June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the ''Inside Soap'' Awards and received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2005 British Soap Awards. Brown was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2008 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2008 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Of ...

for services to drama and to charity, and promoted to an OBE in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

. In 2009, she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, making her the second performer to receive a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

nomination for their work in a soap opera, after Jean Alexander. In February 2020, at the age of 93, she announced that she had left ''EastEnders'' permanently.

Early life

Brown was born on 16 February 1927 in

Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, one of five children of Louisa Ann (née Butler) and Henry William Melton Brown. Her ancestry included English, Irish and Scottish, and from her maternal grandmother,

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

(from Algeria, the Netherlands and Italy). Through her grandmother, she was descended from the noted Jewish bare-knuckle boxer Isaac Bitton. Brown was educated at St John's Church of England School in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and then won a scholarship to Ipswich High School, where she passed the school certificate examinations. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she was evacuated to the Welsh village of Pontyates in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

. During the later years of the war, she served in the

Wrens Wrens are a family (biology), family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genus, genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely di ...

and was classically trained at the Old Vic Theatre School in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, London.

Career

Film and television

Brown had a long television career, appearing in three episodes of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' as Mrs Parsons (1970–71); the ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'', ''

Edna, the Inebriate Woman "Edna, the Inebriate Woman" is the second episode of the second season of the BBC anthology TV series ''Play for Today'', originally broadcast on 21 October 1971. ''Edna, the Inebriate Woman'' was written by Jeremy Sandford, directed by Ted Kotc ...

'' as Clara (1971); the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story '' The Time Warrior'' as Lady Eleanor (1973–74); the nursing soap ''

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

''; the history-of-Britain ''Churchill's People''; long-running comedy drama ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

''; the police drama soap ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

''; and cult sci-fi series '' Survivors''. She had a bigger part as Mrs Leyton in the costume drama ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth (producer), John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV (TV network), ITV period drama ''Upstairs, ...

'' (1976), and played Mrs Mann in ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' (1985). She also played Nanny Slagg in the BBC's big-budget production of '' Gormenghast'' in 2000. She was cast in small roles in several movies, appearing as the grieving mother of an undead biker in British horror flick '' Psychomania'' (1971), as well as ''

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album '' War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted ...

'' (1971), '' Sitting Target'' (1972), ''

The 14 ''The 14'' (also known as ''Existence''; U.S. title: ''The Wild Little Bunch'') is a 1973 British drama film directed by David Hemmings and starring Jack Wild and June Brown. It was written by Roland Starke. Its plot, based on fact, concerns t ...

'' (1973), '' Murder by Decree'' (1979), '' Nijinsky'' (1980), ''

The Mambo Kings ''The Mambo Kings'' is a 1992 musical film, musical Drama (film and television), drama film based on the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' by Oscar Hijuelos. The film was direc ...

'' (1992) and the '' Mr. Bean'' movie spin-off ''

Bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

'' (1997). She also appeared as Tom Hedden's wife in '' Straw Dogs'' (1971), although her scenes were cut from the film. In 1984, she featured in the TV mini-series ''

Lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

'' which starred actress Phoebe Cates. In 2006, Brown appeared as Aunt Spiker at the Children's Party at the Palace, an all-star event to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday. In 2010, Brown took part in the annual Christmas special of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. Brown said "I'm terrified and apprehensive about what I've let myself in for, I must be barmy and I'm not sure what's come over me ... I just hope I can remember the steps to the routines. I'm looking forward to working with the professional dancers and the other contestants." Her dancing partner was Vincent Simone, with whom she danced the tango. In August 2011 she was featured in the BBC's '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', and was the oldest person to have appeared on the programme. In July 2012, Brown hosted a documentary for the BBC called ''Respect Your Elders'', which looked at society's treatment and attitudes towards the elderly.

Theatre

Brown was also active in British theatre. She directed and starred in ''Pin Money'' by Malcolm Needs in London, and ''Double D'' by Matthew Westwood in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and London. She played Mrs Danvers in a touring production of ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

''. Other plays include ''

An Inspector Calls ''An Inspector Calls'' is a modern morality play and drawing room play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and at the New Theatre in London the following year. It is one of Priestley's ...

