Former EastEnders star Anita Dobson ‘utterly thrilled' after being made OBE

The 76-year old London-born actress, best known for playing Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts on the BBC soap, was recognised for services to charitable fundraising and philanthropy.
Dobson is a patron for several charities including Thames Hospice and Focus Foundation, which provides support for grassroots charities and local organisations.
Speaking about the OBE, she told the PA news agency: 'I'm utterly thrilled and completely honoured and a bit bowled over and very excited. And all my friends have been texting and sending support. It's just been wonderful. It's very moving and I'm thrilled.
'It's not like a little one, where a few of people in the world know – everybody knows. And so it feels like you you're having a big hug.
'My face is so stretched you can't believe it. This is a very happy day and I just feel very lucky and people have just been texting in and being so supportive and so lovely.
'I hope everybody that's got an honour from the honours list has the same thing happening to them, that lots of people are making them feel special. Because I sure am.'
The actress is an ambassador for the Sick Children's Trust and a former president of Phab, a charity that helps children and adults with and without disabilities to feel independent and confident.
Speaking about her motivation to get involved with charities, she said: 'I think it's really important to, particularly in my industry, to pass things on. To pass anything that you've learned along the way, or little hints you can give on to the next generation.
'I've always felt like that you should help people. And there's a lot of people with nothing now, with no hope, no homes to live in, not much food, not much clothing. So if you've got a lot, then it doesn't hurt, does it, to give a bit of it away and share it and make people's lives a little bit better, really?
'I sort of work on a very kind of basic level. I just think, if someone's in trouble, you help them.
'I had nothing when I was younger, and it's been the hard slog getting to anywheresville, and look where I am now. It's a good feeling to pass things on.
'I do lots of phoners where people ring in and they're in trouble and maybe you can't solve their problems, but you can sure as hell help them feel heard and that they matter, and that there is somebody in the world who has got the time to listen to them and maybe give them some advice that might point them in the right direction, or introduce them to somebody else who can help them in a better way than you can.'
Dobson recently reprised her role as Angie for EastEnders' 40th anniversary, appearing in the Queen Vic as a ghost while her adopted daughter, Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean, was seen fighting for her life after an explosion in the pub.
The shock return won the series the scene of the year gong at the 2025 British Soap Awards.
She also played mysterious character Mrs Flood in the long-running BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, having joined the series on Christmas Day 2023.
During Ncuti Gatwa's second season as the Time Lord, it was revealed that Mrs Flood was a disguised incarnation of the Rani, a renegade Time Lady and villain.
She added: 'I had a lovely message from Russell T Davis (Doctor Who Showrunner) this morning saying congratulations, which is lovely. We'll see what happens in the future, or whenever.
'I just have had a lovely time working for them. It's been a real blast. Russell said to me, come and have some fun. And I did. I just had fun. It was a real gift of a job.'
The actress is also known for her stage performances and in 2003 was nominated for the best actress Olivier Award for her role in Bryony Lavery's Frozen at the National Theatre Cottesloe.
Dobson was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing with professional Robin Windsor in 2011, but was voted off after nine weeks.
Born in 1949 in the east end of London, the actress has been married to Queen guitarist Sir Brian May since 2000.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mirror

