- Anita Dobson
Infobox actor
name = Anita Dobson
birthdate = Birth date and age|1949|4|29|df=y
location =Stepney ,London ,England
deathdate =
deathplace =
birthname =
othername =
spouse =Brian May Anita Dobson (born
29 April 1949 inStepney ,London ) is an Englishtelevision actress.Career
Dobson trained at the
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art s inLondon .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 andalcoholic landlady ,Angie Watts , in theBBC1 soap opera , "EastEnders ", a role which she played from the shows 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 actorLeslie Grantham , who played her adulterous husband 'DirtyDen Watts '. 30.1 million viewers tuned in onChristmas day in 1986, to witness Den handing Angie herdivorce 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 daughterSharon 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) and "Holby City " (2003), and the ITV detective series "The Last Detective " (2004) among others, along with the tv film "The Revengers' Comedies" (1997). 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 theITV1 police drama "The Bill " in 2005 and had appeared in the radio "Doctor Who" serial "Blood of the Daleks ".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 theUK Singles Chart with "Anyone Can Fall in Love ," a song based on the theme music of "EastEnders", which was written bySimon May . The song was produced by Dobson's husband, Queen guitaristBrian May . She has also released several other singles and albums with minor chart success.On stage Dobson has starred as Hazel Fletcher in the shortlived musical "Budgie", with
Adam Faith . She also appeared in the revivedTom Stoppard musical "Rough Crossing " and played aholocaust survivor in "My Lovely Shayna Maidel".Dobson most recently played the role of Gertrude in the English Touring Theatre production of "
Hamlet ", at theNew 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. [http://www.rearoftheyearcompetition.com/history.html]Dobson was nominated for a 2003
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in Frozen at theRoyal 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 guitaristBrian May .External links
*imdb name|id=0229886|name=Anita Dobson
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