'', '' The Lion in Winter'', ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

'', and numerous

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

s. During her early career, she played the roles of

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

and

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

. In 2009, Brown played Jessie in the West End production of '' Calendar Girls'' at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

. Also in the play were former ''

'' stars

Anita Dobson Anita, Lady May (born 29 April 1949), known as Anita Dobson, is an English actress and singer. She is best known for playing Landlord, landlady Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from the show's inception in 1985 until 1988. She ac ...

( Angie Watts),

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress who first garnered attention playing Nicola Dobson in the coming-of-age BBC drama series '' Byker Grove'' (1989–1992). She became more widely known for her roles as Rebecca Hopkins on ...

( Kate Mitchell) and Jack Ryder (

Jamie Mitchell Jamie Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Jack Ryder (actor), Jack Ryder. The character debuted on 9 November 1998 and became one of the show's central protagonists, until he was killed off on 25 ...

''EastEnders''

Brown was recommended to producers for the role of Dot Cotton in ''EastEnders'' by one of its original cast members,

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...

, who played

Den Watts Den Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house from Albert ...

. Brown played the role from 1985 to 2020, with a break between 1993 and 1997. On 31 January 2008, aged 80, Brown became the first and, to date, only soap actor to carry an entire episode single-handed. The episode featured a monologue looking back over her character's life, dictated to a cassette machine for her husband Jim to listen to in hospital following a stroke. The fact that co-star and close friend John Bardon (who played Jim) was recovering from a stroke in real life added extra pathos to the episode. In 2009, Brown was nominated for the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

. Brown's nomination came as a result of her "single-hander" episode of ''EastEnders'', the director of which she praised. On 30 April 2012, it was announced that Brown was to take a six-month break from ''EastEnders'' and planned to write her autobiography during her time off. In October 2012, it was announced she had returned to filming, and she appeared on screen again from January 2013. Her autobiography, ''Before the Year Dot'', was published in 2013. In May 2015, Brown revealed that her eyesight was failing due to

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...

. Later, in 2016, a storyline for Dot in which her eyesight was deteriorating was introduced. Speaking about the condition in April 2019, Brown said that it had worsened since undergoing surgery in 2017, and that she no longer went out socially because of her eyesight: "I never go to soap awards or suchlike now. I don't recognise people that I know and they would think I was snubbing them." On 20 February 2020, Brown announced that she had left ''EastEnders''.

Personal life

In 1950, Brown met and married actor John Garley; he suffered from depression and died by suicide in 1957. In 1958, she married actor Robert Arnold. They had six children in seven years, one of whom died in infancy. The couple were together for 45 years, until he died in 2003 of Lewy-body dementia. Thereafter, she lived alone in Surrey. Brown was a supporter of the Conservative Party and told ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in 2009, "I wouldn't vote Labour, dear, if you paid me. I vote Conservative." Like her ''EastEnders'' character, she was a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Brown was appointed

(MBE) in the

and

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

, both for services to drama and to charity.

Death

Brown died on 3 April 2022, aged 95. On the announcement of her death, the following day, ''EastEnders'' paid tribute to Brown and posted condolences from several of her former co-stars on social media, including Gillian Taylforth,

Natalie Cassidy Natalie Ann Cassidy (born 13 May 1983) is an English actress and television personality. She is known for her role as Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders.'' She has also appeared in the BBC Two sitcom-horror series '' Psychoville ...

Lacey Turner Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She gained prominence in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' for her portrayal of Stacey Slater, a role she initially played between 2004 and 2010 before returning in 2014 an ...

Diane Parish Diane Carol Richards (born 6 November 1969), known professionally as Diane Parish, is an English actress, who has been portraying the character Denise Fox on the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' since 2006. A graduate of the Royal Academy of D ...