an hour ago

• Daily Mirror

The Traitors' Leanne Quigley admits she can't marry fiancée yet for sad reason

EXCLUSIVE: Traitors star Leanne Quigley would tie the knot with fiancée Sophie right now, but after her partner's heartbreaking cancer battle, she wants to walk down the aisle with her own hair grown back The Traitors winner Leanne Quigley has revealed she would marry fiancée Sophie Jones "today" if she could - but they will wait until Sophie's hair totally grows back, following her gruelling cancer battle. Leanne, 28, a former soldier from Holywell, North Wales, who appeared as a Faithful in the third season of the show, says, 'I would get married today if I could. But Soph has been going through her hair growth journey. As soon as she feels comfortable and ready, then we will get married. Ideally, it will be the end of next year or maybe the start of 2027.' ‌ Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at the British LGBT Awards 2025 at The Brewery, London, Leanne adds: "Sophie's doing great. This is the first thing she has been able to come to with me without having to wear a wig. It feels very special.' ‌ Of their plans to tie the knot following their 2021 engagement, she says: 'I would have to be close to home. We took the twins abroad on holiday and it's not the most stress-free of experiences - so it will be as close to home as possible!' Sophie, also a former army recruit, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer last year, just weeks after Leanne finished filming on the BBC show, after finding a lump in her breast. Thankfully, after a journey which Leanne previously told the Mirror was 'utterly terrifying' as initially they 'didn't know if she'd live' - Sophie was given the all-clear, earlier this year. Leanne is happy and looking to the future, but admits, it's been 'the worst time of their lives'. 'We went from a huge high to the lowest blow. She was going through treatment then The Traitors came out, so it was quite turbulent. But we are very lucky.' Now the TV star, who shares twin sons, Harley and Hudson, 2, with her partner, who gave birth to their boys, would also like to start IVF soon and expand their family ‌ 'We'll probably try next year. There's no guarantee it will work, so I think the sooner the better. But I would like the kids all to be close in age, I would definitely want to drink at the wedding though, so I think we'd have to wait.' Leanne has also toyed lately with the idea of rejoining the army part-time, which she misses a lot, but says taking on risks in dangerous warzones would be a different ballgame, now she's a mother. ‌ She says, 'I was chatting to my mum the other day and I asked her if I should join the Reserves again, which is basically going back part time. It is a big thing, leaving. I was there for 12 years - we were like a big family. 'It is different now, though. Before, I was fearless. I wasn't scared of anything. Now I am a mother, I am scared of everything. Everything I do, I think about them.' The turbulent and fast-changing situation in the Middle East makes it an even more terrifying prospect, admitted the bubbly blonde. 'I'm not going to lie, it is pretty scary. That's why there's an element of me wanting to join back up so I know what's going on and can help in some way. But now I am a mum. I am scared of everything and just want to protect them. She adds, 'In one way I want to go back more because I'm worried the shit is going to hit the fan and I want to do what I can. And in another way, it makes me want to go back less because I need to be here for my family.'

ITV News

an hour ago

• ITV News

Kneecap Glastonbury slot ‘not appropriate', says Prime Minister

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not think Kneecap's planned Glastonbury Festival performance is 'appropriate'. He made the comments after Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh appeared in court on Wednesday, after being charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. In an interview with The Sun, Sir Keir was asked if he thought the trio should perform at Glastonbury, to which he replied: 'No, I don't, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this. 'This is about the threats that shouldn't be made, I won't say too much because there's a court case on, but I don't think that's appropriate.' It comes after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she thought the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance at the festival next week. Mrs Badenoch said in the X post, which was accompanied by an article from The Times that claimed the BBC had not banned the group: 'The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda. 'One Kneecap band member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act. 'As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism.' The Tory Leader of the Opposition has previously called for the group to be banned from Glastonbury, and last year Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK Government in Belfast High Court after she tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister. Kneecap took aim at Mrs Badenoch in their latest single, The Recap, released just before their headline set at London's Wide Awake festival in May, with the song mocking the politician's attempts to block their arts funding and the Conservative Party's election loss. On Wednesday, O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in 'Free Mo Chara' T-shirts. During the proceedings, a prosecutor told the court the 27-year-old is 'well within his rights' to voice his opinions on Israel and Palestine, but the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, is a 'wholly different thing'. O hAnnaidh was released on unconditional bail until his next hearing at the same court on August 20. Following the hearing, the rapper said: 'For anybody going to Glastonbury, you can see us there at 4pm on the Saturday. 'If you can't be there we'll be on the BBC, if anybody watches the BBC. We'll be at Wembley in September. 'But most importantly: free, free Palestine.' The charge came following a counter-terrorism police investigation after the historical gig footage came to light, which also allegedly shows the group calling for the deaths of MPs. In April, Kneecap apologised to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been 'exploited and weaponised'. In an initial post in response to the charge, Kneecap said: '14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us. 'We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves, this is political policing, this is a carnival of distraction. 'We are not the story, genocide is, as they profit from genocide, they use an 'anti-terror law' against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage. A charge not serious enough to even warrant their crown court, instead a court that doesn't have a jury. What's the objective? 'To restrict our ability to travel. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare speak out. 'Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification. 'The IDF units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists, the whole world can see it.' Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English and their merchandise. Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag. A BBC spokesperson said: 'As the broadcast partner, the BBC will be bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.

