Former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson has spoken about the profound transformation of London’s East End, expressing concern that the area has lost its community spirit after becoming more diverse.
The 76-year-old performer, who portrayed Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera from 1985 to 1988, grew up in Stepney and recently reflected on changes to her childhood neighbourhood.
Ms Dobson acknowledged the area’s evolution into a multicultural hub with various races and religions, but suggested this cosmopolitan shift has come at a cost.
The actress, who briefly returned to EastEnders for its 40th anniversary earlier this year, believes the close-knit bonds that once defined East End life have vanished.
Anita Dobson recently returned to where she grew up
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GETTYThe actress observed that her former neighbourhood has undergone significant demographic changes since her youth.
Where she once grew up alongside Jewish families who were her closest companions, the area now hosts numerous different ethnicities, accents, and faiths.
“But now there are many, many more different races and colours and accents and voices, and many more religions. So it has been good in a lot of ways, but in some ways you lose something as well,” she said.
“Community. We’re not a society anymore. We’re not social. People don’t talk to each other like they used to,” Ms Dobson told the Telegraph when asked what specifically the area had “lost”.
Anita Dobson is married to Queen’s Sir Brian May
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The Stepney-born performer noted that whilst her childhood council estate remains standing, the surrounding streets have transformed dramatically.
Areas that once featured Saturday markets where her father collected library books have been replaced by Bengali eateries and trendy drinking establishments, reflecting the district’s evolving character.
Ms Dobson painted a vivid picture of neighbourly support during her childhood, describing how residents on her council block landing formed an extended family network.
She remembered specific individuals, including Mrs Freeman, Bobby, and friends Eileen and Carol who lived nearby.
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Anita Dobson says the East End has ‘lost its sense of community’
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The actress explained how working mothers relied on neighbours for childcare, with nearby families collecting and feeding children when parents worked late.
“When I was a kid, if you were coming home late and your mum was working, then the next-door neighbour would say, ‘Oh, don’t worry, Anne, I’ll pick the kids up and feed them,'” she recalled.
She highlighted the era’s trusting nature, including leaving keys dangling on strings through letterboxes for children returning home – security measures she acknowledged would be unthinkable in contemporary London.
Despite the East End’s reputation for violence during the era of the Kray twins, Ms Dobson maintained that certain unwritten rules protected vulnerable residents.
Anita Dobson and Brian May
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The actress described a criminal code where women and children remained off-limits, with disputes strictly confined to male participants.
“It was violent, with the Krays and all of that, but in a strange way, you weren’t afraid as a woman because there was always someone there to look after you,” she explained to the publication.
She recalled how potential confrontations would see women and children immediately removed from harm’s way, with clear instructions that any “business” was exclusively between men.
This protective culture, she suggested, provided an unexpected sense of security despite the area’s rough reputation.