From her unwavering cig habit to her glamorously coiffed hair, Dot Cotton is one of EastEnders most-loved characters. ‘I could have played Dot as a very dreary woman with a list of illnesses,’ said June Brown who portrayed the laundrette assistant for three decades. ‘But I played her with an edge, so it was funny.’
With her cutting humour and melodramatic expressions, June elevated Dot’s character to win her a huge fandom that is unparalleled by almost any other soap star. So, when June sadly passed away at 95-years-old on Sunday, everyone from 80-year-olds to 18-year-olds were heartbroken.
‘There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders,’ said the BBC. ‘Her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.’
After her passing, many fans logged on to Twitter to share their greatest June Brownanecdotes and these are the kindest and funniest moments the internet had to offer. Here’s to the most loved woman in Albert Square.
She gave her young fans industry advice
‘When I was a kid I wrote to June Brown saying I wanted to be an actor,’ said actor and writer Danny Lee Wynter. ‘A signed postcard came back from Elstree with the words "Don’t do it" written on it. We’ve lost one of the great. Rip June Brown.'
She helped EastEnders stans see inside the set
Another fan called Shaun added: ‘As a kid, gutted that EastEnders didn’t do set tours, I sent June Brown a disposable camera and asked if she could snap some set pics for me instead. The kindnesses of her heart she took time out to snap these for me. What a legend.’
She had the most chaotic friendship with Lady Gaga
Years later when June met Lady Gaga on the Graham Norton show, it might have been one of our favourite celebrity cross overs of all time. ‘Oh my gosh she has a purse and an e-cigarette it’s too fabulous I can’t,’ said Gaga clutching her face as they were introduced.
The pair then shared a glass of wine, fixed each other's outfits, and when Graham attempted to pester June for her attention, Gaga quickly retorted: ‘Leave her alone! She’s a star!’ Incredible.
She was an LGBT ally
Stephen Fry was also among the many June Brown fans who took to Twitter to chat about their memories of her. ‘June Brown, amongst all her other wonderful human qualities and achievements, will be remembered as a tireless and fearless LGBT ally,’ he wrote. ‘Especially during the darkest days of HIV/AIDS and Section 28… it was a privilege to know her.'
She was hilarious as Dot Cotton
And, of course, we couldn’t round off this ode without mentioning June’s brilliant performances in EastEnders. Our personal favourite Dot Cotton moment was when she tried to use an online chat room and instead wound up in a chaotic cyber echo chamber, which was pretty much all of us when we first started using Zoom.
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