June Brown’s children are set to guest star in a special episode of EastEnders that pays tribute to the actress’s former character, Dot Cotton.
The actress, who passed away in April this year, left behind five children who she shared with husband Robert Arnold.
According to show boss Chris Kershaw, it was Sophie, Nim and Billy who contacted EastEnders with a request to appear in the episode.
The show’s special is set to air on Monday. It will be extended to 37 minutes and feature a re-worked theme tune, with the storyline focusing on Dot’s funeral, after writers made the decision to kill the character off.
June passed away at her home in April 2022, surrounded by her loved ones. She was 95 years old.
She first appeared as chain-smoking laundry worker Dot on the BBC soap in 1985, leaving a voicemail message explaining she would be going to Ireland to visit her grandson Charlie, during her final episode in 2020.
Executive producer Chris said that June did not want Dot killed off while she was alive.
He said: “She did of course know that when she did leave us, it was the right thing to do.
“After some time, we couldn’t put it off much longer. We spoke to June’s family who knew it was what she would have wanted.”
It was only last week that Dot passed away on the show, two years after June’s departure.
Chris added: “June’s children Nim, Sophie and Billy knew what EastEnders meant to their mother, so much so they requested to attend Dot’s funeral to say their goodbyes. It was lovely for all involved.”
As part of the funeral scene, past EastEnders characters are set to make their return to the show, including Colin Russell (Lord Michael Cashman CBE), Barry Clark (Gary Hailes) George ‘Lofty’ Holloway (Tom Watt), Mary ‘the punk’ Smith (Linda Davidson), Disa O’Brien (Jan Graveson) and Dot’s step-granddaughter Lauren Branning ( Jacqueline Jossa ).
