Dorothy "Dot" Branning (née
Colwell; previously
Cotton) is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the popular
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
,
EastEndersEastEnders is a long-running, popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985...
, played by
June BrownJune Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
, although a young Dot was played by
Tallulah Pitt-BrownTallulah Pitt-Brown is an English film, stage and television actress from Wandsworth, South-West London. She is currently best known for playing a young Dot Cotton in the EastEnders spin-off episode Dot's Story in 2003....
in flashbacks in a special episode entitled
EastEnders: Dot's Story (2003).
Dot first appeared in
EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of criminal
Nick CottonNicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of...
. The character has worked as a launderette assistant for most of that time along with original character
Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by the late actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006...
, who died in 2006. June Brown left the show in 1993, unhappy with the direction of Dot's characterisation. On-screen Dot moved away with her son and his family. Brown returned to the role in 1997.
A tragicomic character, Dot is known for her devout
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
faith, gossiping,
chain smokingChain smoking is the practice of lighting a new cigarette for personal consumption immediately after one that is finished, sometimes using the finished cigarette to light the next one. It is a common form of addiction.-Causes:...
, and motherly attitude to those in need. A recurring storyline in the serial has been Dot's continuous forgiveness of her son's villainous crimes. Originally married in the series to conman
Charlie CottonCharles "Charlie" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher Hancock. Charlie was a semi-regular character, introduced in March 1986 as the estranged husband of Dot Cotton. He appeared in stints until producers made the decision to kill the...
, Dot was married again in 2002 to pensioner
Jim BranningJames Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999....
(
John BardonJohn Bardon, John Bardon, John Bardon, (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 in Brentford, England is an English stage and television actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1988 (1987 season) as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate, sharing the award with co-star Emil...
). The union has proven popular with fans, and Brown and Bardon have won awards for their screen partnership.
On 31 January 2008, Dot became the first character ever to appear in a monologue episode of a British soap. The acclaimed episode saw Dot reminiscing about her years of loss and grief into a tape recorder as a message to her ailing husband Jim. Brown is currently on a break from
EastEnders between July and October 2009 to take part in a west-end production of
Calendar GirlsCalendar Girls is a comedy film directed by Nigel Cole.The screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi is based on the true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research under the auspices of the Women's Institutes.The film was adapted into...
.
Creation
Although Dot had been referred to since the very early episodes of the programme as the mother of villain
Nick CottonNicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of...
(
John AltmanJohn Altman is an English actor, perhaps best known for playing "Nasty" Nick Cotton in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:...
), she did not actually appear on-screen until July 1985, episode 40. Dot was conceptualised by show creators,
Tony HollandAnthony John "Tony" Holland was an English television screenwriter best known as a writer and co-creator of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early career:...
and
Julia SmithJulia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
, along with the other original characters. Introduced as the "arch-gossip" of the launderette, Dot was a character who bridged the generations. The actress
June BrownJune Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
was given the role after being recommended by actor
Leslie GranthamLeslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders...
, who played original character,
Den WattsDennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well-known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
.
June Brown was offered the part of Dot Cotton for a period of three months initially and in her own words, she was brought in "merely to be Nick Cotton's mother because Nick was coming back again". Brown has told Decca Aitkenhead of
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
in 2009 that she was wary of joining a soap opera as she had seen
EastEnders once on television, "and there was an argument going on, and I thought, 'Oh, I don't want to watch all that,' so I switched it off. I didn't watch it again until I was asked to be in it." The role was extended and the character has become one of the longest-running to have featured in
EastEnders.
Appearance
In order to become the character of Dot, actress June Brown is required to wear a wig to replicate Dot's 1950s "Italian Boy" hairstyle that has remained in a largely unchanged style since she first appeared in 1985. Although Brown now wears a wig, for many years the hair sported by Dot actually belonged to the actress. Brown has stated that as soon as Dot's hair piece is on, she becomes the character. The unchanged style of Dot was deemed so important by the programme makers, that when June Brown requested to have dental work carried out to improve her prominent front teeth, the producers refused to allow it, arguing that Dot could not afford expensive tooth capping. Brown was not permitted to alter her teeth until early 1991, when they became loose. June Brown has indicated that she does not want Dot's style altered. She claimed in 2002 that Dot had the same coats in her wardrobe that she was given in 1985. The fur-collared coat Dot wears for special occasions was donated by the character
Angie WattsAngela "Angie" Watts is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out....
(
Anita DobsonAnita Dobson is an English television actress.- Career :Dobson trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London....
) in 1988 when she left the serial. Brown commented, "I like the older clothes [...] I don't want new clothes, I'm happy the way she is. She thinks she looks really smart. She's got a terrible opinion of herself that woman!"
Personality and religion
Brown has said that when she was cast as Dot, she was given a list of illnesses the character had. She added, "It meant she was a hypercondriac because she had nobody to care about her. She was quite a selfish woman [initially]." Dot has been described by author Hilary Kingsley as a "born victim." She adds that "with each blow that life delivers [Dot] bobs back up again, almost asking for more trouble, more pain, more suffering." Dot is renowned for being a hypochondriac, her Christian faith and quoting from the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
. She has been described by Rupert Smith, author of
20 Years in Albert Square, as "God-bothering" and self-righteous. According to Kingsley, "nothing shakes Dot's view that the world is good because the creator made it so. Her faith sustains her through the most appalling ordeals." The character once expressed part of the reason for her faith on-screen in 2000, commenting to a vicar,"I couldn't manage without my faith, not with the life I've had"; former executive producer of
EastEnders,
John YorkeJohn Yorke is currently the Controller of BBC Drama Production.He attended Newcastle University. He joined the BBC in the late 1980s, working initially in radio as a studio manager and then as a producer on BBC Radio 5....
, has stated that this is his favourite line of EastEnders' entire existence. Author Antony Slide has noted that Dot's religious beliefs have given her solace, but has given her an excuse to be prejudiced against her neighbours, and to deal with the criminal antics of her wayward son. He described her as a "simpleminded woman whom one loved to hate".
In Kathryn and Phillip Dodd's published essay,
From EastEnd to EastEnders, Dot has been used as an example of the media's representation of the working-class as community-orientated, but defensive: "evangelist-cum-launderette supervisor. Eagle-eyed, she patrols the Square, confronting evil and despair and asking those stricken with doubt to trust God, while simultaneously organizing the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme."
The character has taken on a matriarchal role in the absence of her own family, taking on the burdens of numerous waifs and strays throughout the show's history, including
Donna LudlowDonna Ludlow is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Matilda Ziegler.Donna was a troubled individual, desperate for attention, but shunned by almost all who encountered her. After finding out she was conceived from rape and then rejected by her mother, she set...
(
Matilda ZieglerMatilda Ziegler is an English television, stage and film actress best known for her roles as Irma Gobb in Mr. Bean and as Donna Ludlow in the long-running BBC1 serial EastEnders and Ruth in the BBC Three sitcom Swiss Toni.-Television career:Matilda Ziegler's first screen role remains her most...
),
Rod NormanRodric "Rod" Norman is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher McHallem.Rod the roadie, was a modern day hobo. He dossed in squats and never settled anywhere for long, although he did return to Albert Square several times...
(
Christopher McHallemChristopher McHallem is a British actor, writer, musician and director.McHallem began his career in 1977 with the punk rock/post-punk band The Transmitters under the pseudonym "Dexter O'Brian", but left the band shortly after its' formation to pursue a career in acting.He is well remembered for...
), Disa O'Brien (
Jan GravesonJanice Margaret "Jan" Graveson is a British actress and singer.-Television:Born into a mining family, Graveson began performing on the club circuit at the age of six, but made her television debut in White Peak Farm in 1988. She went on to play the pregnant runaway Disa O'Brien in the BBC soap...
