June Brown 1927-2022

The actress June Brown has died at the age of 95.

June Brown appeared in the 1973 Third Doctor story, The Time Warrior, playing Lady Eleanor.

She was most famous for creating the role of Dot Cotton in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, playing the role between 1985 and 2020. 

June Brown was born in Suffolk in 1927. She trained at the Old Vic Theatre School in London. 

She was a familiar face on British TV throughout the 1960's and 1970's appearing in shows such as Dixon of Dock Green, ITV Television Playhouse, Coronation Street, Z Cars, General Hospital, The Prince and the Pauper, and The Duchess of Duke Street. 

She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1985, recommended to the producers by fellow star Leslie Grantham,  She played Dot Cotton, mother of 'nasty' Nick Cotton until 1993, returning to the series in 1997. In 2008 she became the first soap actor to carry an episode single-handed, a performance which led to a nomination for a Bafta award.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 Birthday Honours and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to drama and to charity. 

June Brown was married twice. She is survived by her six children from her marriage to her second husband Robert Arnold, who died in 2003