carol hanley, played by sheila white, is the biological mother of sharon watts (letitia dean), whom she had with gavin sullivan (paul nicholas) before she was adopted. carol is tracked down by sharon, and sharon's best friend michelle fowler (susan tully) visits carol, who is now married to ron (dean harris) and heavily pregnant with a daughter. michelle speaks to them about contacting sharon after years of absence. sharon later visits carol after her baby is born. carol and sharon get on well, but carol is anxious about introducing sharon to her two half-brothers, kristopher and jonathan. after carol's confession that she only thinks of her as a good friend, sharon realises there will never be a parental bond between them and stops seeing her.