),
Nigel BatesNigel Bates is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Bradley from 1992 to 1998.Nigel was known as a lovable and kind hearted man who had a large collection of weird shirts and ties because of his unique dress sense.He was the best friend of Grant and Phil...
(Paul Bradley) and Clare Bates (
Gemma BissixGemma Bissix is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as Clare Bates in EastEnders and Clare Devine in Hollyoaks ; she was awarded with two British Soap Awards for the latter role...
). Author Christine Geraghty asserts that Dot's role in the mothering structure of the serial has been confirmed.
Describing Dot, June Brown has said, "I love playing her — she's a strong character. Dear old Dot, she's got strong moral views and odd religious beliefs, but her heart's in the right place. She has that awful worried expression on her face the whole time". Brown has noted the changes within Dot since the show's inception, saying that initially Dot was sharp and selfish, but since her character remarried in 2002, she has gained security and has "no reason to have the hypochondria she had in the past [...] She's become more caring over the years. She enjoys the company of young people. She loves her church. She can get in an anxious state - I like it when Dot's hysterical! She's also amusing, mostly because she doesn't realise she is".
Comedic role
As well as being tragic, Dot is scripted as a comic character. June Brown has discussed the humour she incorporates into her performances: "I think Dot would be awfully boring if she weren't a bit comic [...] I always thought I had to put an edge on it, an edge of comedy, which just means doing it more seriously than you would do. If you want to play comedy then you have to be very intense about it [...] very, very serious." Some of Dot's catchphrases are used for humour, such as "Ooh I say!", uttered when she is "stuck for words". In 2004, Brown discussed the origin of the saying: "It was written once in the script and I quite enjoyed it, so I used to say it occasionally when it wasn't in the scripts. It was useful because it could be said in all different ways. Dot's very straight-laced, so it helped to express her horror at what went on." June Brown revealed in 2008 that she has tried to cut down the use of this, along with the mispronunciation of her employer, Mr Papadopolous, as she has become a little embarrassed by them now they are so known. Mr. Papadopolous is the owner of the launderette where Dot works. In a long-running joke, Dot has difficulty pronouncing his surname, and for much of the show's history he has been referred to as Mr. Oppodopolus, Oppydoppy, or varying other mispronunciations. Brown has said she enjoys playing the comical aspects of Dot, stating, "She's not dreadfully funny but she's amusing and I like that because it lightens it up a bit."
Smoking
Smoking cigarettes has become synonymous with Dot, and Brown has suggested that the habit is "intrinsic" to the character. Following the 2007 England
smoking banSmoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
, it was reported in the
Daily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily tabloid newspaper. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper, The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982. Scottish and Irish editions of the paper were launched in...
that the BBC were refusing to prohibit the character from smoking on-screen despite the act being banned in workplaces, as they have "to portray real life - and people smoke". Dot's smoking was criticised by private healthcare company
BupaBupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries.Bupa was established in 1947 when 17 British provident associations joined together to provide healthcare for the general public...
in 2008, when they rated her television's most unhealthy character. They suggest that, in order to spread a public message, Dot should appear breathless, not with "implausibly good health". They added, "Though Dot Cotton has a smoker's voice - deeper than you might expect, she does not seem to be short of breath or wheezy" and that viewers would be influenced by this. However, Dot's smoking has been described by broadcasting watchdogs
OfcomThe Office of Communications or, as it is more often known, Ofcom, is the independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established in the enabling device, the , but received its full authority from the Communications...
as "justified in the context of the programme as a representation of an East End character" and they therefore stipulate that enforcement of broadcast smoking-sanctions would be unlikely on
EastEnders.
The role of "the gossip"
Upon her arrival, Dot Cotton was quickly established as "the gossip", whose purpose, as author Anthony Slide sees it, was "that of a
Greek chorusThe Greek chorus is a group of twelve or fifteen minor actors in tragic and twenty-four in comic plays of classical Athens. They could be portraying any characters - for instance, in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the chorus comprises the elderly men of Argos, whereas in Euripides' The Bacchae, they are a...
, commenting on the foibles of her fellow residents of Albert Square, from her vantage point as manager of the local launderette". The "gossip" is a soap opera role that author Christine Geraghty has described as "crucial to the audience's engagement with a serial and provides both a source of information and a means of speculation for the viewer." She asserts that a fundamental aspect of British soap is the idea of supporting members of community, based on the sharing of intimate knowledge, allowing "practical and emotional needs to be met" within the enclosed community. However, according to Geraghty, there is nevertheless "an unease about the price paid for such support and an acknowledgement of the fine-line between neighbourliness and nosiness. The 'gossip' personifies this unease and though her task of passing on information and ferreting out problems is crucial to the community, she [...] is frequently the butt and mockery of criticism [...] The avidity with which Dot Cotton seeks out news is the subject of some embarrassment to her more restrained neighbours but the exchange of information she provides is essential if the community is to provide support to its members [...] the very process of exchanging information makes her an essential yet mistrusted figure."
Indeed, it has been noted that, throughout the soap's early years, Dot was portrayed as a "lovable bigot", prejudiced against her neighbours and only happy when others were not. During the 1980s, Dot was shown to exhibit both
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
and
homophobiaHomophobia is defined as an "irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals", or individuals perceived to be homosexual; it is also defined as "unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality", "fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay...
to members of the Walford community. In 1987, Dot was shown to respond negatively to Colin Russell (
Michael CashmanMichael Maurice Cashman is a British former actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.- Acting :...
) upon learning he was gay, reacting in "horror and ignorant self-righteousness" and spreading rumours that Colin had
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....
. According to Gary Loach from GaydarNation, Dot was being used by the programme makers to expose the bigotry of the "moral majority" in the real world following a public and media backlash over
EastEnders screening of its first homosexual kiss. However, while Dot has portrayed bigotry, author Anthony Slide has noted that the character can typically be "relied upon to drop her prejudices — she learned to accept both blacks and homosexuals in Albert Square."
Despite Dot's remaining penchant for gossip, it has been noted by Cole Moreton of The IndependentThe Independent is a British newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers. The daily edition was named National...
in 2008 that the character has "evolved from a nasty gossip into a strong character for whom viewers feel warmth". Author Dorothy Hobson has discussed this in her book Soap Opera, suggesting that Dot, while providing a narrative function as a gossip, has in turn been the subject of other people's gossip, with her own problems, troubles and vulnerability.
Nick
Dot's relationship with her wayward son Nick (John Altman) has been a feature of the character's narrative since her inception. Unlike Dot, Nick is scripted as a semi-regular character, one who comes and goes sporadically and, as authors Jill Marshall and Angela Werndly have observed, "we know heartache is in store for Dot Cotton every time her son, 'Nasty Nick', turns up [...] The recurrence of generic elements means we derive pleasure from expectation and prediction."
Executive producer
Diederick SanterDiederick Santer is a British television producer and is currently the Executive Producer of the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, with additional responsibility for developing younger skewing drama series and serials...
has discussed the "wonderfully dysfunctional mother-son relationship" Nick shares with Dot and her perpetual willingness to give Nick another chance regardless of his history of wrongdoing. Santer explained: "There’s that thing where you sort of dare to hope that someone’s changed, which is really tragic. They’ve let you down a hundred times, and yet you still hope that the hundred and first time they’ll have changed." Actor
Leslie GranthamLeslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders...
has stated that Dot is the "one friend in [Nick's] life", while series story producer
Dominic Treadwell-CollinsDominic Treadwell-Collins is currently story producer on the long running BBC soap opera EastEnders. Formerly senior story editor under Brigie de Courcy, Dominic has overseen storylines such as the Max Branning and Stacey Slater affair....
has affirmed: "Dot’s always going to forgive him. And that’s the beauty of Nick and Dot." Concurring with this sentiment, John Altman (Nick) agreed: "No matter what he does, she’ll forgive him. So did a lot of gangsters' mothers throughout history. Probably
Al CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s....
