EastEnders mourned the death of the beloved Dot Cotton in emotional scenes on Thursday night.
June Brown, who sadly passed away in April at the age of 95, played the legendary character on the hit BBC soap.
During Thursday’s double bill of the show, Sonia Fowler, played by Natalie Cassidy, had missed a number of calls before finding out her grandmother Dot had died.
The episode saw Sonia head to the Queen Vic pub, where residents had gathered for a party to turn on the Christmas lights, to announce Dot’s death.
She said: “I just had a phone call from Ireland. It’s Dot, she’s died.”
“She had dinner with Charlie and her great-grandkids, had her final ciggy and went up to bed with a paracetamol. Last thing she said was ‘I’ve got one of my heads coming on’.”
“She didn’t suffer, she fell asleep peacefully. Charlie found her this morning, rollers in, packet of fags and her Bible next to her.”
The silence says everything. Oh, Dot. #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/Nvq0ay80fS
— BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) December 1, 2022
Mick and Linda Carter, played by Danny Dyer and Kellie Bright, offered the emotional residents a free drink on the house to toast Dot’s passing.
Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean, said: “Known her all my life… She always gave the best advice”, while Kathy Beale played by Gillian Taylforth said of Dot: “She had the strongest shoulders out of all of us.”
Martin Fowler, played by James Bye, added: “God she’s best friends with my nan, my mum, my wife, my daughter, what is that four generations? I don’t know how to go on without her.”
Alfie Moon, played by Shane Richie, joked: “The only exercise she got was jumping to conclusions.”
Patrick Trueman, played by Rudolph Walker, said in a touching speech: “Losing your friends at my age doesn’t get any easier. Not easier at all.”
“But you know something, Dot is not a sentimental woman and if she was here now she would be judging each and every one of us and enjoying every second of it.”
“What can we do to remember her? Let us give her something that she will disapprove of – to Dot,” he added, raising his glass.
Mick Carter then turned on the Christmas lights switch-on in Albert Square in an emotional scene.
There’s one more light shining down on Walford this year. Rest In Peace, Dot. #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/BBKnhlZatt
— BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) December 1, 2022
He said: “It’s an emotional one this year because we say goodbye to Dot and it’s appropriate because she did love that baby Jesus and she loved her family, and that’s every single one of you standing here now. So in memory of Dot, Merry Christmas.”
The end of the episode saw Sonia pick up a photograph of her grandmother in her living room, where the pair had shared many emotional moments over the years.
Walking towards the door in tears, Sonia looked around for a final time before saying: “Goodnight Dot.”
Dot’s funeral will air this winter on BBC One.