, Emma Barton, Shona McGarty,

Adam Woodyatt Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role he has portrayed since the show's inception in 1985, making him one of the shows longest ...

and

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and ag ...

. The episode broadcast that evening was dedicated to her memory. Following this, the documentary ''June Brown: A Walford Legend'', which originally aired in 2017, to celebrate Brown's 90th birthday, and her 2011 episode of ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', were aired on BBC One, in a change to the original schedule.

Filmography

Film

* ''

'' (1971) as Woman Patient * '' Straw Dogs'' (1971) as Mrs Hedden (scenes deleted) * '' Sitting Target'' (1972) as Lomart's neighbour * '' Psychomania'' (1972) as Mrs Pettibone * ''

'' (1973) as The Mother * '' Murder by Decree'' (1979) as Annie Chapman * '' Nijinsky'' (1980) as Maria Stepanova * '' Misunderstood'' (1984) as Mrs Paley * ''

'' (1992) as Portly Woman * ''

'' (1997) as Delilah * '' Margery & Gladys'' (2003) as Gladys Gladwell * ''Spidarlings'' (2016) as June * '' Ethel & Ernest'' (2016) as Ernest's stepmother

Television

* ''The Rough and Ready Lot'' (1959) as Chica * ''

'' (1970–1971) as Mrs. Parsons (3 episodes) * ''

'' (1971) as Clara * ''

'' ('' The Time Warrior'' serial) (1973–1974) as Lady Eleanor (4 episodes) * '' South Riding'' (1974) as Lily Sawdon (4 episodes) * ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

'' (1974) as Chrissy (1 episode) * ''

Churchill's People ''Churchill's People'' is a series of 26 historical dramas produced by the BBC, based on Winston Churchill's '' A History of the English-Speaking Peoples''. They were first broadcast on BBC1 in 1974 and 1975. It was produced to mark the centena ...

'' (1975) as Agnes Paston (1 episode) * '' The Sweeney'' (1975) as Mrs Martin (1 episode) * ''The Prince and the Pauper'' (1976) as Mother Canty (5 episodes) * ''

'' (1976–1977) as Mrs Violet Leyton (6 episodes) * '' Survivors'' (1977) as Susan (1 episode) * '' God's Wonderful Railway'' (1980) as Elsie Grant (3 episodes) * ''Instant Enlightenment Including VAT'' (1980) as Melanie * ''

'' (1984) as Mrs Trelawney (2 episodes) * ''

'' (1984) as Joany (1 episode) * ''

'' (1984) as Mrs Doleman (1 episode) * ''

'' (1985) as Mrs Mann (1 episode) * ''

'' (1985–1993, 1997–2020) as Dot Cotton (2,884 episodes) * '' Gormenghast'' (2000) as Nannie Slagg (2 episodes) * '' Heading Out'' (2013) as Sozzie (1 episode) * '' Would I Lie to You? (game show)'' (2014) as herself (1 episode) * ''June Brown at 90: A Walford Legend'' (2017), TV special * ''100 Years Younger in 21 Days'' (2018) as herself (documentary series) * ''Hard to Please OAPS'' (2019) as herself (documentary series, 6 episodes)

Radio

*''Missing You'' (2021) as Margey (1 episode)

Theatre

* ''The Rough and Ready Lot'' * ''Magnolia Street Story'' * ''

'' * ''Nightshade'' * '' The Lion in Winter'' * ''

'' * ''A Day Forever'' * ''

'' * ''Laura'' * ''Absolute Hell'' * ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' * '' Calendar Girls''

Directed

* ''Double D'' (play)

Bibliography

* ''Before the Year Dot'' (2013)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

June Brown
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

*
List of performances
(Theatre Collection,

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, June 1927 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement winners Conservative Party (UK) people English Christians English people of Algerian-Jewish descent English people of Dutch-Jewish descent English people of Irish descent English people of Italian-Jewish descent English people of Scottish descent English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Military personnel from Suffolk Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Ipswich High School, Suffolk People from Needham Market People of Sephardic-Jewish descent Women's Royal Naval Service ratings