's mother thought he was a sweet lad, you know."
One of Nick's most notable returns to the series occurred in 1990. Nick returned to his mother's life with the claim that he was a born-again Christian, which happened to coincide with her £1000 win on the bingo. EastEnders writer
Sarah PhelpsSarah Phelps is a British television, radio, film and freelance playwright who was working for the Royal Shakespeare Company when she took part in a BBC initiative to find new writers...
explained: "For Dot, the idea that Jesus had finally spoken to Nick, that was all her Christmases coming at once! Nick knew that. It was sort of obvious that Nick could be saying 'Jesus walks with me' and then just go out and kick somebody or nick their wallet." With the help of a fake priest, Nick managed to convince his mother of his new found faith and then began a slow campaign to control her eating habits and poison her in order to claim her money. Discussing the storyline, scriptwirter Colin Brake has indicated that at first it was not clear to the audience whether Nick had reformed or not, but as the weeks passed it became obvious that he did intend to kill his mother, as he was shown practising a fake suicide note in Dot's handwriting — a foil to cover the intended murder; according to Brake, Dot remained blithely and perhaps purposefully ignorant to his wrong-doing. The episode which culminated the storyline, written by P.J. Hammond, was set solely in Dot's house and featured an unusually small cast consisting of Nick, Dot, Nick's estranged father
CharlieCharles "Charlie" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher Hancock. Charlie was a semi-regular character, introduced in March 1986 as the estranged husband of Dot Cotton. He appeared in stints until producers made the decision to kill the...
, Dot's close friend
Ethel SkinnerEthel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
and Alistair the fake priest. At the last moment, in what Altman has called the "one time we saw a glimmer of Nick’s good side", Nick backed out of his plan and stopped Dot from eating the poisoned meal he had intended to kill her with. Once again Dot was left alone, broken-hearted at what her own son had been prepared to do to her.
Other storylines have concentrated on Dot's various attempts to reform Nick, such as in 1991, when Nick returned with a heroin addiction. As the plot unfolded, Dot tried to curtail Nick's addiction by locking him in his room and forcing him to go
cold turkey"Cold turkey" is an expression describing the actions of a person who gives up a habit or addiction all at once. That is, rather than gradually easing the process through reduction or by using replacement medication...
. His resulting paranoia and cravings led him to escape and murder the first person he encountered,
The Queen VictoriaThe Queen Victoria is the fictional Victorian public house in the popular BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Story and appearance:...
landlord
Eddie RoyleEddie Royle is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Melia from 1990 until 1991.-History:Eddie arrived in Walford in July 1990, as the new landlord of the Queen Vic pub, which he bought from Frank Butcher. He was a serious minded landlord, far different...
(
Michael MeliaMichael Melia is an established British actor best known for his work on television.Melia was born in Berkshire and attended St. Mary's College, Twickenham, the oldest Roman Catholic college in England. Before taking up acting he was a teacher. At one stage he ran a bar in Spain and thought about...
). The episode where Eddie was murdered was the big autumn launch episode for 1991. Nick stood trial in January 1993; however, "he got away with murder" for a second time in the serial. Other scams have included Nick's attempt to con Dot by claiming he had AIDS in 1998 after escaping from prison, which ultimately led to Dot having him re-imprisoned. Then followed a plot that saw him largely responsible for the death of his son
AshleyAshley Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, the son of Zoe and Nick Cotton and the grandson of Charlie and Dot Cotton, played by Rossi Higgins in 1993 and then by Frankie Fitzgerald in 2000.-History:...
(
Frankie FitzgeraldFrankie Fitzgerald is a British actor who played Ashley Cotton in EastEnders Jason Porter - main character of the last series of the drama Dream Team on Sky1. Fitzgerald was born in South London...
) in 2001, ultimately leading Dot to disown Nick.
Following pleas from June Brown to resurrect Nick, John Altman returned to the serial again in December 2008, in a storyline that saw Nick attempt to con Dot again, this time aided by a previously unheard of daughter,
DottyKirsty "Dotty" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Molly Conlin.-Background:Dotty Cotton is the daughter of Nick Cotton, who returned to the series after a seven year break...
(
Molly ConlinMolly Frances Conlin is a British Actress. She is currently best known for playing Dotty Cotton on the British soap series Eastenders on which she first appeared on 26 December 2008. Dotty is the daughter of regular bad-boy Nick Cotton, and the granddaughter of Dot Branning.Conlin began working...
). Altman explained: "Nick needed something, because I think if he didn’t have little Dotty, for him to walk through that door, she would just have treated him as a complete outcast." As the storyline progressed, it was revealed that Nick and Dotty had intentions to kill Dot for her inheritance; they concocted a plan to make her think she was suffering from
dementiaDementia is a serious cognitive disorder. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury or progressive, resulting in long-term decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
then overdose her with sleeping pills, which fails when Dotty has a change of heart and Nick flees once again after causing an explosion and being disowned by Dot.
Charlie
Like Nick, Dot's first screen husband,
Charlie CottonCharles "Charlie" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher Hancock. Charlie was a semi-regular character, introduced in March 1986 as the estranged husband of Dot Cotton. He appeared in stints until producers made the decision to kill the...
(
Christopher HancockChristopher Hancock was a British television and theatre actor. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. His brother is actor Stephen Hancock. He and his brother trained at the Old Vic theatre school. He was married to Ann Walford and had two daughters...
), was also a semi-regular character who came and went throughout his duration in the show. Depicted as bigamous and a conman, Charlie typically would reappear in the show whenever he needed money or temporary accommodation and, because of Dot's Christian ideals regarding forgiveness, Charlie would always be permitted to return. According to Christopher Hancock, Charlie was "a truly revolting character, a loser."
Producers decided to kill Charlie off in 1991; Charlie died off-screen after having a motor accident in his lorry. The decision to kill Charlie was taken in order to reintroduce Charlie's son, Nick. Nick had been involved in a storyline that saw him attempt to poison Dot in 1990, and producers felt that in order for Dot to allow Nick back into her life again, something major had to occur in her narrative, that being the death of her husband. Storyline editor, Andrew Holden, has discussed this in the EastEnders Handbook publication in 1991: "We wanted to bring Nick Cotton back and we also wanted to push Dot forward and change her life. But the problem was how? The last time we saw Nick he was attempting to kill his mother. Dot isn't a fool so we knew getting them back together was like a three card trick. How do we get out of this? So we made [Nick] a heroin addict. That made him vulnerable, in a mess and needing his mother to get money for him. We then had to kill Charlie because I figured that only in a state of shock and uncertainty about her belief in God would Dot contemplate forgiving Nick and attempting to reform him. She decides to believe that she can make a decent human being of Nick. She feels it's her last chance. As a widow Dot enters new territory. Dot's snobbery is based on ludicrous misconceptions, one of which is that she is better than [her friend] Ethel because she has a husband. She is going to have a lot of scope [...] Dot's life is going to change." Actress June Brown was opposed to the killing of Charlie and she attempted to get the programme makers to change their minds. She comments, "I was very unhappy to learn that Charlie would be killed off. I would have preferred if they'd left the door open for him to possibly return one day. I went to see the writers and put this forward. I suggested that there could be some uncertainty about the body. Charlie may have picked up a hitch-hiker and he was the one who died. John Altman, who plays Nick, was also sorry about Charlie. We weren't thinking just about Christopher Hancock, who played Charlie so well, it was that we liked the character and it seemed a waste. But I was too late, I couldn't change their minds. In the past I have talked things through and I was listened to".
