Anita Dobson has shared a major health update about her husband Brian May, who suffered a stroke in September.
The Queen guitarist, 77, was rushed to hospital after suffering a minor stroke and temporarily losing control of his left arm, which he later told fans was nothing more than a “little health hiccup”.
Dobson, 75, who has been married to the British musician since 2000 and is best known for playing Angie Watts in EastEnders, said May is now “stable” and was well enough to travel to Lapland over the festive season.
Speaking to The Sun, the soap star said: “The start of the year has been up and down. We both had the flu but we took the kids to Lapland. 15 of them.”
She added: “Brian is stable now. Brian has never been happier since we moved. For me it’s been a curveball as I’m a London girl born and bred so going to the countryside to a house that needs a lot of work was a bit of a shock.”
Dobson and May opted to leave the city for their three-storey home in Windlesham, Surrey while the musician recuperated following his health scare.
“To see what it has done to Brian…he loves it,” Dobson reflected. “He loves the birds and the animals. He feeds all the birds and the badgers, foxes and pheasants.”
The Doctor Who star – who is confirmed to feature in the forthcoming series – said despite her busy acting career and the couple’s hopes to visit friends in Switzerland, their main plan is to keep “chilling” at home.
“It makes you realise that at any minute it could be you,” Dobson reflected on May’s health scare, adding they are taking “each day as it comes”.
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Back in September, May reassured fans he could still play the guitar after being rushed to hospital after temporarily losing control of his left arm.
“They called it a minor stroke, and all of a sudden out of the blue, I didn’t have any control of this arm,” he said, moving his left arm and flexing his fingers to show the movement had returned.
“It was a little scary, I have to say. I had the most fantastic care and attention from the hospital where I went, blue lights flashing, the lot, it was very exciting. I might post a video if you like.”
He continued: “I didn’t wanna say anything at the time because I didn’t want anything surrounding it, I really don’t want sympathy. Please don’t do that, because it’ll clutter up my inbox, and I hate that. The good news is I’m OK.”
May has suffered health issues in the past, including a heart attack that turned out to be a symptom of an arterial disease.
The guitarist told fans he was “very near death” after being admitted to hospital in May 2020, where doctors discovered that three of his arteries were blocked and in danger of stopping the blood supply to his heart.
“It’s a long climb back,” he told The Times. “I’ve had complications due to the drugs I’m on, one of which was a stomach explosion that nearly killed me.”
He admitted he was baffled by the heart attack: “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t have high cholesterol and I was exercising through the tour, so why did it happen?” he questioned.
“At least I now have a heart that is working far better than it was.”
