When we think of EastEnders, it’s almost impossible to imagine Albert Square without our favourite long-term resident, Dot Branning.
Whether she is dishing out advice to her neighbours, or taking in those who need her help, Dot has been one of Walford’s biggest characters for over thirty years.
Actress June Brown, who plays the beloved laundrette owner, turns 90 next week and in order to celebrate her life the BBC are honouring the star with her own half-hour programme on Thursday 16th February.
But June has recently spoken out about reports that she is set to leave the show.
Putting the rumours to bed, the actress – who first arrived on Albert Square in 1985 as bad boy Nick Cotton’s mother – told The Sun: “As long as I am capable of working, and can learn lines and move around, I will carry on. I'd be utterly bored if I stopped.
"I don't think I look nearly 90 but because I can't see these days I don't know.
"You don't think about your age - you just knock it down."
We’ve seen Dot go through her fair share of trials and tribulations in EastEnders, from being swindled by her son over and over again, to the heart breaking death of her husband, Jim.
But June has also been through her own hard times, and she pointed out that she wouldn’t leave the show as she fears growing old without money.
She said: “I can't afford to retire … I've always been afraid of being poor when I'm old.
“It's a dreadful thing to be strapped for cash when you are elderly.
“It's awful when you're young, too, but you always have hope."
Well if the rumours are true, June is said to have been offered in excess of £300,000 to stay on the popular soap.
We’d say that’s definitely a sum worth staying for!
Watch June Brown At 90 – A Walford Legend on Thursday 16 February at 8pm, BBC One.
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