Charlie's funeral episode, written by Linda Dearsley, aired on 11 July 1991, and was dominated by Dot's reaction to Charlie's death and her trip to identify his body. It is selected by writer Colin Brake as one of 1991's episodes of the year.
Jim
Dot's second significant romance was built upon by scriptwriters in 2000 on the behest of producer
John YorkeJohn Yorke is currently the Controller of BBC Drama Production.He attended Newcastle University. He joined the BBC in the late 1980s, working initially in radio as a studio manager and then as a producer on BBC Radio 5....
. Dot was paired romantically with pensioner
Jim BranningJames Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999....
, played by
John BardonJohn Bardon, John Bardon, John Bardon, (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 in Brentford, England is an English stage and television actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1988 (1987 season) as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate, sharing the award with co-star Emil...
and a slow courtship was featured, with Dot often shown to be outraged by Jim's advances, resulting in numerous rejections. Dot finally succumbed and accepted his marriage proposal in an episode that aired in November 2001; the scenes were filmed inside one of the carriages of the
London EyeThe Merlin Entertainments London Eye , at a height of , is the largest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over three million people in one year...
on the
South BankThe South Bank is the area in London on the southern bank of the River Thames near Waterloo station that houses a number of important cultural buildings/institutions....
of the
River ThamesThe River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor....
. Their wedding aired on 14 February 2002,
Valentine's DayValentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering...
. The Guardian
critic, Nancy Banks-SmithNancy Banks-Smith is a British television critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969. In 1970 she was recommended for the Order of the British Empire, which she rejected.*1969 - Now : Guardian, TV critic*1965 - 1969: Sun, TV critic...
, described the wedding as "uniquely uneventful [...] For Dot and Jim 'In sickness and health... till death do us part' seemed to carry more resonance than for most."
Bardon has revealed that both he and Brown were sceptical about their characters marrying. In an interview with American fan-based newspaper, Walford Gazette, he commented, "No way did the pair of us want to get married because we thought if we got married, we'd sit indoors and watch the telly every night. As it happened, we've had some nice things to do. And we are married, and it's worked out all right." Brown has reiterated that she feared Dot would become boring if she married Jim, but that producers persuaded her that the marriage might be a good thing. On-screen, Dot had suffered the death of her grandson Ashley, and Brown felt that a traumatic event like that would have changed her character. In her opinion, the only way Dot would have got over Ashley's death "would be to have someone else to care for and when it happened there was nobody [but] with marrying Jim she gets a family - that's what persuaded me. That house will become a house again - it will have a central point, they will be able to use the house as a central point, as Dot will be there."
Critic
Grace DentGrace Dent is an English journalist, author and broadcaster. Dent is a columnist for newspapers such as The Guardian, where she specialises in T.V and popular culture. She has written ten novels which have been translated into twelve languages...
has likened Dot and Jim to Coronation Streets
HildaHilda Alice Ogden is a fictional character from the television series Coronation Street, one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the soap opera, whose name became synonymous with a certain type of working-class woman...
and
Stan OgdenStan Ogden was a long running fictional character on the television series Coronation Street. He was played by Bernard Youens from 1964 to 1984.-Life On the Street:...
, comparing a scene in
EastEnders where Dot nags Jim and he prays for a quiet life to a similar one from
Coronation Street, that aired decades before. June Brown discussed Dot's relationship with Jim in 2004: "Initially, Jim wasn't the sort of person that Dot approved of. He drank, he gambled, he lied - he wasn't reliable at all. But Jim decided that he quite fancied Dot - heaven knows why! I think that you always have to work out for yourself how you can make the character work in a new situation. I could see that Jim was kind to Dot [...] His kindness drew her towards him. [...] Dot's definitely in control of Jim. She quite enjoys bossing him around." Brown stated that she enjoys her screen partnership with John Bardon, saying "We work very well together - he's got great timing and he can be very tender too."
The on-screen relationship between Dot and Jim was halted in 2007 when Jim was hastily written out of the soap due to Bardon's health problems. In the script Jim suffered a stroke and was placed in the care of off-screen relatives. Dot and Jim remained together, with Jim making sporadic appearances between 2008 and 2009 to visit Dot. A more permanent return for the character was hinted at in 2009.
Friendships
An enduring friendship featured in
EastEnders was the one shared between the characters Dot Cotton and
Ethel SkinnerEthel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
(played by
Gretchen FranklinGretchen Franklin was an English actress with a career in showbusiness that spanned over eighty years.She was born in Covent Garden, West London, a cousin of the actor Clive Dunn. She was best known for playing the character of Ethel Skinner in the long running BBC One, soap opera, EastEnders...
), first shown on-screen in 1985 and ending with Ethel's death in 2000, though the characters shared a backstory set prior to 1985 and were scripted as neighbours who grew old together in East London, along with
Lou BealeLouise Ada "Lou" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, Civvy Street, set during the Second World War....
(
Anna WingAnna Wing, MBE is an English actress. She has had a long career in television and theatre.-Personal Life:Wing was born in Hackney, London, and started out as an artist's model and later, during the Second World War, worked in East End hospitals.At 30, she married the actor Peter Davey, by whom she...
).
BBC NewsBBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
has described Dot and Ethel as an "incomparable double-act [...] Occasionally spiky and often hilarious". Dot and Ethel shared few similarities in personality. During an episode that aired in 2008, just under 8 years after Ethel died in the serial, Dot discussed the differences between them: "Ethel was a free spirit, not like me. All bottled up. I remember sitting on the step of the Vic, waiting for me mother. I caught a glimpse of her through the door. Sitting on top of the piano, her legs spread, showing next week's washing and bawling out "Roll Out the Barrel". Just like a navvy. She didn't seem to have a care in the world. I had enough for both of us. I loved Ethel." Critic for
The Guardian,
Nancy Banks-SmithNancy Banks-Smith is a British television critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969. In 1970 she was recommended for the Order of the British Empire, which she rejected.*1969 - Now : Guardian, TV critic*1965 - 1969: Sun, TV critic...
, discussed the characters' relationship in 2008, comparing them to the girls written about by
Dylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer[, Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved 11 January 2008.] who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
: "There was always one pretty and pert [Ethel], and always one in glasses [Dot]." Bank-Smith adds that theirs was "a symbiotic relationship in which the pretty one looks even prettier by contrast and the plain one is popular by proxy. Which is not to say it is not a real and enduring friendship."
Their bickering and personality differences were often used for comic effect; however, in episode 248 of the show, scriptwriter
Colin BrakeColin Brake is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programs such as Bugs and EastEnders. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series Doctor Who...
notes that viewers were shown a different side to Ethel and Dot's friendship in the soaps second two-hander episode. The episode aired in July 1987 and featured just the two old ladies (although Dot was Ethel's junior by twenty years or so). Brake has described the episode as a "mini-play about nostalgia and growing old", adding that "some viewers found it too unusual, but many others were charmed by the change of pace". According to Brake, the episode gave Gretchen Franklin and June Brown the opportunity to show the sadness behind the often comical characters of Ethel and Dot. The episode was written by Charlie Humphreys and directed by
Mike GibbonMike Gibbon is an English television producer and director. Gibbon married Moya McCarthy in July 1976 and they have a daughter, Sophie....
, a future producer of the show. Author Christine Geraghty has used the episode as an example of the fact that "female conversation is the backbone to traditional soap".
