Brown, who played the beloved Albert Square scandal-monger Dot Cotton, was the most technically gifted EastEnders star – and the only actor in UK soap history to carry an entire episode alone
• June Brown: a life in pictures
June Brown, a pivotal figure in EastEnders for 35 years, achieved two significant firsts in British soap opera.
Dorothy “Dot” Cotton (later Branning), scripture-quoting chain-smoking mum of a killer, was the first BBC soap star to match the impact of the monstrous but compelling women, such as Ena Sharples and Hilda Ogden, in ITV’s Coronation Street, which met in EastEnders its first real ratings rival.
