Anita Dobson "would never have met" Brian May if it wasn't for her record breaking 'EastEnders' episode.
Brian May and Anita Dobson
The 70-year-old actress played Albert Square icon Angie Watts from 1985 to 1988, and she admitted their memorable 1986 scene which saw Dirty Den (Leslie Grantham) serve her character divorce papers was a turning point in her life as a whole.
Appearing on 'Sunday Brunch' (21.07.19), she said: "I think people miss Angie and Den. It was kind of my breakthrough moment, in a way.
"I was in the business for about 13 years and suddenly that happened and everything took off. It was insane. I would never have met my husband if that hadn't happened."
The episode - which aired on Christmas Day in 1986 - was watched by a huge audience of 30.2 million viewers.
The same year, Anita met Queen guitarist Brian - who later revealed the band's 1989 hit 'I Want It All' was inspired by the soap star - and they married in 2000.
She previously described the experience of so many people tuning in as "wonderful and magical", and she was "thrilled" when the BBC broadcast the episode again last year.
She said at the time: "I'm absolutely thrilled because to have made something that's so iconic and that people are actually watching again -- as well as a new generation -- is wonderful and magical. I can hold it up as an achievement in my life.
"It was insane. People were following me home in cars, singing outside my window at my flat, I couldn't go to pubs or supermarkets or walk down the street. It was bizarre but that was my life. How exciting I got to do that."
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