Eastenders to kill off landlady

Former Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts is finally to be killed off from TV soap EastEnders - 14 years after leaving Albert Square.

One of the best loved characters in the BBC1 series will make one final "appearance" in the show, for her funeral.

Soap chiefs decided on the dramatic storyline after failing to persuade actress Anita Dobson, 51, to return to the Square full-time.

Angie, who will die from alcohol abuse, will not be seen in person, but her funeral will be used to bring her daughter Sharon back to the Square.

Sharon, played by Letitia Dean, fled Walford after a bust-up with boyfriend Phil Mitchell. But she will make an emotional return to bury her mother early in the spring.

Angie, who starred in EastEnders between 1985 and 1988, was best remembered for her furious bust-ups with on-screen husband Dirty Den.

She eventually left Walford for the United States, where she re-married.

An EastEnders spokesman said: "It was clear Anita wouldn't return so her death seemed an ideal opportunity to bring Sharon back to the Square.

"Viewers will soon see the last of Angie. The scenes will be very exciting."