Author Dorothy Hobson has discussed the use of older female characters in British soap opera as a means of providing comedy. She compares Ethel and Dot's function in
EastEnders to the trio of
Ena SharplesEna Sharples was one of the original characters of the long-running British soap opera, Coronation Street and her name became a byword for a "battle axe" woman...
,
Minnie CaldwellMinnie Caldwell was one of the original characters in the long-running British soap opera, Coronation Street.Caldwell, played by Margot Bryant from 1960 to 1976, was a timid and lovable elderly woman who went about with the more dominant characters of Martha Longhurst and Ena Sharples...
and Martha Longhurst from
Coronation StreetCoronation Street is an award-winning prime time soap opera set and produced in Manchester created by Tony Warren...
with regard to providing humour. She has noted that following Ethel's retirement from the serial, the production team at
EastEnders attempted to replicate Dot and Ethel's friendship by introducing a number of "'friends' to fulfil the same function of a female friend for Dot and the series." These include
Lilly MattockLilly Mattock is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Barbara Keogh from 1998–1999. Lilly liked to forget her age and concentrate on having fun...
(
Barbara KeoghBarbara Keogh was a British actress who is possibly best remembered for playing Lilly Mattock in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as well as playing various roles in comedy sketch-show, Little Britain....
) and
Yolande TruemanYolande Trueman is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Angela Wynter. The character made her final appearance on 3 October 2008.-Development:...
(
Angela WynterAngela Wynter is a British actress. She is probably most famous for playing the character of Yolande Trueman in the soap opera EastEnders first appearing on 16 October 2003 to her last appearance on 3 October 2008. She based the character on her late sister Merlene and played a similar character...
). The author goes on to note that Ethel's role in Dot's narrative was difficult to replace because "far from being complete stereotypes, their relationships depend on them being long-standing friends with the ability to share stories and reminisce. For the characters to 'work' there is a need for unspoken intimacy and a shared knowledge for each other's lives. They carry the internal knowledge of the narratives and share that knowledge with the audience." Brown has spoken about the "wonderful rapport" she had with Gretchen Franklin who played Ethel. She added, "I do miss Ethel, it was great with Dot and Ethel. They did try and stop us working together at one time, but the producer changed and it all went back to where it started."
Throughout her time in
EastEnders, many of Dot's scenes have been set in Walford's launderette, where the character has worked as an assistant for almost the entire duration of her time in
EastEnders. Here, Dot was frequently featured with another long-running protagonist, fellow launderette colleague,
Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by the late actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006...
, played by
Wendy RichardWendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...
. Author Christine Geraghty has discussed the working environment the women inhabited, indicating that because the owner of the launderette is barely present, the "working relationship hinges on the friendships (or otherwise) of the women who work in it". As with Ethel, Dot and Pauline's friendship was often used for comedic purposes; emphasis was placed on their differences, leading to numerous petty squabbles and in 2004 saw them "buried alive" underneath a collapsed fairground ride, in the midst of a cake-selling war. However, Pauline and Dot were most frequently shown
gossipGossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It forms one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information transmitted...
ing, reminiscing about the past, or sharing their woes in the launderette. The duo has been described by television personality
Paul O'GradyPaul James O'Grady MBE is a BAFTA-award winning English comedian of television, radio and stage. He achieved initial fame as the creator of comic drag character Lily Savage, a vampish scouser known as the "Birkenhead Bombshell"...
as a "fabulous double-act": "Dot's probably Pauline's one and only confidant. Pauline eventually will break down and tell Dot things that she'd never tell anybody else." Pauline's death in the serial, in 2006, ended the screen friendship.
1993 exit and 1997 return
In 1993, June Brown decided to quit
EastEnders after becoming "discontented" with the way Dot was portrayed. In 1997 she revealed to the
Daily Mirror: "I always felt Dot was one of those characters who should stay the same. She's a simple creature. There are some people who the same things happen to them again and again. They never learn [...] When I left, there was all that rubbish about it getting too much for me [but] I stopped because I wasn't being used very much. I thought, 'It's a part-time job'. It wasn't being written properly. Instead of finding the gossip and passing it on, [Dot was hearing the gossip from others]. [Dot] was living on a reputation. [viewers] said to me, 'I loved it when [Dot] had [...]
varicose veinsVaricose veins are veins that have become enlarged and tortuous. The term commonly refers to the veins on the leg, although varicose veins can occur elsewhere. Veins have leaflet valves to prevent blood from flowing backwards . Leg muscles pump the veins to return blood to the heart, against the...
.' I thought: 'What?! That was in 1985, it's 1993!'. I was getting so tetchy, so I thought I'd go. I'd had enough. They were a bit shocked, because apparently there were some good stories coming up." Expanding on this in 2008, Brown stated that she "didn’t like what they were doing with Dot – she was meant to spread the gossip. Originally she was a fountain of knowledge then next thing I know, people are telling Dot what had been happening and I thought, ‘No, this just won’t do’. I was very annoyed, I felt like they had completely changed my character." The character departed on-screen in August 1993, when Dot moved away from the soap's setting to live with her son Nick and his family in
Gravesend, KentGravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
.
In October 1996, newspapers reported that BBC bosses had approached June Brown about reprising her role as Dot Cotton and, according to the
Daily Mirror, Brown had been in negotiations with
EastEnders for several months prior. Brown is quoted by the paper as saying, "I have always been reluctant to go back because I thought Dot's character was not being portrayed properly. I thought it had faded. I always said if Dot comes back it must be as Dot." Brown secured a deal to return and began filming on-location in Gravesend in February 1997. The episode saw Dot's former lodger,
Nigel BatesNigel Bates is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Bradley from 1992 to 1998.Nigel was known as a lovable and kind hearted man who had a large collection of weird shirts and ties because of his unique dress sense.He was the best friend of Grant and Phil...
(Paul Bradley), visiting Dot to discover that Nick was once again in prison, leaving Dot alone. Her return episode aired in April 1997. Brown has since revealed that she opted to return to
EastEnders to raise her profile again. She had originally only intended to return for a 3 month stint, but was persuaded to stay when a project she had been working on was cancelled. In July 1997, she commented, "I've decided to stay in EastEnders. They asked me, and in the end I thought: 'Oh well, I might as well.' Everyone, including
Barbara WindsorBarbara Windsor, MBE is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; she is now considered by many to be something of a British national institution.-Early life:Born in Shoreditch, London in 1937, Windsor was the only...
,
Wendy RichardWendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...
and
Adam WoodyattAdam Brinley Woodyatt is an English actor and media personality, best known for his role as Ian Beale in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders, and is the only member of the original cast who appeared in the very first episode in 1985 to still work on the show today.-Early life:A native of...
, was saying: 'Don't leave'. And people were coming up in the street saying: 'It's lovely to have you back.' Anyway, I find playing the old dear quite fun." After a 5 month break, following Dot being held hostage in her flat by the escaped convict friend of her son, Brown returned to filming in October 1997 on a permanent contract.
Euthanasia
In 2000, Dot was featured in a storyline about
euthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many different forms of euthanasia can be distinguished, including animal euthanasia and human euthanasia, and within the latter, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia...
, when her oldest friend Ethel, who had terminal cancer, asked her to help her die. The storyline allowed the production team to present all sides of the debate about euthanasia, from the perspective of the sufferer and from the person who is asked to assist in the mercy killing, religious and moral opposition. According to author Dorothy Hobson, "Dot suffered torment as she struggled with her conscience and she tried to resist the request [...] to assist [Ethel] in the ultimate sin". In the storyline, Ethel enjoyed the last days of her life and chose her final evening. Assisted by Dot, she took an overdose of her medication and died. Written by Simon Ashton and directed by Francesca Joseph the episode ended with a scene in which Ethel tells a weeping Dot "you're the best-friend I ever had". Alternative credit music replaced the typical drum beats and theme tune at the end of the episode. The 1931 song used instead of the usual theme was "
Guilty"Guilty" is a popular song published in 1931. The music was written by Richard A. Whiting and Harry Akst. The lyrics were written by Gus Kahn....
