EastEnders icon makes shock return 37 years after last appearance in 40th anniversary special

Former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson has shocked fans with a surprise return to show, 37 years after her last appearance.

Dobson, 75, played Queen Vic pub barmaid Angie Watts from 1985 to 1987, starring in the first ever episode of the BBC soap, and returned to screens tonight (19 February) as part of the show’s 40th anniversary storyline.

Angie was seen appearing in a hallucination by her daughter Sharon (Letitia Dean), who was trapped in debris after the Queen Vic was destroyed in a gas explosion.

Dobson left EastEnders in 1988 after starring one of the most-watched soap storylines in British television history - 30.1m viewers tuned in to watch Angie Watts serve her husband Den with divorce papers on Christmas Day 1986.