Anita Dobson has revealed that her husband and Queen guitarist Brian May is a collector of Star Wars memorabilia.
The actor, who has been married to the guitarist for over 24 years now, made the revelation in a new interview and shared that May has a collection of figures and ships inspired by the iconic George Lucas franchise.
Dobson – who famously played Angie Watts in Eastenders – said that her partner frequently buys two of the same items related to the sci-fi series, one for himself and one for his grandchildren.
“Brian is a collector of Star Wars toys. And astronomical stuff, Queen stuff. He’s a big collector,” she said at the launch of Cirque du Soleil show Corteo at London’s Royal Albert Hall (via Music News). “He buys a packaged one and one that he can have for the grandkids.”
“He’s bought quite a lot. It’s eased off a bit, as he’s gone through life. His favourite is the little green guy, he loves Yoda,” she continued, adding that he also “loves” to collect things relating to “prehistoric creatures”.
“I always think I’ve got to have a clear out, and a lot of my clothes go to the local hospice. But there’s so much stuff. The way I look at it, my husband is a hoarder and I’m a semi-hoarder,” she quipped.
“I try to lessen the accumulation of stuff that comes in. My husband is really clever so any little things that come in that you think are useless he will go, ‘No, no, don’t get rid of that because it might come in useful.’ And it does,” she added. “Something he is fixing, or something he has decided to add, and there it is, he’s got it in his DIY box.”
Dobson said that he has a collection of Queen memorabilia too, including past costumes he wore on stage and at photoshoots, records, one-off releases and more.
Brian May’s passions extend beyond that too, as recent years have seen him spread awareness around the badger culls in the UK and challenge the perception that the animals are linked to the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB).
Last year, for instance, he worked with the BBC to create a documentary called Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers And Me, which followed him on a four-year project to eradicate the disease – which can devastate cattle populations – without harming the badgers.
On top of that, he has a wide knowledge of astrophysics, having studied it at Imperial College London and getting a PhD in the field back in 2007.
He has tied the worlds of music and astrophysics together, developing a festival called Starmus that has a focus on music and science.