! Instead she fell in love with the father of Tina, her son's ex-girlfriend. But seriously, what is it with Gail and men who are severely in debt??? Gail goes on to marry Joe not realising that his business has collapsed and he is heavily in debt. But a short time later, Joe comes up with a plan to fake his own death in order to obtain the life insurance money. He filled his wife in on the plan which left Gail appalled. After the two got into a physical altercation, Joe sailed away but in a bizarre twist of fate, he met with an accident and drowned.

When news of Joe's death reached Gail, she thought that he had gone ahead with his devious plan, and believing that he would return, she and David told everyone that he was away working. But Gail was left distraught when she discovered that Joe really was dead. Unfortunately due to inconsistencies in her story, and statements by witnesses who had seen the fight, Gail was arrested for murder during Joe's wake, charged and denied bail. Though she was later found not guilty and released.

MICHAEL RODWELL (2015)

Remember how Neighbours' Scott and Charlene met after Scott mistook his future spouse for a burglar? Well that's how Gail met husband number five, Michael Rodwell. Except that there was no mistake about it - Michael really was a burglar! Posing as a gasman, Michael attempted to steal valuables from Gail's home which led to Gail getting hurt in a scuffle between them, and becoming traumatized. But Gail and Michael got to meet again through the Restorative Justice Scheme, and a very forgiving Gail forged a friendship with Michael which led to love once he was released. Will this lady ever learn? Probably not, but determined to get him back on his feet, the two moved in together and later married.

But the marriage soon collapses when Michael discovers that the son he has reunited with is actually an imposter and that Gail knew about this. He demanded a divorce and then started a relationship with Eileen Grimshaw which led to a lot of friction between her and Gail, although Michael and Gail did later reconcile. However it is an altercation with Eileen's new love, Pat Phelan, that leads to Michael's sad demise after he suffers a heart attack. A heartbroken Gail was left with the task of scattering his ashes close to the site where they had planned to renew their vows.

1. Janine Butcher (EastEnders)

Not even forty years old and she's already clocked five husbands! When Janine Butcher revealed just before her marriage to her latest victim, we mean fiancé Mick Carter, that this was to be her fifth waltz down the aisle, viewers were scratching their heads as they tried to remember who were the previous five grooms who had been daft enough to marry Janine.

BARRY EVANS

There was husband number one, bumbling, gullible Barry Evans, who had been Janine's kind-of-sort-of stepbrother when his dad Roy married Janine's stepmother Pat. Ian Beale is often deemed one of life's biggest losers but we think that title goes to Barry who was even more hapless than Ian. Vulnerable after his divorce from his first wife, Barry fell into a relationship with scheming Janine. He saw her as his second chance at love. She saw him as a cash cow, and when it was believed that Barry may not have long to live, Janine - who had already started an affair with Barry's friend, Paul Truman - rushed to make it down the aisle to become the next Mrs. Evans before Barry's heart gave out.

And while her scheming paid off, it was on their wedding night that both she and Barry discovered that his diagnosis had been a false alarm and he was given a clean bill of health. That was too much for Janine, who during a confrontation on a hilltop with Barry she announced she had never loved him before Barry accidentally fell down the side of the hill - while Janine watched as he died from his injuries.

DAVID BERKOWITZ

Then came elderly David Berkowitz who Janine - or maybe that should be Janine's alter ego, Judith Bernstein - was exchanging vows with when her stepmother Pat burst into the synagogue with Ricky, and Janine's friend Billy Mitchell in tow, before revealing Janine's true identity while declaring that her stepdaughter was "as Jewish as a bacon sandwich," - a line that has gone down in EastEnders' history of spectacular quotes. Poor David, mortified at the revelation that the woman he loved wasn't who she said she was, collapsed and died in front of the horrified congregation. Janine in the meanwhile managed to worm her way to Walford, now leaving two dead husbands in her wake.

RYAN MOLLOY

Husband number three was Whitney Dean's half-brother Ryan Molloy. Young, good-looking and charismatic, Ryan was everything that Janine's previous two husbands were not. Needless to say that Janine couldn't believe her luck when Ryan, making the biggest mistake of his life, proposed to her. So Janine became Mrs. Molloy and all was well for a while... Until the pitter patter of tiny feet could be heard. No, Janine wasn't pregnant but she had discovered that Ryan was the father of Stacey Slater's baby daughter, Lilly, and Janine was far from happy about it. Her jealousy and spite eventually drove Ryan into Stacey's arms, and the two were about to start a future together with baby Lilly. But a spanner was thrown in the works when Janine discovered that Stacey was the one who had murdered Archie Mitchell, causing a terrified Stacey to flee the Square, taking Lilly with her but leaving a heartbroken Ryan behind. Ryan eventually left the Square but he should be pleased because as devastated as he was at losing Stacey and Lilly, he is the only one of Janine's husbands who's still alive and kicking!

MICHAEL MOON

Janine's fourth husband was Alfie Moon's suave cousin Michael Moon. The two got married when Janine was pregnant with their daughter Scarlet. But married life proved to be far from easy and Michael eventually started an affair with Scarlet's nanny Alice Branning. During a tense confrontation, Janine ended up stabbing Michael to death, and then framed Alice for it.

MICK CARTER (m. 2022)

Then along came husband number five - lovable publican, Mick Carter. As with Barry, Mick was devastated after his marriage to childhood sweetheart, Linda hit the rocks, and he became susceptible to the charms of the manipulative, scheming Janine who was as good at sniffing out vulnerability as a sniffer dog is good at sniffing out illegal substances. Mick thought he'd been given another chance at love but viewers knew that what Janine was really in love with was the idea of becoming landlady of her former childhood home the Queen Vic, and providing both her and Scarlet with the type of family life neither of them had had. And in order to get that, Janine's plotting, scheming and conniving knew no bounds including framing Linda for a car crash in which it was really Janine who was behind the wheel. However all of Janine's lies caught up with her on Christmas Day - just one day after becoming Mrs. Carter - in which her own daughter exposed her for being a fraud. Sadly it was Mick's determination to ensure that Janine didn't get away with her crimes that saw him pursuing her before tragically going missing at sea and is now presumed dead.

All of the above should be enough of a deterrent for any man daft enough to think of proposing to her, but knowing Janine we're sure she'll snare husband number six on her next return to Walford...

Check out the second part of our post Ooh, She Does Love a Nice White Frock!

Photos from YouTube

Word cloud by Angel Noire