Iconic ‘EastEnders’ actress June Brown dies, age 95

Actress June Brown who played the iconic Dot Cotton in the popular BBC soap EastEnders, has passed away aged 95.

Brown’s passing was announced via the official BBC EastEnders social media accounts, revealing that the star had passed away on Sunday, April 3.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE sadly passed away last night,” the post read.

“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…”

 

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A number of high profile entertainment figures, including Stephen Fry, Piers Morgan and Danny Lee Wynter, expressed their sorrow for the loss of “one of the greats” as they posted touching tributes to the late Brown.

English journalist and writer, Piers Morgan, described Brown as an “all-time great” for her iconic portrayal of Dot Cotton.

RIP June Brown, 95.
A wonderfully talented actress whose long-time portrayal of irascible fag-puffing Dot Cotton in EastEnders was one of the all-time great performances in British Television.
June was such a funny, feisty, fabulous lady off screen too. Very sad news. pic.twitter.com/qhg2qqUdcd

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 4, 2022

British actor, Danny Lee Wytner, and photographer, Shaun Brum, took to social Twitter to reveal personal childhood exchanges they had shared with the actress as they expressed their regret for the late Brown.

When I was a kid I wrote to June Brown saying I wanted to be an actor. A signed postcard came back from Elstree with the words ‘Don’t do it’ written on it. We’ve lost one of the greats. RIP June Brown. pic.twitter.com/6q6GmarYlo

— Danny Lee Wynter (@dannyleewynter) April 4, 2022

As a kid, gutted that EastEnders didn’t do set tours, I sent #JuneBrown a disposable camera & 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 ???? #RIPJuneBrown #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/mm8MuumwUq

— Shaun (@ShaunInBrum) April 4, 2022

Brown portrayed Dot Cotton in the British drama series EastEnders between 1985 and 1993 before returning in 1997 to play Cotton up until 2o20. Her character was iconic as a chain-smoking Catholic mother figure who loved to gossip.

In 2008, Brown went down in history as the first television soap character to appear in a monologue episode, with the unique segment viewed over 8.8 million times.

Throughout her career, Brown appeared in a number of films and TV series, including Coronation Street (1970), Angels (1979), The Bill (1983), The Duchess of Duke Street (1976), Oliver Twist (1985), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1997) and Phsychomania (1971), amongst multiple other small roles.

No stranger to the trials and tribulations of everyday life and struggle, Brown also served in the Navy during World War II before becoming a Wren in the Woman’s Royal Navy Service.