Chrissie Watts, played by Tracy-Ann Oberman, quickly became a memorable character during her 226 episodes on EastEnders. The character is known for delivering some of the soap’s most impactful lines and for being responsible for the death of the notorious villain, ‘Dirty’ Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).
Stepping into the shoes of Anita Dobson’s iconic Angie Watts was a huge challenge, but honestly, when I auditioned, I was surprisingly calm. The funny thing is, I didn’t even know I was up for the part of Kate! I just went in and did my thing, totally unaware of the pressure, which probably helped.
She recently told TopMob that out of the five actors called back for the audition, she was the only one who wasn’t a well-known celebrity.
Honestly, when I first heard about the character, I couldn’t quite figure out her purpose – she just seemed like another wife for Ian Beale. He’d just gone through another split, and my roommate back then was a massive EastEnders fan, so she was absolutely buzzing about it. It was all a bit lost on me at the time, but she was thrilled!
“We just worked out that [Chrissie] must be Ian Beale’s wife.”
She explained that after being brought onto the set, the casting director told her she’d be screen testing with Leslie Grantham. She was a little delayed because she’d just finished a voiceover job and had to travel to Elstree. When she arrived on set, Leslie Grantham asked if she was the voiceover artist, and she playfully replied by asking if he was the character who had been killed off the show fifteen years prior.
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We had a lot of playful back-and-forth, and just nine days later, I learned I’d been cast as his new wife. It all happened very quickly! The producer told me they thought Leslie and I had great chemistry, comparing our dynamic to the legendary Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, while he saw Leslie as Spencer Tracy and me as Katharine Hepburn.
“I thought, ‘I’ll take that.'”
After nearly 20 years, Oberman returned to filming in 2024, working alongside Letitia Dean, who plays Sharon Watts, for a week.
It was great seeing Chrissie and her old enemy finally lock horns while they were both in prison – they really cleared the air before she got out. Then, the best part – she got back together with Jake Moon, Joel Beckett played him, and they drove off in this gorgeous vintage red Jaguar. Talk about a happy ending! It felt like a classic movie moment.
The story wasn’t finished, so executive producer Ben Wadey asked Dominic Oberman to return last Christmas. This led to the reveal that Chrissie was responsible for tormenting Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan). We also learned that Chrissie and Jake had split up, and things weren’t going well for either of them.
“I had such a good time going back to the prison stuff, and I knew that I was going to be working with Michelle and Kim [Medcalf], who I’d spent an enormous amount of time with in the original days, and Jessie [Wallace], so it fitted in perfectly to my theatre jobs,” Oberman added.
Beyond Chrissie’s return, a major event over the holidays was the death of Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey). He was found dead at the Queen Vic after an argument with Zoe, and it was later revealed that their daughter, Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), had killed him.
Zoe was imprisoned, believing Chrissie was responsible for the crime. Next week, the story appears to be wrapping up as Chrissie agrees to bring Jasmine back to Albert Square after reconnecting with Jake.
“Chrissie is his fatal flaw, he can’t let it go,” she laughed.
They have a very strong and loving connection, largely because they’ve become each other’s chosen family and rely on that bond. She was drawn to Jasmine’s spirited personality and felt a strange, protective instinct towards her.
In upcoming episodes, Jasmine will be arrested after Chrissie provides information to the police. Kat Moon (Wallace) was devastated to discover her granddaughter may have tricked everyone into thinking she was blameless.
But could Jasmine’s time in the police interview room cause more upheaval for Chrissie?
She seems anxious, likely because she recently got out of prison and is trying to stay out of trouble with the police. She spent twenty years incarcerated, and she had a valid reason for her sentence.
She seems really worried that Jasmine, despite being a bit naive, might cause her trouble again. While she doesn’t seem particularly loyal to anyone at The Square, seeing Sam and Zoe has clearly stirred up some old feelings for her.
She doesn’t believe she owes Kat anything. She’s simply worried that whatever this person does or says could completely destroy her life.
It’s still uncertain if Chrissie and Jake will continue their story on the show. Meanwhile, actress Tilly Oberman is getting ready for her next part as Geri Essendine in a new adaptation of Noël Coward’s play, Present Laughter.
She said with a smile, “This is easily one of the funniest plays I’ve ever come across. I’m so excited for people to finally see it – if you’re a fan of Chrissie, you’re going to adore this character.”
She’s scheduled to meet the King on Tuesday and receive an MBE, which she was awarded as part of his Birthday Honours.
Oberman chuckled, saying he initially thought he’d received a parking ticket. The official-looking brown envelope had him worried, but he was thrilled to discover it was actually notification of his MBE!
Chrissie just can’t stay away from The Square. She always finds herself returning, and there’s something about it that draws her back.
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at TopMob, keeping fans up-to-date with all the latest news and spoilers from popular shows like Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he worked as a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years, and he also has experience working directly on the sets of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
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2026-02-14 13:08