Anita's Sparkling Success

- Sue Crawford

It’s hard to believe it’s 30 years since Anita Dobson created one of soap’s most iconic roles – EastEnders’ tough-talking, but emotionally-battered Angie Watts, landlady of the Queen Vic and long-suffering wife of the infamous Dirty Den.

The intervening years have been kind to Anita; she has the joie de vivre of a woman half her age and an acting CV as long as your arm. What’s more, at 69, she’s as in demand as ever – her latest role sees her play Jayne Torvill’s first skating coach in a new ITV drama Torvill And Dean, which charts the ice champions’ early days.

Yet ageing is something Anita says she endures, rather than embraces.