" by
Al BowllyAlbert Allick 'Al' Bowlly was a popular British Jazz singer and crooner in the United Kingdom during the 1930s, making more than 1,000 recordings between 1927 and 1941. Bowlly was born in Mozambique to Greek and Lebanese parents who met en route to Australia and moved to South Africa...
. Ben Summerskill from
The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
has suggested that Dot's part in the euthanasia storyline was "one of the most moving dramatic sequences shown in recent years on British TV". The episode was voted the most emotional soap death in a
Radio TimesRadio Times is the BBC's weekly television and radio programme listings magazine. It also provides on-line listings.-History and publication:...
poll of 4,000 readers in 2006.
The repercussions of the euthanasia for Dot's character have been described as "extremely serious" as she suffered from "untold guilt and felt that she needed to be punished for the action." The Executive Producer overseeing this storyline, John Yorke, has discussed the storyline in a speech given at the Bishops' Conference for clergy and other ministers in the Diocese of St Albans: "Dot, as a good Christian, refused to help, until her love for her friend overcame her own fear of damnation. Riddled with an intolerable burden of guilt, she felt there was only one person she could talk to [Jesus] The Dot and Ethel storyline played out in over four months with many similar scenes, to an average audience of 16 million viewers. Dot [...] explored the full panoply of religious belief before coming back to terms with her maker. When Alan Bookbinder took over as head of religious broadcasting at the BBC he described
EastEnders for the weeks the Dot and Ethel story ran as 'the best religious programme on television' and compared [it] to
Graham GreeneHenry Graham Greene OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
. While we felt a little uncomfortable in such exalted company, what it did show is that handled properly an audience is able to engage in, and relate to profound ethical debate."
Deborah Annetts, CEO of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES), has praised the storyline. In 2004 she commented, "It was a sympathetic portrayal. It demonstrated to a lot of people their own experiences. Lots of us have had conversations with someone, particularly our mothers and fathers, where they have said to us: 'If I get really ill, you will end it, won't you?' The Dot/Ethel storyline showed just what that conversation can entail and what happens to the other person after - the guilt and pain they have to live with."
Such was the controversy surrounding this storyline that the
University of GlamorganThe University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Trefforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff. It comprises seven departments and faculties...
uses the plot as part of their new approach to the study of British criminal law. Part of the law foundation course involves studying the soap opera and giving students the chance to decide if Dot Cotton's character is guilty of murder. The storyline is also featured in GCSE
Religious StudiesReligious studies, or Religious education, is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions...
text books.
Cancer
In a 2004 plot, Dot was given kidney cancer. The programme makers sought advice from health care professionals when devising the storyline, including specialist information nurses from CancerBACUP. Nurse Martin Ledwick said, "We drew on our experience of talking to the thousands of people who call our helpline, to help advise the
EastEnders scriptwriters. Many people react to a cancer diagnosis as Dot does in the BBC serial - with confusion and fear. We also speak to family and friends affected by the illness and those living with continuing uncertainty.
EastEnders explores all these issues, and hopefully will help improve people's understanding of what it's like to be affected by a cancer diagnosis."
According to
Macmillan Cancer SupportMacmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer....
, "Dot's experience [increased] people's understanding of the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis; how the illness affects family and friends; and what it's like to live with uncertainty. It also [helped] to raise awareness of a comparatively rare cancer and the fact that cancer is a disease most often affecting older people."
Brown herself has confessed that she was unhappy with the storyline as she felt playing illness was not productive at her age. Discussing Dot's reluctance to reveal her illness to anyone, Brown said "[it's] ironic because I've played her as a hypochondriac, longing for attention, for 20 years. Now something's wrong, she doesn't want anyone to know."
Backstory
Dot was born in
WalfordWalford is a fictional borough of East London in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name suggests a conflation of Walthamstow and Stratford, both real places in East London...
, but during the Second World War, she was evacuated to
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
and became very close to her guardians, Gwen (
Eve MylesEve Myles , is a Welsh actress, most notable for playing lead characters in Belonging and as ex-police officer Gwen Cooper in the Doctor Who spin-off programme Torchwood.-Early life:...
) and Will, who wished to adopt her. She ran away back to Walford following Will’s death, and spent the remainder of her childhood helping her mother care for her siblings, Gerry, Tim and Rose.
She married
Charlie CottonCharles "Charlie" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher Hancock. Charlie was a semi-regular character, introduced in March 1986 as the estranged husband of Dot Cotton. He appeared in stints until producers made the decision to kill the...
at the age of 20 and he forced her to have an abortion a year later, threatening to leave her if she did not. Charlie left her anyway; it was a bigamous marriage, and he was having an affair with Dot's sister Rose in
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
when Dot gave birth to their only son,
NickNicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of...
, in 1956.
1985—
Dot is introduced as the gossiping
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
friend of
Ethel SkinnerEthel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
and
Lou BealeLouise Ada "Lou" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, Civvy Street, set during the Second World War....
who works with
Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by the late actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006...
at the Walford launderette. She has a difficult life with a criminal husband,
CharlieCharles "Charlie" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Christopher Hancock. Charlie was a semi-regular character, introduced in March 1986 as the estranged husband of Dot Cotton. He appeared in stints until producers made the decision to kill the...
, and their son
NickNicholas Charles "Nick" Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of...
who is even worse. Charlie comes and goes, always treating Dot badly and stealing from her until he dies in a lorry accident in 1991. Nick is also a criminal; he is involved in drugs,
robberiesRobbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between...
, and
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and tries to cheat Dot out of her money. He attempts to poison her in 1990 in order to inherit her bingo winnings, but is unsuccessful. Despite Nick's deeds, Dot believes he can be redeemed. In July 1993, Nick arrives in Walford with his wife Zoe, and introduces Dot to their son
AshleyAshley Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, the son of Zoe and Nick Cotton and the grandson of Charlie and Dot Cotton, played by Rossi Higgins in 1993 and then by Frankie Fitzgerald in 2000.-History:...
. Dot becomes close to Ashley and eventually Zoe asks her to move to
GravesendGravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
with them. Dot leaves the Square, and isn’t seen again for nearly four years.
Dot returns to Walford on 14 April 1997, revealing that Nick has been arrested for drugs possession and Zoe and Ashley have moved away. Dot is shocked by Nick's surprise return in April 1998. He tries to steal her money once again by telling another lie; that he has
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....
. He claims he needs money to go to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
where Ashley and Zoe live. Dot believes him but later discovers that Nick is lying and is on the run from the police. She informs the police of his whereabouts a week after his return and he is arrested. Dot later moves in with fellow senior citizen
Lilly MattockLilly Mattock is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Barbara Keogh from 1998–1999. Lilly liked to forget her age and concentrate on having fun...
, and is arrested for the illegal use of
cannabisCannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis indica Lam., and Cannabis ruderalis Janisch. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for medicinal purposes, and as a...
, which she mistakenly confuses for herbal tea. After Lilly is mugged, she leaves the Square, and Dot goes to live with Pauline. Dot is later involved in the death of her best friend
Ethel SkinnerEthel May Skinner is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Gretchen Franklin. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War, where the character is played by Alison...