Wales Online

3 hours ago

• Wales Online

BBC TV icon to leave screens for good today as he says 'I'll go quietly'

BBC TV icon to leave screens for good today as he says 'I'll go quietly' The legendary broadcaster is making a low-key departure from TV after over 50 years in the business Steve Rider (right) is bowing out from TV this weekend (Image:) Legendary sports broadcaster Steve Rider will hang up his microphone for the final time today after over 50 years on screen. The 75-year-old will bring the curtain down on his remarkable career as he fronts ITV4's coverage of the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park on Sunday afternoon, having held that role for the last 16 years. Rider is probably best known however for presenting the iconic BBC sports show Grandstand, while he covered everything from rugby and golf to rowing and motorsports during his time with the broadcaster. ‌ He also presented Sportsnight and Sports Personality of the Year, as well as hosting the BBC's coverage of every Olympic Games between 1988 and 2004, before leaving the corporation in 2005. ‌ He then joined ITV, where he presented coverage of Formula One, as well as the football and rugby World Cups, before moving on to the British Touring Car Championship. While his remarkable and varied career saw him become one of the most recognisable and popular names in sport broadcasting, however, Rider will make a low-key departure from our screens - but it's one that suits him fine. "God knows, I'll be very disappointed if Andrea Bocelli isn't here,' he joked in an interview with the Telegraph, before adding: 'I'll go quietly, don't worry.' Article continues below Earlier this year, Rider admitted he would "just sidle away" after presenting the Touring Car Championship for the final time. "The biggest emotion as you get into the last two minutes of something like that is, 'For God's sake, don't c**k it up,' because you'd be thinking about that for the next 20 years," he told MailOnline. "I've probably outstayed my welcome. I've been hugely lucky with the places that the career has taken me. But it's close to 50 years now, so the cracks are showing!" ‌ The Dartford-born presenter's exit from TV comes over 18 months after he revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Rider had gone to get himself tested after one of his friends was diagnosed with the same cancer following a medical check, with his wife urging him to undergo further examinations after his readings came back "a little high" following his first check-up. He then underwent "significant" surgery to prevent the disease from spreading and he admitted during an appearance on BBC Breakfast that he had been "incredibly lucky" as the cancer had been detected early. ‌ "I was cutting it a bit fine," Rider said. "They took one look and said, 'We're going to operate in two weeks'. No mucking about. "We did Brands Hatch for ITV on the Sunday and I had the operation on the Thursday, so it fitted into the schedule quite nicely! 'It was one operation, whip it all out, off you go and enjoy the rest of your life, second chance. But I was one of the lucky ones," he added, as he urged people to undergo checks for the disease. ‌ "Get yourself tested because once this wretched thing develops, as we've been seeing from Chris Hoy and Eddie Jordan, it just gallops away and there's no control. The chance you have is early testing." Ahead of Rider's retirement, an ITV statement read: "This Sunday, the legendary Steve Rider will present his final show before he retires following a stellar 45 years working for ITV and BBC. "Steve began his career as a reporter at LBC before moving to Anglia Television. As he progressed through the ranks he went on to work on the Olympic Games, World Of Sport and BBC's Grandstand to name a few. He returned to ITV in 2005 and presented our Formula One coverage, the 2006 Football World Cup, the Champions League and the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Article continues below "More recently, the 75-year-old has been anchoring the British Touring Car Championship on ITV4. We wish Steve all the best in the future and thank him for all his dedication and hard work in a TV career spanning over 50 years on screen."