Doctor Who boss reveals how EastEnders legend's shock return cost him 'a thousand quid'
The cameo in question arrived during the soap's 40th anniversary week
Doctor Who boss Russell T. David has revealed how an EastEnders legend’s shock return cost him ‘a thousand quid’.
It’s been a hectic period on the show in terms of comebacks, with Grant Mitchell, Vicki Fowler and Mickey Miller among the past characters to reappear on the BBC soap.
However, the cameo that surprised viewers the most was Anita Dobson’s, returning as Angie Watts for the first time since the 1980s in a moment fans have been wanting decades for.
The stunning cameo arrived in an hour-long episode during the 40th anniversary week, as Sharon Watts had a vision of her mum while she was trapped under debris following the explosion at the Queen Vic.
Sporting her iconic curly hair, the former Queen Vic owner, who was married to Dirty Den, gave Sharon the strength she needed to escape from the dire situation.
Outside of EastEnders, Anita has been playing the mysterious Mrs Flood on the sci-fi series since Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode as the Doctor in the 2023 Christmas special.
The second series of Sex Education actor Ncuti’s popular version of the legendary Doctor arrives on Saturday, April 12, on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer .
With Anita returning for the series, which will deal with Ruby Sunday’s decision to leave the Tardis, Russell shared how he reacted to seeing her shock EastEnders cameo.
“The day before, I texted Anita and she didn’t reply – she always replies straight away. I thought I was going mad but I could have gone to the bookies and made a thousand quid,” he told The Mirror.
Addressing playing Angie again, Anita said at the time: "It's been really hard because so many people that I'm really close to have said, 'oh are you going back?' because I've gone back to do the documentary, so it's been so hard not to say anything.
"But I've been a really good girl, and I've kept my little mouth shut because I didn't want there to be any spoilers! She's always there at the blink of an eyelash.
“She's inside me, and she always will be. When I first put the costume on, it was like 'Wow'. It was very wonderful and weird at the same time."
Teasing that ‘big reveals and big shocks’ are coming, Russell revealed how the FA Cup final might affect Ryan Clark’s Interstellar Song Contest episode.
He explained: “The FA Cup is going live on BBC One, and then you have Eurovision going live in the evening, we’re squeezed in the middle.
“We don’t know if we’ll even be transmitted that day. It will be on iPlayer but you’ll have to sit through a football match to know whether Doctor Who will be out that night.
“They asked if we wanted to move it. But I said, ‘That’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever heard. Let’s find out'."