EastEnders fans overjoyed as icon reunites with Letitia Dean in 40th anniversary episode

EastEnders fans couldn’t believe their eyes watching last night’s 40th anniversary episode, as Anita Dobson was back acting alongside Letitia Dean. On Tuesday, the Queen Vic pub exploded, trapping multiple residents inside. As characters started to escape, it became apparent to some that they had no idea where Sharon Watts was.

Sharon was stuck under bits of rubble following the explosion. She laid completely alone, fearing no-one would come and save her. Seconds later, Sharon started to visualise her mum Angie, played by Anita. Angie stood beside Sharon and told her they wouldn’t be together anytime soon, because she was going to scream and shout for help. The encouragement from her late mum helped Sharon immensely, as she was eventually found by Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and pulled to safety.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Following these scenes, the EastEnders Instagram account shared some completely wonderful shots of Anita and Letitia behind the scenes.

The two stars can be seen hugging and smiling at each other, clearly thrilled to be working together on the soap again, over 30 years on from Angie’s departure. And fans have absolutely loved seeing them. ‘Made me emosh!!’, one person wrote in the comments section of the post.

Another said: ‘I got chills when she appeared! Well done to all of you.’. Reflecting on working alongside Letitia Dean again, star Anita explained: ‘It was like stepping back into warm water. It was absolutely lovely. That’s what clinched it for me.

To access the vote, viewers must have a BBC Account. You can register for an account at BBC.co.uk/account, on or before February 19. The vote will officially open at 8:30pm on Wednesday February 19 at BBC.co.uk/EastEnders. It will close at 7:10pm on Thursday February 20, so the result can be incorporated into the live episode, which will broadcast at 7:30pm from BBC Elstree Centre that very evening.

‘When they initially asked if I would come back when I was filming for the documentary, I wasn’t really thinking of the whole picture at first, and then when they said Letitia had said that she’d like me to do it with her, I thought “oh my god, I can’t say no to seeing my baby again.”.

‘It was very emotional. Incredibly emotional in a lovely, happy way. ‘Working together again was seamless. We didn’t really think about it, or talk about it, or even rehearse it that much because we just did it. ‘It was lovely. She’s a gorgeous human being and a lovely little actress.’.

Arrow MORE: Inside EastEnders star Lacey Turner’s personal life as Stacey Slater trapped in Queen Vic. Arrow MORE: Emmerdale cast pays tribute to star as she leaves after 16 years. Arrow MORE: EastEnders fans declare 40th anniversary episode ‘best ever’ in soap’s history.