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DIRTY DEN'S WIFE

How old is Anita Dobson and is she married to Brian May?

ANITA DOBSON played the late Leslie Grantham's wife Angie Watts on EastEnders for three years and their explosive relationship captivated viewers.

The actress is now back on the box in ITV's The Long Call.

 Actress Anita Dobson and her husband Brian May
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Actress Anita Dobson and her husband Brian MayCredit: Getty - Contributor

Who does Anita Dobson play in The Long Call?

Anita plays Grace Stephenson in The Long Call who is described as being "timid" and "suffers from anxiety".

The character is a member of the Barum Brethren and Dennis Stephenson’s wife.

Anita told the press: “I absolutely loved Grace. I think from the minute I picked the script up, I just thought ‘yes please – count me in!’.

“She’s so locked away, which is not me, and I just couldn’t wait to get inside and find out what was going on in her head."

Who is Anita Dobson?

Anita Dobson, 72, was born in Stepney, East London.

In the early Eighties she appeared on Jim Davidson's sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle.

As well as her most memorable role as EastEnders' Angie Watts, she has appeared in Red Dwarf, Split Ends, Hotel Babylon and The Last Detective among others.

She also got to No.4 in the UK charts in 1986 with her song Anyone Can Fall in Love - a song based around the EastEnders theme tune.

Anita has also had a major West End role - Mistress Morrible in Wicked.

She was also nominated for an Olivier Award for her part in Bryony Lavery's Frozen.

When did Anita Dobson play Dirty Den's wife in Eastenders ?

Anita played the wife of Dirty Den (Leslie Grantham) in Eastenders from 1985 until 1988.

Her character was killed off in 2002 after Angie died of cirrhosis of the liver.

The Christmas Day episode inc 1986 where Dirty Den handed her divorce papers was watched by a record-breaking 30.15m viewers.

Since leaving the soap, bosses asked her numerous times to return but she refused so they eventually killed off her character completely.

 The episode where Den handed Angie divorce papers pulled in more than 30m viewers
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The episode where Den handed Angie divorce papers pulled in more than 30m viewersCredit: Rex Features

Who's Anita Dobson's husband Brian May?

Anita has been married to Queen lead guitarist Brian May since 2000.

They met after he produced her record.

Brian is from Hampton, Middlesex, and co-founded Queen with Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor in 1970.

He has a degree in Physics from Imperial College London.

Since 2004 Brian has been in Queen + Paul Rodgers and Queen + Adam Lambert.

He plays on a guitar he built himself when he was 16 called the Red Special.

Ben Aldridge leads the cast in ITV's The Long Call about murder in a small Devonshire village
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