20-05-2025
Doctor Who star Anita Dobson had 'no idea' about show twist
Anita Dobson has revealed she had "no idea" that her Doctor Who character was going to turn out to be one of the Timelord's greatest enemies.
The EastEnders legend has been playing Mrs Flood in the BBC sci-fi hit since 2023. But fans were recently stunned to discover that her true identity is much more sinister, as Mrs Flood is actually the Doctor's foe, The Rani.
Dobson has now shared that for a long time she was in the dark about who her character really was. And when she did find out, she couldn't tell anyone other than her husband, Queen's Brian May.
The actor opened up on The One Show on Monday, 19 May, saying that she'd had no clue where Mrs Flood's storyline was going.
"It's been a blast, the whole thing," she said of starring in the series, where Ncuti Gatwa is currently in control of the Tardis.
"But I had no idea when I started. I played a little nosy neighbour in the Christmas episode and then Russell (showrunner Russell T Davies) asked me to come back for the series and all the way along I was thinking, 'I don't know where this is going but it's a real blast!'
"And who knew? She is The Rani!"
Asked if it was hard to keep the secret for two years, Dobson said May was the only person she told.
"It wasn't (hard) for the first series because even I didn't know, I was happily acting out my little scenes with no idea," she said.
"And then in the second series, obviously the make-up department, the costume department were sort of saying, 'Well, who do you think she is?' and even I started to get, 'Well, I don't know, I don't know where this is going' and I started to get excited as well.
"But I didn't really know until really late and even then I had to keep very quiet."
"I love playing villains, they are the best parts!" she added.
The star also talked about her recent return to Albert Square. Dobson found fame as EastEnders' Angie Watts, and was a regular on the BBC soap from 1985 to 1988.
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She returned to Walford this year as the soap celebrated its 40th anniversary. Angie appeared in the form of a vision as her daughter Sharon (Letitia Dean) lay injured after The Queen Vic explosion. She was wearing an outfit that she'd worn as Angie in 1985.
"It was weird," Dobson said of her Walford return. "Very emotional and absolutely lovely. It was like stepping into a bath of warm water, warm bubbled water. Everybody was gorgeous to me.
"It was wonderful working with Letitia again."
"I couldn't believe I got back into the costume, the original costume - I am very proud of that," she laughed.
The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays.
Doctor Who continues on BBC One at 6.50pm on Saturday, 24 May.
