EastEnders has been dropping hints to Angie Watts’ return for ages – did you spot them?

Amid the huge explosions and killer bathtubs, there has been another defining moment of EastEnders’ 40th anniversary this week – the return of original Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts (Anita Dobson). The iconic publican made an unexpected cameo during Wednesday’s episode as she appeared as a vision before adopted daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).

In a moment that had been kept top secret prior to transmission, Angie told Sharon it was not her time to die and encouraged her to scream for help as she lay amid the rubble of the exploded pub. Angie’s comeback – which even saw Anita wearing the same costume her character wore in the very first episode of EastEnders in 1985 – had fans absolutely gagged, with fans sharing their joy and surprise on social media.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. But for one very eagle-eyed viewer, the return of Ange probably came as slightly less of a shock, as they spotted how soap bosses have actually been teasing the moment for weeks.

Back in early January, X user @beautyofthend noticed how Denise Fox (Diane Parish) received a delivery of flowers from someone her sister Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) called ‘Angela Whatsitt’. The bouquet was made up of red roses, harking back to a scene involving Angie and on-screen husband Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) back in the 1980s.

Then, a week later, alluding to Anita Dobson, Denise told ex-husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) she had ‘Ms Dobson in for a wash and cut first thing’. Well, we did wonder how Ange had kept that barnet looking so perfect for the last 37 years. Despite her character being the one who was dropping hints about Angie’s return, actress Diane Parish clearly had no idea about it.

Posting on Instagram following Wednesday’s episode, she wrote: ‘HEART STOPPED WHEN MUMMY CAME HOME. THE ICON THAT IS ANITA DOBSON!’. In fact, it looks like Angie’s return was kept a secret from everyone but Letitia Dean, as the current Queen Vic landlady Kellie Bright, who plays Linda Carter, also had no idea she was about to appear when she sat down to watch Wednesday’s milestone episode.

Sharing a video on Instagram, she said: ‘So just like many other people, I watched the EastEnders 40th anniversary episode tonight. ‘And there she was, in all her glory. I had no idea when I posted that picture today of me and Anita Dobson that Angie Watts was going to make an appearance. I am blown away.’.

While the moment is definitely going to take some stopping, the drama of EastEnders’ 40th is far from over. Tonight sees the cast deliver a final instalment of the week absolutely LIVE – and it is looking very much like one character will not see it to the end of the episode alive….

EastEnders’ live episode airs tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One and iPlayer. If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you. Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.

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