, who is terminally ill. As a very weak Ethel lays in bed, she begs Dot to help her end her life. Torn between her Christian beliefs on
euthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many different forms of euthanasia can be distinguished, including animal euthanasia and human euthanasia, and within the latter, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia...
and her best friend's final wishes, she helps Ethel to die, but later feels guilty, believing she should be punished, and desiring a prison sentence for
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Nick reappears in Walford in November 2000 with Ashley. His feud with
Mark FowlerMark Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders, originally a semi-regular character played by David Scarboro from 1985–1987, and recast in 1990, played by Todd Carty, as Scarboro committed suicide in 1988...
causes Ashley's death in June 2001, after Nick cuts the brakes on Mark's motorbike. Ashley, unaware of this, steals the bike and dies after crashing it in Bridge Street. Dot finally disowns Nick for good, and throws him out soon after the funeral. Dot goes on to begin a romance with her neighbour,
Jim BranningJames Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999....
. Jim proposes to Dot in 2001, but this proves too much for her and she left Walford for a while. However, Jim perseveres, and when the pair go on the
London EyeThe Merlin Entertainments London Eye , at a height of , is the largest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over three million people in one year...
on Christmas Eve 2001, he proposes again, and this time she accepts. Dot spends a lot of time before the wedding worrying about whether she will be able to consummate her vows after the wedding. The pair eventually decide that sex isn't needed and that their love will remain
platonicPlatonic love, in its modern popular sense, is a non-sexual affectionaterelationship. A simple example of Platonic relationships is a deep, non-sexual friendship, not subject to gender pairings and including close relatives....
.
In 2004, Dot is diagnosed with
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
of the kidney and decides not to tell anyone except her friend
Dennis RickmanDennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman.Dennis first appeared in the show on 14 April 2003 and his last appearance was screened on 30 December 2005 .-Arrival in the Square:Dennis was the product of a fling between his...
. She refuses treatment and plans to die quietly. However, after an argument with
Den WattsDennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well-known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
, Dot confides in Jim, and decides to undergo
chemotherapyChemotherapy, in its most general sense, is the treatment of disease by chemicals especially by killing micro-organisms or cancerous cells. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen...
after being persuaded by Dennis. This is a success, and she makes a full recovery. In May 2006, Jim receives a call from Nick, who is in a prison hospital, suffering from throat cancer. Jim tries to keep this a secret from Dot, but she finds out. She goes to visit Nick to care for him, fearing he will soon die. However, Nick makes a full recovery and Dot returns to the Square within weeks. On Christmas Day 2006, Dot's oldest remaining friend,
Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. The character is no longer part of current storylines. She was played by the late actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006...
dies. Dot discovers that Pauline's husband,
Joe MacerJoseph "Joe" Macer is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Ray Brooks. He made his first appearance on 19 August 2005 and left the show on 26 January 2007.-Character creation and development:...
, murdered her, and tries to call the police. A scuffle ensues, and ends with Joe losing his footing and falling from a first floor window to his death. Dot keeps Pauline's ashes for several months, until Jim refuses to "share" Dot with Pauline any more and orders her to dispose of them. Dot buries her ashes at the grave of Pauline's first husband,
ArthurArthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. The father of the Fowler family, he is played by Bill Treacher....
, bidding her friend farewell.
In April 2007, Dot finds an abandoned baby in a church. She takes the baby, Tomas, home, leaving her contact details at the church. Tomas's mother Anya arrives in Walford, revealing she is an illegal immigrant. Jim anonymously reports her, and when she is deported, Dot hides Tomas from the authorities, vowing to take care of him. Dot and Jim struggle to look after the baby, and after talking to the local vicar and her old friend Dr. Legg, Dot decides to hand him over to social services in June 2007. In August 2007, Jim goes to stay with his daughter,
CarolCarol Ann Jackson is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson.Carol was a tough grafter and there was nothing more important to her than her kids...
. In October 2007, Dot learns that Jim had had a stroke and is seriously ill. She later asks Jim's friends to record messages for him, and when she records her own, decides that she could not cope with looking after Jim at home and that he will have to go into a nursing home.
Around Christmas 2008, there are numerous Good Samaritan deeds done around the Square, including paying for new decorations for the vandalised communal Christmas tree, and a large donation to the church roof fund. Heather Trott discovers Dot has given large amounts of money to good causes and decided to tell the local paper. On Christmas Day, Nick returns after a seven year absence. He tells Dot he had changed, and is now a plumber, introducing her to his 6 year old daughter
DottyKirsty "Dotty" Cotton is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Molly Conlin.-Background:Dotty Cotton is the daughter of Nick Cotton, who returned to the series after a seven year break...
. Dot soon discovers, however, that Nick doesn't have a job and is only there for her money. With Dot refusing to give in to his demands, Nick gives her an ultimatum — the money or her granddaughter. Dot decides to give Nick the money, and in exchange, looks after Dotty. It is later revealed Dotty's name is really Kirsty, and she and Nick are planning to kill Dot for her life insurance. They convince her that she has symptoms of
dementiaDementia is a serious cognitive disorder. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury or progressive, resulting in long-term decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
, however their plan backfires when Dotty exposes the plot and in a rage, Nick holds various members of the community hostage, resulting in an explosion. Nick survives and after being disowned by Dot, he informs her that Dotty had masterminded the murder plot before fleeing.
Dot is overjoyed when Jim returns home permanently. However, she is upset when Jim's grandson
Bradley BranningBradley Branning is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Charlie Clements. He made his first appearance on screen on 24 January 2006.-Creation:...
leaves with his girlfriend Syd Chambers to move to Canada.
Reception
According to author Pauline Frommer, Dot has been embraced by the viewing British population as a cultural
archetypeAn archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all...
. Brown has suggested that Dot has universal appeal because everybody knows a person like Dot.
In 2009, Brown was nominated for the 'Best Actress'
BAFTAThe British Academy Television Awards, also known as the BAFTAs — or, to differentiate them from the BAFTA Film Awards, the BAFTA Television Awards — are the most prestigious awards given in the British television industry, analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States...
award for Dot's single-hander
EastEnders episode. She became the first soap actress nominated in the category since 1988, when
Jean AlexanderJean Alexander is an English television actress. She is best known to British television viewers as Hilda Ogden on the soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played from 1964 - 1987.-Biography:...
was shortlisted for her role as
Hilda OgdenHilda Alice Ogden is a fictional character from the television series Coronation Street, one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the soap opera, whose name became synonymous with a certain type of working-class woman...
in
Coronation StreetCoronation Street is an award-winning prime time soap opera set and produced in Manchester created by Tony Warren...
. Brown has also won 'Best Actress' for her role as Dot at the
Inside Soap AwardsInside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony from the magazine Inside Soap which has been running since 1997. Until the 2007 awards, EastEnders had won the award for Best Soap on every occasion.-Statistics:...
in 2001 and 2004, as well as the 'Outstanding Achievement' award in 2003, and 'Best Couple' in 2005 with
John BardonJohn Bardon, John Bardon, John Bardon, (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 in Brentford, England is an English stage and television actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1988 (1987 season) as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate, sharing the award with co-star Emil...
, as Dot and Jim Branning. She and Bardon also won 'Best On-Screen Partnership' at the
British Soap AwardsThe British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event began in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events are held at the BBC Television Centre, in London. The soap operas nominated for awards are...
in both 2002 and 2005, while in 2005, Brown won a 'Lifetime Achievement' award for her role, again at the British Soap Awards. The role also resulted in a 'Best Comedy Performance' nomination at the 1999 British Soap Awards, 'Most Popular Actress' nominations in the 2001 and 2005
National Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, sponsored by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. Although not widely held to be as prestigious as the British Academy Television Awards, the premier UK television accolades, the National Television Awards are probably the...
