EastEnders to say an emotional goodbye to icon Dot Branning in a special episode

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EastEnders will honour the character made famous by the late June Brown, who died earlier this year.

EastEnders June Brown as Dot Cotton
June Brown as Dot Cotton. (Image credit: BBC)

EastEnders is to say a sad goodbye to one of its most iconic characters — Dot Branning — in a special episode later this year.

Dot, who was played by June Brown OBE MBE, will be honoured when her family and friends come together in Walford for her funeral.

Actress June passed away in April this year. She had played Dot since 1985 and won the hearts of the nation with her portrayal of the chain-smoking, Bible-quoting fan fave.

Dot Cotton in EastEnders

Dot was a fan favourite. (Image credit: BBC)

At the moment, Dot is living in Ireland with her grandson Charlie Cotton and his son, Matthew.

But she will choose to have her funeral in Walford, where she lived for so long, with the people she loved best.

And of course Walford was where she met her beloved second husband Jim Branning, and found a whole new family with stepchildren, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Jim proposes to Dot

Dot was devoted to her second husband, Jim Branning. (Image credit: BBC)

"Everyone at EastEnders was truly heartbroken when June passed away earlier this year," said Chris Clenshaw, executive producer at EastEnders. 

"For quite a while, no one could even think about saying goodbye to Dot. June was always adamant that she never wanted Dot’s time to end while she was still with us, but she also knew that EastEnders would rightly say their farewells to Dot when the time was right."

He added: "The hardest day of my time here has been having to break the news that June had passed away. Some of her crew and cast had worked with June for many years and she was more than a colleague, she was a dear friend."

EastEnders Dot Ethel

Dot had many dear friends in Walford, including her best friend Ethel. (Image credit: BBC)

We're wondering if some old faces will return to say goodbye to the legend that was Dot Branning.

The episode will air towards the end of the year. 

EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now. 

Kerry Barrett
Kerry Barrett
Freelance writer

Kerry is a writer, author and editor with a lifelong love of the soaps, a passion for TV drama of all kinds, and an obsessive devotion to Strictly Come Dancing. 

She was features editor of All About Soap magazine for more than a decade, covering every bit of excitement from all the UK soaps and the Aussies and still writes about all the juiciest gossip from the Street, the Square and the Dales whenever she can.

Kerry’s also an author of historical fiction, and her two jobs collided when she got the chance to write two novels based on Emmerdale, and the Sugden, Tate and Dingle families, during WW2.