Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949 in Stepney, London) is an English television actress.

Career

Dobson trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Dobson's first starring role was in the 1983 sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle, but she is most famous for playing the emotionally battered and alcoholic landlady, Angie Watts, in the BBC1 soap opera, EastEnders, a role which she played from the show's inception in 1985 to 1988.

EastEnders

Dobson was not the first person to be cast as Angie – another actress, Jean Fennell, had already began recording when it was decided that her performance did not gel with the original idea of the character, and so Dobson landed the role at the last minute. Whilst playing Angie Watts, Dobson worked closely with actor Leslie Grantham, who played her adulterous husband 'Dirty Den Watts'. 30.1 million viewers tuned in on Christmas day in 1986, to witness Den handing Angie her divorce papers, giving the soap its highest ever episode rating, which has yet to be beaten by any other plotline from any other soap in the UK.

Since quitting EastEnders in 1988, BBC bosses made numerous offers for her to return, but she never accepted any of the offers; recently she commented "Why tarnish the gorgeous creation that was Angie Watts?". Bosses finally gave up hope of ever tempting her to return, and in 2002 the character of Angie Watts died off-screen of an alcohol-related illness and brought home to be buried by her on-screen daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), who had recently returned to the show.

Other roles

Since her exit from EastEnders she has appeared in many television, film and theatre roles, including the BBC sitcoms Red Dwarf, Rab C Nesbitt and her own sitcom series Split Ends (1989), which failed to succeed and lasted for only one series. She has also starred in the BBC drama's Dangerfield (1995) and Sunburn (1999); hospital dramas Casualty (2000) Holby City (2003) and Hotel Babylon (2007), and the ITV detective series The Last Detective (2004) among others, along with the film Sweet Revenge (1998). She has also been reunited with fellow EastEnder Leslie Grantham in the Sky production called The Stretch and Five's Horror series Urban Gothic (2000). Most recently she signed up for the ITV1 police drama The Bill in 2005 and had appeared in the radio Doctor Who serial Blood of the Daleks. In an episode aired on 4 July 2009, Anita made a second guest appearance in Casualty, playing a psychic called Cora.

Musical and stage career

Dobson has had a spell as a singer, with varying degrees of chart success. In August 1986 she reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart with "Anyone Can Fall in Love," a song based on the theme music of EastEnders, which was written by Simon May. The song was produced by Dobson's husband, Queen guitarist Brian May. She has also released several other singles and albums with minor chart success.

On stage Dobson has starred as Hazel Fletcher in the short-lived musical Budgie, with Adam Faith. She also appeared in the revived Tom Stoppard musical Rough Crossing and played a holocaust survivor in My Lovely Shayna Maidel.

Dobson most recently played the role of Gertrude in the English Touring Theatre production of Hamlet, at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End, following a UK tour in Autumn 2005.

Awards

In 1987 Dobson was voted Rear of the Year — an award given to people with a notable posterior.[99005]

Dobson was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in Frozen at the Royal National Theatre: Cottesloe.

In 2007, Anita was made a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Personal life

She once dated her EastEnders cast mate Tom Watt who played Lofty Holloway, but is now married to Queen guitarist Brian May.

External links