EastEnders icon Anita Dobson unrecognisable in | UK News

Legendary actress Anita Dobson is best recognised by her huge smile lined with shiny pink lipstick and her full head of curly gray hair, which is often styled in a elegant updo. The appearing veteran has graced the screens since the early Eighties, having starred in the sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle, before her iconic portrayal as the alcoholic landlady Angie Watts in the BBC‘s EastEnders. Despite only being in Walford for three years, Dobson made a lasting influence, as more than 30million people tuned in to watch her character be slapped with divorce papers during the 1986 Christmas Day episode, before her 1988 exit.

During her tenure on Albert Square, Dobson embraced darker hair and her distinctive full curly perm coiffure. Her locks turned a cultural phenomenon, nicknamed the ‘Angie Watts perm’ and served as an iconic image of the character’s feisty character and the period’s fashion.

Away from the BBC, the actress appeared worlds away from her heat and acquainted self as she underwent a jaw-dropping transformation for an ITV function. In 2021, Dobson returned to appearing with a function in the ITV drama, The Long Call, where she performed Grace Stephenson.

To convey the character to life, the actress went make-up free with only a few strands from the entrance of her iconic hair uncovered. The homicide thriller also noticed her stray from her modern self as she wore dated and modest clothes to painting the strict and manipulative Evangelical Christian.

At the time, followers have been also shocked by the transformation, as they took to social media, with one penning: “Wouldn’t have recognised Anita Dobson,” and another echoing: “Did not know that was Anita Dobson.”

Highlighting that the character’s emotional baggage introduced itself in her look, Dobson quipped: “All those endless years of being without a proper voice, without being able to express yourself either verbally or physically – I mean, those clothes, for a start! – it does something to a person.”

These days, the actress seems to be her typical glamorous self when she makes pink carpet and discuss show appearances, often accompanied by her legendary Queen husband, Brian May.

The couple have been last photographed together publicly in November, when the star was made an OBE and obtained the honour during a ceremony at Windsor Castle, where she proudly posed alongside her husband of 25 years.

During the event, Dobson appeared trendy in a stylish, tailor-made black swimsuit and skirt, which she paired with a pink top beneath, which peeked through the top of her blazer.

The 76-year-old added her matching pink and black hat to her look with pink gloves and stored her jewelry to a minimal with simple pearl earrings.