Jaws could be heard dropping across the country when Angie Watts made a surprise return to EastEnders for its 40th anniversary earlier this year, and now actress Anita Dobson has revealed what lengths she went to keep the secret.

The actress, who first played the original Queen Vic landlady from 1985 to 1988, likened her shock cameo appearance to a ‘spy thriller’ after being sworn to secrecy.

Back in February, fans of the BBC soap saw Angie appear as a ghost before her daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) as she lay trapped under the rubble following the explosion that tore through The Vic.

Her cameo not only stunned viewers, but cast members watching the episode at home too.

Discussing her return to the role that made her a household name 40 years ago, Anita told Metro she was ‘absolutely verboten’ from speaking about it to anyone – except for her husband, Queen guitarist Brian May.

She said: ‘I did tell Brian and of course my lovely agent knew. But I kept that secret really well.

‘We filmed it just before Christmas and it didn’t come out till February, so it was a long time to hold onto it.

‘Getting in and out of the studios was such fun. It was like a spy thriller. They said, “Would you wear a hood, please? And dark glasses.”

‘I huddled down in the back of the car. It was just like something out of Bond.’

Anita also described reprising the role as ‘a lovely piece of closure’, admitting she was also surprised by the reaction it received.

‘I was amazed,’ she said. ‘My godson phoned me up and said, “You are trending all over the place.” I was very proud.

‘I’m glad I did it. It was a lovely piece of closure for Angie and for me. This was a finale, if you like, that she’s gone. And that one moment was to save her daughter’s life.’

However, Anita admitted she was thrown when Lacey Turner, who plays EastEnders’ Stacey Slater, came close to the truth about her cameo appearance when Lacey interviewed the soap icon for the We Started Here podcast.

Anita recalled: ‘She didn’t know because she was veering very close to probing the whole thing about, “Would you come back?” I kind of headed her off at the pass. She said, “What would you come back as if you did come back?”

Quick as a flash I said the first thing that came into my head; “Bag lady.” That put an end to that.’

Anita will soon be back on our screens again as she reprises her role as Mrs Flood in the forthcoming series of Doctor Who.

‘Russell [T Davies] had hinted to me that I had a bit more coming than just popping in and saying hello as Mrs Flood, but I didn’t know what to expect,’ she said of her part.

‘I was very pleased and excited when I saw the scripts. I was quite shocked. I’m sure the audience are in for a lot of surprises.’

Discussing her favourite moment on set from the upcoming series, Anita said: ‘I don’t know how much I can say but I saw more of Ncuti [Gatwa] towards the end when the denouement was happening. I do love my costume.

‘I remember I came on set and Ncuti hadn’t seen me in it. He went: “My god, woman, your waist is insane!” Because it was tiny.

‘I made sure that I slimmed down when I knew what the costume was and had a fitting. I thought, “Right, I’m gonna lose a few pounds.” It did look pretty good.’