, an 'Outstanding Serial Drama Performance' nomination at the 2008 NTAs, and a 'Best Actress' nomination at the 2007
TV QuickTV Quick is a British weekly TV listing magazine published by family-run German company H Bauer Publishing. It features the TV listings of the week from a Saturday to the following Friday and is sold every Tuesday...
and
TV Choice Awards. Dot was also voted the 46
th best television character in a television poll entitled
The 100 Greatest Television Characters.
During 2003, a promotional advertisement for the BBC featuring a character, Fizz, from the children's television programme
The Tweenies pulling off a mask and morphing into Dot received complaints. Parents complained that their children were having nightmares and the BBC subsequently moved back the screening times. At the time of the 2005 UK General Election, Labour chiefs feared that an episode of
EastEnders in which Dot learned to drive could distract viewers from voting. In the same year, Dot was criticised as revealing an anti-religious bias on the part of the BBC. Dr Indarjit Singh, editor of the
Sikh Messenger and patron of the World Congress of Faiths suggested that Dot's endless quoting from the Bible served to ridicule religion. The character has been cited as an example of anti-Christian bias in the media. The BBC were accused of portraying Christians as old-fashioned in 2008 after an episode aired in which Dot asked a gay, male couple to stop kissing. The BBC responded, "
EastEnders aims to reflect real life, and this means including and telling stories about characters from many different backgrounds, faiths, religions and sexualities." In a report to the BBC’s Board of Governors in July 2004 regarding religion, Dot was used as an example of how religion can be portrayed as stereotypical "out-of-date and occasionally offensive" in drama and entertainment output, that Christian figures are highlighted because of their faith "rather than seen as normal people who also have a religious belief". It was suggested that some Christians think Dot "is made deliberately unappealing to audiences by her eccentric traits and hypocritical behaviour". However, it was also suggested that others think she is convincing.
Brown's single-hander episode of
EastEnders received much critical acclaim.
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
' Nancy Banks-SmithNancy Banks-Smith is a British television critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969. In 1970 she was recommended for the Order of the British Empire, which she rejected.*1969 - Now : Guardian, TV critic*1965 - 1969: Sun, TV critic...
deemed Brown possibly the only member of the cast with the exception of
Barbara WindsorBarbara Windsor, MBE is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; she is now considered by many to be something of a British national institution.-Early life:Born in Shoreditch, London in 1937, Windsor was the only...
(
Peggy MitchellMargaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared in the series on 30 April 1991. Peggy was at this time seen on a recurring basis over several weeks...
) capable of carrying such a monologue. Robert Hanks for
The IndependentThe Independent is a British newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers. The daily edition was named National...
wrote that "I don't ever remember hearing anybody on a soap talk like this before. I mean, like a real person, with real feelings, such as self-pity and a desperate urge for self-preservation. Brown conveyed the seedy gloom of it all beautifully, as well." Conversely, Tim Teeman posed the question in
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
: "I know she’s a national institution and June Brown plays her like a dream, but was last night’s Dot Cotton extravaganza really that great? Or even necessary?" Teeman opined that: "Quite rightly, the producers want to eke as much gold out of the character and actress as possible: both are fantastic. But this was much-loved character overkill." He deemed Dot a "soap icon", however assessed that:
- This was a tour de force for sure – but an indulgent one. It didn’t unlock anything substantially new to Dot. [...] Far from making us care more about Dot – we do anyway, it was preaching to the converted – it was a little, well, dull. Boring even. [...] [T]he episode revealed a nagging weakness: Coronation Street has a fine repertory of older characters and actors which gives the show its wonderful link to the past. In EastEnders, the same gatekeeping roles are played by Dot and Ian Beale
Ian Albert Beale is a fictional character from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Adam Woodyatt. He is the only character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 19 February 1985...
: she is a jewel but, as she said, an all-too lonely one. Cherish her, absolutely, but don’t turn her into a drag act.
The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh in June 1855 as the Daily Telegraph and Courier...
's Gerard O'Donovan agreed that "June Brown, as Dot, was mesmerising", but was similarly critical of the episode as a whole, concluding: "Overall [...] the feeling couldn’t be avoided that in the greater scheme of things this was a fuss over nothing. Had it been a swan song, it would have been a worthy one. But doubtless Dot will be out and about again tonight, fag in hand, quoting from the Good Book. Enjoyable as this Albert Square indulgence was, I suspect that most fans will be hoping this one-hander remains a one-off." Leigh Holmwood for
The Guardian suggested that viewers may have agreed with O'Donovan's assessment, highlighting the fact that the episode received only 8.7 million viewers, compared to 9.4 million watching
EastEnders the previous week. A 2003 episode centred around Dot also resulted in a notable ratings slump. The New Year episode, which detailed her childhood evacuation to the countryside, received just 8.1 million viewers, compared with 12.2m the previous evening and 16m on Christmas Day. Prior to this, however, a 2002 two-hander episode featuring just Dot and Sonia Jackson (
Natalie CassidyNatalie Ann Cassidy is an English actress and television personality, best known for playing the role of Sonia Fowler in the British soap opera EastEnders...
) was watched by 11.5 million viewers, with an almost 60% share of viewers in the timeslot.
In 2009, a poll by magazine
Inside SoapInside Soap is a weekly UK magazine, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas shown in the United Kingdom....
named Dot as the UK's 'greatest gossip' in a soap opera.
In popular culture
The character of Dot Branning has been
spoofA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
ed in the
cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
sketch show
2DTV2DTV was a British satirical animated television show that was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, directed by Tim Searle.2DTV employed the same satirical style as Spitting Image, but using animation rather than puppets...
. She was also impersonated by
Alistair McGowanAlistair McGowan is an English impressionist, comedian and actor. McGowan is best known for his work with Ronni Ancona on The Big Impression , which spawned his culturally popular impressions of David Beckham, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Gary Lineker, Nicky Campbell, Richard Madeley, Tony Blair, Ross...
in
Big ImpressionThe Big Impression was a British comedy sketch show. It was formerly known as Alistair McGowan's Big Impression after impressionist Alistair McGowan, but renamed The Big Impression towards the end of its run to accommodate female impressionist Ronni Ancona, who did almost as many impressions as...
.
As a style icon Dot has been said to have inspired catwalk collections, hairstyles and more. The monthly Dot Cotton Club, a gay club night in
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. It is also at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen....
, is named in her honour. She is among only a few characters from
EastEnders to become a British cultural emblem. Dot's long-suffering luckless life has also led to her being labelled as a
gay iconA gay icon is a historical figure, celebrity or public figure who is embraced by many within lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities; Dykon, a portmanteau of "dyke" and "icon," has recently entered the lexicon to describe lesbian icons....
by Tim Lusher of the
Evening StandardThe London Evening Standard is a free local daily newspaper, published in tabloid format in London, England. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the southeast of England, with coverage of national and international news and a strong emphasis on City of London finance...
.
Dot is a notable smoker on British television as she regularly appears on-screen smoking. The character is so synonymous with smoking that the term "Dot Cotton syndrome" is used within the health industry to: "describe the elderly population who continue to smoke heavily without registering the health problems they are or will soon suffer from, seeing it as their only pleasure left in life".
On the comedy panel show
Celebrity JuiceCelebrity Juice is a British television panel show produced by Talkback Thames and filmed at Riverside Studios for ITV2. The show stars Leigh Francis’ alter ego Keith Lemon. Joining the comic every week are Holly Willoughby, Fearne Cotton and their Celebrity team members...
, host Keith Lemon refers to team captain
Fearne CottonFearne Cotton is a British presenter known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
as Dot Cotton when introducing her.