Anita Dobson became unrecognisable to husband Brian May after getting drenched in blood for new show

Anita Dobson's blood-soaked appearance in new show ‘Generation Z’ left her husband Sir Brian May unable to speak or recognise her.

The former ‘EastEnders’ actress, 75, stars in the new Channel 4 satirical drama series as a care home resident who turns into a flesh-eating zombie, and Anita revealed the 77-year-old Queen legend couldn’t identify her after she sent a picture of herself drenched in fake blood.

She told OK! magazine: “I’ve never done anything like this before. I thought, at my age, I should give everything a go.

“I sent my husband a photo of me from the set when I was a bit bloodied up and he couldn’t speak, he just asked, ‘Is this my wife?' ”

The ‘Doctor Who’ star had a “baptism of blood” on her first day, when the production team overfilled a blood bag and it spurted all over the set.

She said: “I also had a baptism of blood on my first day when they over-packed a blood bag and it went everywhere.

“It was in my eyes, up my nose, in my ears – everyone got soaked. The walls were soaked and everyone was hysterically laughing.”

Anita stars opposite Sue Johnston and Robert Lindsay, who all turn into zombified pensioners and go on a quest to find and consume human flesh - with a particular taste for teenagers - all while the army hunts them down to neutralise the threat.

While Sue knew her inner circle had “a lot of interest” in the programme, 'The Royle Family' star admitted ‘Generation Z’ had proven to be controversial among her friends and family.

She explained: “The show caused a stir among my family and friends.

Certainly more than any other part I’ve done. I don’t know quite what they’re expecting, but there’s a lot of interest.”

‘Generation Z’ airs this Sunday (27.10.24) at 9pm on Channel 4.