EastEnders star June Brown reveals she can’t afford to quit soap, despite health fears

June Brown - who plays Dot Cotton in the BBC One soap - has heartbreakingly revealed that she can’t afford to stop working, despite her failing eyesight

EastEnders star June Brown reveals she can’t afford to quit soap, despite health fears

by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

June joined EastEnders at the age of 58 - two years before her official retirement age.

And she has worked steadily as Dot Cotton ever since, minus a four-year break in the mid-1990s.

But the EastEnders legend has shockingly confessed that she can’t afford to stop working, despite the fact that she fears for her health.

Speaking with Radio 4, June Brown explained that her eyesight has been getting steadily worse over the last few years.

And, much like her on-screen character, she has been busily praying that her vision will return.

The 88-year-old said: "I see things in my eyes now.

"My eyes are not very good. In the left occasionally I do get this small circle with what looks like cross-wires.

“I do pray about my sight – maybe it will return.”

The elderly actress also opened up about how her pensions have been hit hard by the financial crisis, meaning that she feels forced to continue working as she cannot afford to retire.

June Brown on The Graham Norton Show
June Brown on The Graham Norton Show

“[I’m scared of] being poor when I’m old,” she said.

“You might laugh at that and think ‘she’ll never be poor when she’s old’ but I’ve not squirrelled away lots of money.

"I’ve had two pensions each that have gone down by 50%.”

Are you shocked that June Brown has been left in this position? Let us know your thoughts via the comments box below now.

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