EastEnders legend from the 80s has ’emotional’ reunion on set 37 years after exit
Ross Kemp will front a special documentary about EastEnders next week for its 40th anniversary, with the likes of Anita Dobson and Pam St Clement among the guests on it
An EastEnders star has said she felt “emotional” reuniting with a former colleague for the show’s 40th anniversary.
The BBC show – which debuted back in 1985 – will mark the milestone occasion next week. The celebrations are set to include a live episode, in which the result of a public vote to decide the outcome of a love triangle will be revealed.
A documentary, EastEnders: 40 Years on The Square, will also be released for the anniversary. The hour-long special, fronted by Ross Kemp, will revisit “iconic moments” and “groundbreaking storylines,” as well as providing a behind-the-scenes look at the soap through interviews with stars.
Anita Dobson, 75, is among the former cast members who will appear in the new documentary. The actor played Angie Watts and made her debut in the first episode. She then remained on the show for three years before leaving in 1988.
Angie is particularly remembered for her relationship with husband Den Watts (played by the late Leslie Grantham), with whom she ran the Queen Vic pub. More than 30 million viewers are said to have tune in on Christmas Day in 1986 when Den served Angie divorce papers in an iconic scene. She left Walford two years later and died off-screen in 2002.
Former cast member Anita reminisced about the show whilst at its production base in Hertfordshire for the documentary. As reported by Metro, she reunited with on-screen daughter Letitia Dean, 57, who plays Sharon Watts, on set.
Anita Dobson (centre) reunited with Letitia Dean (right) for EastEnders’ 40th anniversary after having been part of an on-screen family with Leslie Grantham (left) on the soap in the 1980s (
Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty Images)
Asked how it feels to be together again, Anita says: “Absolutely wonderful! I feel very emotional, very happy.” The outlet reports that she goes on to say that Letitia “looks beautiful” and expresses her love for her former co-star.
Letitia – who is herself an original cast member of EastEnders – describes Anita as having been “like a second mum” to her when they worked together. Teasing their bond off-screen, Anita adds: “She was the baby girl I never had.”
Anita isn’t the only former cast member back for 40 Years on The Square. Others interviewed for the documentary include Pam St Clement, who played Pat Butcher, and Lucy Benjamin, who’s played Lisa Fowler on the long-running soap.
The documentary will air on Monday ahead of EastEnders’ 40th anniversary on Wednesday. A “special” hour-long episode will air that evening for the occasion ahead of the subsequent live episode then being broadcast on Thursday.
It was announced just days ago that episodes next week will be released on BBC iPlayer simultaneously with them airing on BBC One at 7.30pm. Episodes are typically released on the streaming platform as early as 6am prior to being broadcast.
EastEnders: 40 Years on The Square will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm on Monday.
