chrissie watts, played by tracy-ann oberman, first appears in april 2004 as the second wife of the show's "most enduring character", den watts (leslie grantham), becoming a prominent regular for the next 18 months. in 2005 she is the focus of one of "the programme's biggest and most high-profile narratives" when she kills her husband in a fit of rage during 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 take revenge. 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 the year and culminating in chrissie's departure in december.