EastEnders veteran June Brown has hinted that she might retire from the show next year, when her contract comes to an end.
The 88-year-old reportedly signed a £300,000 contract in January that ties her to the show until March 2017, but she said she doesn’t want to die playing Dot Branning.
June has played Dot since 1985 but next year may be her last (Jack Barnes/BBC)
“I don’t know how long I’ll stay. I don’t think I want to end my life on a soap, but we’ll see,” she told The Sun.
June, who has played Dot since 1985, revealed in May last year that her eyesight was failing due to macular degeneration.
She continued: “I don’t want to be 100, or even 90. I don’t think I look nearly 90, but because I can’t see these days I don’t know.
June was originally brought in for a short storyline when son Nick (John Altman) was accused of murder (Yui Mok/PA)
“I’ve been in the soap for 30 years, but you never know what’s going to happen, and you really don’t want to make plans about how long you should stay because they could all go wrong.”
June joked that half the residents of Albert Square would be retired now if everyone stepped down at 65, and said she was very grateful to show bosses that they had kept her in the soap so long.
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June with on-screen husband Jim (the late John Bardon) (Yui Mok/PA)
She said: “I’m very fortunate they still want me because you hear of older actresses who say there is no work, because people like to see beautiful young faces. There are very few people about whose jobs are as good, particularly in the acting profession these days.
“I would like to be in the show more than I am because a job gives me structure to my life and days. It also keeps my brain alive and cheerful.”
