Actress June joins the dots
THE phrase ‘national treasure’ gets bandied about a bit too much these days, but June Brown is surely deserving of the title.
Since first setting foot in Albert Square back in 1985, her soap alter ego Dot Cotton has been as synonymous with EastEnders as the ‘doof doof doofs’ at the end of each episode; appearing in a puff of cigarette smoke to offer a doleful look, Biblical quote or a crushing judgement.
As Brown approaches her 90th birthday, the BBC is honouring the veteran star with a special documentary, June Brown At 90 – A Walford Legend. Viewers can look forward to a candid interview with the actress herself, and contributions from Walford regulars, including Lacey Turner, Adam Woodyatt and Natalie Cassidy.
Here’s a look back on the star’s eventful life and career so far... Brown was born in Suffolk on February 16, 1927. She served in the Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service) at the end of the war before joining drama school. She was trained by the likes of Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic Theatre School, and appeared on stage alongside Sir John Gielgud.
More theatre roles followed. After seeing her in a performance as Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, the Yes Minister actor Nigel Hawthorne reportedly described her as “one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve seen on stage”. Brown’s life hasn’t been without tragedy. Her younger brother died as a baby, while her elder sister Marise died aged eight. At drama school, she met John Garley, who she married in 1950. He suffered from depression and died from suicide seven years later. Her second husband, Robert Arnold, was also an actor, and the couple were married for 45 years before his death in 2003. By the time she landed her role in EastEnders, Brown was in her late-50s, and a well-established theatre, film and TV actress. In fact, long before Walford came knocking, Brown had appeared in several episodes of rival soap Coronation Street. She played Mrs Parsons, the mother of Tony, in 1970 and 1971.
It was Leslie Grantham, who played Dirty Den, who suggested her for the role of Dot, a God-fearing hypochondriac who was always trying get her wayward son Nick (John Altman) back on the straight and narrow.
Despite only being given a three-month contract initially, after just six weeks, the character was such a success that Brown was asked to become permanent.
The role couldn’t have come at a better time for the actress (who took a break from the show between 1993 and 1997); she’s admitted she felt her career was “vanishing” in the year before she joined the cast. Dot’s had some wonderful on-screen pairings during her time on EastEnders – with Altman, who has described her as like a second mother off-screen, Gretchen Franklin, who played Dot’s great friend Ethel Skinner, and John Bardon, who played Dot’s husband Jim Branning.
One young fan was so convinced by Dot’s loyalty to Nick that she wrote to Brown, saying she wanted to come and live with her, “because Dot always stuck up for her son”, the actress has revealed.
But perhaps the most eyebrow-raising coupling of Brown’s career to date has been with global pop superstar Lady Gaga. The pair appeared alongside each other on The Graham Norton Show in 2013 and got along famously. The pair later enjoyed afternoon tea together at Gaga’s London hotel.