Goodbye to an EastEnders’ Legend
Tributes have flooded in for EastEnders’ legend June Brown who has died, aged 95.
June played Dot Cotton for more than 30 years and has always been one of the soap’s most loved characters.
An EastEnders spokesperson said, “There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.
June created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2884 episodes, June’s remarkable performances created some of EastEnders finest moments.
Her onscreen son, John Altman added, “She was a dear friend. Someone I could confide in, and probably my second mother, really. We’d walk to the canteen at the BBC and it would always take about half an hour because she’d stop along the way chatting to people. She was so kind.”
June Muriel Brown was born on Feb 16, 1927 in Suffolk. She won a scholarship to Ipswich High School but was evacuated to Wales during the war. She then served in the Wrens and trained at the Old Vic Theatre School in Lambeth.
Throughout the Seventies and early Eighties, June appeared in small roles in a multitude of films and TV shows, from Straw Dogs to The Duchess Of Duke Street.
She first appeared in EastEnders as Dot Cotton in 1985 during the soap’s first year, and remained a full-time cast member until 1993, returning again in 1997-2020. She made us laugh and cry – a sharp-tongued woman with a tearaway son who broke her heart. We wept with her when her son Nick dies and cheered for her when she got her happy ending with her wedding to Jim Branning.
Thanks June, for all the magical moments you’ve brought us.
