June Brown, who has died aged 95, was the backbone of one of Britain’s best loved soaps. As Dot Cotton, also known as Dot Branning, in the long-running EastEnders, she provided Albert Square with one of its best-loved and most memorable characters.
For many viewers, her cockney creation felt like a family member who appeared, with regularity, four times a week on BBC One. She became a British cultural fixture, winning several awards and a Bafta nomination during her decades-long career, as well as being awarded an MBE in 2008 for her services to drama and charity.
Brown’s career was one of two halves. As a stage actor, she had the credentials.
