Dot Cotton (June Brown)

[sarah c]

or Dotty returns, older and kinder?

[Timalay]

Maybe her grandson Ashley will come back from the dead.

[Perdita]

EastEnders legend June Brown doesn't want to still be on the show when she dies, and has admitted that she's unsure how long she will stay.

The Dot Branning actress, who is about to turn 89, has reportedly signed a new contract that will tie her to the show until March next year. However, Brown hasn't made any plans beyond that at this stage.

Brown told The Sun: "I don't think I want to end my life on a soap, but we'll see.

"I don't want to be 100, or even 90. I don't think I look nearly 90, but because I can't see these days I don't know. I think I might be 70. Real age doesn't apply in EastEnders, otherwise half of us would be retired.

"​I've been in the soap for 30 years but you never know what's going to happen, and you really don't want to make plans about how long you should stay because they could all go wrong​."

Despite being unsure of what the future holds, Brown insisted that she is grateful to the soap's bosses for keeping her all this time.

"I'm very fortunate they still want me because you hear of older actresses who say there is no work, because people like to see beautiful young faces," she explained.

"There are very few people about whose jobs are as good, particularly in the acting profession, these days.

"I would like to be in the show more than I am, because a job gives me structure to my life and days. It also keeps my brain alive and cheerful."

[lizann]

is june leaving?

[Rear window]

is june leaving?

They announced she was finishing a few months ago. I think they said it'd be a year.

[Perdita]

Her contract runs out March 2017 and she said she might not renew due to failing hearing and eye sight

[tammyy2j]

Her contract runs out March 2017 and she said she might not renew due to failing hearing and eye sight

I think her eye sight going is now happening on screen for Dot so I assume this will all play in to an exit for her, is there any one Dot could go live with, would Dotty's mother take her in or Charlie or how about her sister Rose and her son who dated Heather

If Ronnie dies, maybe Charlie returns for Matthew and Dot

[Perdita]

EastEnders legend June Brown could be gracing our TV screens for a few more years yet, as she's reportedly being asked to sign a contract that will keep her with the soap until 2018.

June's current contract runs out in March next year, but bosses are apparently keen to keep her iconic character Dot Branning on the square for at least another 12 months - for a fee of £300,000 for the year.

According to The Mirror, a source said that BBC bosses "realise June isn't getting any younger" but added that the actress herself has "intimated that she wants to stay with the role as long as she feels able".

June renewed her contract in January this year to stay in EastEnders until 2017.

That deal was rumoured to be £300,000 as well - making her the second highest paid actor on the soap, after Steve McFadden (who plays Phil Mitchell).

But in February, June said that she doesn't want to be on the show until she dies, meaning she's unsure how long she'll stay on the Square.

Dot is currently at the centre of several storylines, including the closing of the launderette as well as Dot's failing eyesight, and it comes after she recently admitted to the Loose Women panel that she'd love more screen time, as her "mind needs occupying".

"You know better than to ask me questions like that," she joked. "You know we have to be diplomatic, darling. I'm trying very hard not to open my big mouth - which is very hard.

"Yes, I would like to do more. Personally my mind needs occupying. If it isn't, it goes all over the place."

Well, this new contract deal is certainly a good sign, as it would see June acting on EastEnders until she's 91.

Digital Spy

[Perdita]

EastEnders are working with a major blindness charity on Dot Branning's eyesight storyline.

The BBC soap has teamed-up with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), following Dot's diagnosis with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on Friday's (December 9) episode.

They have been working together for months on the plot to ensure it is portrayed as realistically as possible.

In a blog on the BBC website, the RNIB explained how the storyline came about, writing: "At the beginning of the year EastEnders approached RNIB with its plans to run a storyline about Dot's sight deteriorating.

"In August we began working closely with EastEnders' researchers and writers as they explored and developed the storyline about Dot being diagnosed with wet AMD and what this could mean for her life in Albert Square.

"Since then we have offered the programme script advice, information about treatment options for people with wet AMD, and checked facts. RNIB will continue to work with EastEnders as Dot's story develops over the coming months as she adapts to living with her sight loss."

They added: "EastEnders has made a real commitment to getting Dot's story right, while also raising awareness of a condition that affects more than 600,000 people to some degree in the UK."

According to figures by the NHS, 1 in 10 people over 65 live with AMD, a condition that affects a part of the retina and causes problems for central vision.

For more information on AMD, its symptoms and treatment methods, head to the RNIB's website.

Meanwhile, it has recently been reported that star June Brown will sign a new contract that will keep her on the soap until 2018.

Digital Spy

[Perdita]

Let's face it, Dot Branning will always be one of EastEnders' legendary characters. From gossiping in the launderette, smoking endless cigarettes to a stint in prison - she's one of the best.

In fact, actress June Brown is turning 90 this year and the BBC has rightly decided to celebrate by putting together a tribute show: June Brown At 90 - A Walford Legend.

June Brown as Dot Branning in EastEnders
© BBC JACK BARNES
She made her first appearance on Albert Square in July 1985 as Dot Cotton - married to the not-so-delightful Charlie - and the rest is history.

The tribute will talk about her career and how she landed the role - typically, she reckons it was only because she turned up on time for her audition and liked a cigarette.

She will be talking about how in the early days on set, she was seen as a rival by a fellow cast members - which we actually can't wait to hear about.

Jack Branning tells Dot Branning and Glenda Mitchell how he's coping in EastEnders
© BBC
Back in the day, the character was a bit of a hypochondriac, but June will be telling us all how she managed to coax much more out of Dot than just that.

The tribute will feature contributions from many Walford regulars including Danny Dyer, Adam Woodyatt, Gillian Taylforth, Rudolph Walker, Lacey Turner and Natalie Cassidy.

June Brown At 90 - A Walford Legend will air on February 16 at 8pm on BBC One.

Digital Spy