Anita Dobson

Career

Dobson was born in Stepney, London. She trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Dobson appeared in a few series in the early 1980s, including the Jim Davidson sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983), but she is best known 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 until 1988.

EastEnders

Dobson was not the first person to be cast as Angie – another actress, Jean Fennell, had already begun recording when it was decided that her performance did not gel with the original idea of the character, and Dobson was substituted in the role. Whilst playing Angie Watts, alcoholic landlady of the Queen Vic Dobson worked closely with actor Leslie Grantham, landlord of the Queen Victoria who played her adulterous husband 'Dirty Den Watts'. On Christmas Day in 1986, 30.15 million viewers tuned in to witness Den handing Angie her divorce papers, giving the soap its highest ever episode rating, which has yet to be surpassed by any other soap in the UK.

Since quitting EastEnders in 1988, BBC bosses made numerous offers for her to return, but she has not 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 alcohol poisoning and was brought home to be buried by her on-screen daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), who had returned to the show the previous year.

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 lasted for only one series. She has also starred in the BBC dramas Dangerfield (1995), Sunburn (1999) 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).

Dobson worked on the ITV1 police drama The Bill in 2005 and appeared in the radio Doctor Who serial Blood of the Daleks. Dobson has also played four different guest characters in the BBC1 medical drama Casualty, appearing in episodes in October 2000, July 2009, July 2011 and March 2013; she also had two guest roles in Casualty's sister series, Holby City, in September 2003 and December 2014 respectively. In 2016 Dobson appeared alongside Simon Callow in the Gold comedy series The Rebel.

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 Queen guitarist Brian May, who later became her husband. She has also released several other singles and albums with minor chart success.

On stage Dobson has starred in repertory at Salisbury Playhouse in Shaw's Pygmalion in 1980; the 1981 Ray Davies/Barrie Keeffe musical Chorus Girls and 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. She also appeared as Mama Morton in the West End musical Chicago.

Dobson 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.

In 2012, Dobson played the role of Mistress Quickly in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

From September 2016 to January 2017 Dobson starred as Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London.

Strictly Come Dancing

On 6 September 2011 it was announced that Dobson would take part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing. In the launch show of ninth series on 10 September 2011, it was revealed that she would be partnered by Latin specialist Robin Windsor. She was eliminated on 27 November 2011 after Robin Windsor had been unable to dance for a week due to an injury. Anita Dobson therefore rehearsed and danced the Cha Cha Cha and the Swingathon with Brendan Cole.

Awards

For her time on EastEnders as Angie Watts, Dobson received the Pye Award for Outstanding Female Personality.

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, Dobson was made a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Dobson is a patron of the theatre charity the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.