Tony Cowell talks to Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson talks about playing another baddie in Annie The Musical, why she and her hubby, Brian May, are the perfect match and how she first dealt with fame
She found fame as feisty Angie Watts, the boozy landlady of The Queen Vic in 1985, when EastEnders first appeared on our screens. Since leaving the soap three years later, Anita Dobson has gone on to enjoy huge success. On TV, she’s featured in shows like
HotelBabylon and Red Dwarf, and appeared in West End musicals
Wicked and Chicago. In 2011, in honour of her dear mum, Ann, who died from dementia in 2006, she even danced her heart out on StrictlyCome Dancing. Now, the 69-year-old is treading the boards again as the emotionally battered Miss Hannigan in Annie.
Anita, are you having fun playing Miss Hannigan in AnnieTheMusical? Another boozy bad girl!
Oh, yes. I do play a lot of bad girls, don’t I? But I have a theory that to be able to play a really good baddie, you have to be nice. You have to be the other side of the coin to allow yourself to explore the dark side of a villain! Miss Hannigan is the perfect role for me because everyone knows who she is, and people love to hate her.
You haven’t really stopped working since EastEnders, have you?
No, fortunately I haven’t! I’m very grateful because I feel very lucky to still be offered work, as I will be 70 in April! I had been working for years before I got that big break in EastEnders – so I feel I’ve come a long way from growing up in east London. I’m not sure what I’d do without work – I’m not one to just sit at home.
Is it surprising how many people still talk about Angie?
Well, I’m really very proud of playing her because she is still being talked about 30 years later. Playing Angie changed my life in every possible way. I wouldn’t have met Brian had I not been in EastEnders – so for that alone, I’m so very grateful.
Was sudden fame hard to get used to [at one point, Anita was the second most photographed woman in Britain, after the late Princess Diana]?
Yes, it was hard. I went from zero to a hundred overnight. One minute, I was a jobbing actress living in a council flat in Stepney. Suddenly, overnight, I was in the newspapers almost every day. It was a huge culture shock to have people knocking on your door, pushing cameras in your face. I couldn’t go out and walk into a pub in those days but look, I don’t regret a single moment of it. It was my job, and I loved it.
Are you more comfortable
on stage than on TV these days?
Probably, yes, because I spent 13 years in theatre before I even did TV. People always remember me from EastEnders, but I did so much work before getting that big break. So when I left EastEnders, it was easy to slip back into doing theatre again.
Is Brian very supportive of your career?
Yes, and he did come to see me in Cinderella in Hull last Christmas, but he couldn’t deal with all the noise the kids made in the audience! We are both very good at being truthful with each other. For example, I might put on a dress and he’ll say, ‘That’s not my favourite thing I’ve seen you in, but it’s good.’ I’m the same way with his music – if I don’t like a song, I’ll tell him. So, we both support each other. I think that’s crucial in a relationship.
You once said that Brian was just like an ‘absentminded professor’. Is that still fairly accurate?
Ha, yes, it’s totally true. First and foremost, he’s a scientist. The music thing is a natural spin-off because he’s a mathematician, and a lot of mathematicians are drawn to music. His mind cannot be bothered with the minutiae of life, it’s too busy with NASA and spaceships going to Mars.
You’ve been happily married since 2000. What’s your secret?
I don’t think there’s a secret to any relationship. You only stay together if you really want to. If you want to be with that person, you will and there’s nothing anyone can say to change your mind. I think the reason why Brian and I are still together is because we are such opposites. He’s very serious, and I’m a very happy, upbeat person. I like being with someone who is as grounded as Brian is. So we sort of balance each other out.
You look amazing, do you have a fitness regime?
Not at all. I’m the laziest girl in town! I don’t exercise, and I don’t go jogging or to a gym. The thing with me is, I’m always so active. We have a lot of stairs in our house, so I’m for ever running up and down them. I do all my own shopping, so I like to get out and about. Then, my favourite thing to relax is to watch movies on TV late at night. So no, definitely not!
Anita Dobson is on tour with Annie until 27 April. See anniethemusical tour.uk for tickets.