EastEnders and Doctor Who star Anita Dobson has shared an honest admission about her long-term marriage to Queen star Brian May. The couple will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary later this year, after tying the knot at a private ceremony in London back in 2000.

Like most relationships, Anita admits that the pair's romance hasn't always been easy, particularly when it comes to compromising.

Reflecting on their marriage, the 76-year-old began by describing Brian asking her to move in with him, and their wedding day as "two of the most pivotal moments" of her life.

She went on to tell Yours magazine: "That's not to say that everything's been smooth sailing every day - there's no magic potion for a perfect marriage.

"It can be hard work. Even though Brian's the love of my life and he's absolutely adorable, it's not easy and we have to work at it."

Anita credits their strong love for each other for helping them to get through the difficult times, as she admitted: "We do have to make compromises.

"I've had to give up a little bit of my independence, but because Brian loves me, he allows me to be me and that's the trick," she continued.

The actress went on to insist that another secret to a good lasting marriage is letting the other person be themselves, but claimed this had its downside.

She added: "It's hard sometimes, though, because allowing the person to be themselves can be pretty infuriating!".

Brian and Anita met at a premiere back in 1986 when they were in respective relationships.

At the time, Brian was with his first wife, former model, Chrissie Mullen, who he has three children with.

The former couple were married for 12 years before they called it quits in 1988.

Reflecting on her first interaction with Brian, Anita previously said she didn't know who he was when he, and his then wife, complimented her about her EastEnders role as landlady Angie Watts.

Speaking on Lacey Turner's We Started Here podcast, she added: "As a result of that [first] meeting [with Brian] I came to be friends with Fred [Freddie Mercury].

"And, I didn’t really get together with Brian until much later - until all the stuff of life had happened with his ­marriage and whatever.

"It was Fred I used to hang out with a lot, and Brian kind of introduced me to Fred and Fred kind of gave me back to him, if you like."

The Queen star and Anita don't have children together, but in previous interviews, she said she has good relationships with the 78-year-old's children as well as his ex-wife.