June Brown, ‘EastEnders’ icon Dot Cotton, dies at 95

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — June Brown, who played the chain-smoking Cockney matriarch Dot Cotton on the British soap opera “EastEnders” for 35 years, has died. She was 95. The BBC announced Brown’s death on Monday. It said she died at her home outside London a day earlier with her family by her side. “EastEnders” premiered in 1985 and Dot Cotton soon became one of its most beloved characters — a devout Christian and incorrigible gossip who worked in the local laundromat. Brown was already a veteran performer, and would go on to play Dot until 2020. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said Britain had “lost a true national treasure” and the show’s producers said Brown would never be forgotten.