EastEnders icon Anita Dobson recalls moment she knew soap would be a hit

Actress Anita Dobson joined EastEnders alongside Leslie Grantham in its debut on BBC One, and she admittedly didn't expect the huge success the show would go on to have as the soap now celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Dobson opened up on her first days on the set of EastEnders as she joined Lacey Turner on her new podcast, We Started Here, in an exclusive clip shared with RadioTimes.com.

Asked if she realised how popular EastEnders was going to become when she first starred, Dobson admitted: "Not really at the very beginning because I was just very grateful to have a job, a job that ran for quite a while.

"I think it was three months with an option for another 18 months if it worked. So I had a proper job. From being a jobbing actress going from one job to the other, suddenly I could relax a little bit. I just loved the work and that was it."

She continued: "But it wasn't until we went into the canteen to watch the first episode, and I looked over at Leslie [Grantham] and he was standing with his arms like that [crossed], and I could just see his face and he was sort of thinking, and I looked at him and I went, 'It's good, isn't it?'

"And that's when we both kind of realised we were onto something."

You can watch the full clip at the top of this article now.

We Started Here sees Turner interview a number of television stars for their work in front of and behind the cameras, as they discuss how working on soaps prepared them for their careers.

Past and future guests include Jessie Wallace, Sarah Phelps, Jimmy McGovern, Ricky Whittle, Mandip Gill, Rakhee Thakrar and Davood Ghadami.

We Started Here is available on all podcast platforms and the BBC Studios YouTube channel, while EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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