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‘EastEnders’ Beloved June Brown Passes Away at 95

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: Getty

Actress June Brown, who for over three decades played Dot Cotton on the long-running UK soap, EastEnders has died.

Brown, passed away yesterday on April 3rd at the age of 95.  No cause of death has been reported.

Back in 2020, Brown decided to quit EastEnders after no longer getting as much story.  June first joined EastEnders in July 1985, as the mother of criminal, Nick Cotton.  She left at one point for four years between 1993-1997 and took six months leave in 2012, but throughout the soaps run remained popular.

The BBC twitter Account posted on Sunday, “We are deeply saddened to announce our beloved mother, June, passed away very peacefully at her home in Surrey on Sunday evening, with her family by her side.”

In a statement, a rep for EastEnders shared: “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE sadly passed away last night. There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten. June created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2,884 episodes, June’s remarkable performances created some of EastEnders’ finest moments.”

June also racked up some awards for her performance of Dot through the years: She was a two-time British Soap Awards winner, recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award and earned a BAFTA Award nomination for her work.

So, did you watch June on EastEnders? Saddened by her passing? Comment below.  

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During last week’s Oscar telecast, I clocked the vocabulary-challenged Laverne Cox and her colleagues use the word “iconic” over 40 times, often describing people under 30. Well, folks, here’s the passing of an icon who earned the title. June Brown was a staple in British acting, always good for a laugh or a cutting remark. She’ll be missed.

Brilliant character and fantastic actress. Dot, Ethel and Lou Beale, powerhouses of EastEnders and Albert Square R.I.P.

What about Walford’s “Powerful P Troika” of Pauline, Peggy and Pat? Eastenders has never been the same since they lost the late Wendy Richard and Barbara Windsor, not to mention, the still much alive and kicking Pam St. Clement! I loved it when those three deeply-determined dames mixed it up, which was pretty much constantly! As for Miss Brown, I’ll never forget her skillfully oddball portrayal of that scary-looking, bible-spouting, chain-smoking Dot Cotton. Such a dichotomy….on one hand an extremely pious, disciplined Christian whose hair rollers always seemed to be wound far too tightly and on the other hand, a total nicotine fiend completely reliant upon her copious consumption of daily smokes. A true exercise in contradictions….At first, Dot was an extremely brittle, unlikable character, but with time, June Brown made her not only viewer-friendly, but actually beloved, by infusing her with a simultaneous sense of dark humor and vulnerability. She will be missed!

Excellent analysis, Shay. Yes, the days of Peggy, Pat and Pauline mixing it up in various combinations were glorious. And June Brown had that skill that’s hard to come by in making Dot beloved without changing the fundamentals of her personality — just giving the character more depth than the script’s words conveyed.

Thank you, hollyoaksboi! Yes, June Brown had that most special ability to make Dot even at her worst and sometimes hateful self to be not disliked but rather pitied…until later when she became a much more lovable and sympathetic figure for the viewer. (How could she not be when she so suffered over such a reprehensible reprobate son like Nick Cotton? He was the worst of the worst!) I’ve always wondered if Dot was originally envisaged by her creators as smoking like a chimney or if Miss Brown’s own self-proclaimed love of the ciggies brought that particular aspect to her purely peculiar character??? As far as those “glorious” days of the “Walford Three,” I have to admit I was pretty partial to the punch-packing Pat and Peggy when they fought over the affections of that cad, Frank Butcher!!!! It was such a sight to see the diminutive Babs Windsor holding her own against the more physically formidable Pam St. Clement….they certainly gave Krystle and Alexis a run for their money in the catfighting department! Later, it was that shared history which made Peggy’s swan song all the more poignant when she decided to end her own life after receiving her dementia diagnosis and who was there to comfort and guide her to the afterlife but her longtime frenemy, Pat??? Such a touching ending to Miss Windsor’s larger-than-life character whose eternal catchphrase,“Get outta my pub!” still resonates to this day! (And how ironic that we actually lost that British acting legend to the same malady which afflicted her famous Eastenders’ persona….) Alas, that sad scenario was the last I actually watched in its entirety…I still read in the UK press of the goings-on in Walford, but as with so many of the soaps here “across the pond,” I am content to keep my nostalgic memories of the superb storylines and classic characters of the past and ignore the less superior state of the present.

It can’t be overestimated how much of a British institution this actress and her character were. If you said to anyone in the UK…”She’s just like Dot Cotton,” they knew exactly what you meant. And getting a BAFTA nomination would nearly be like getting an Oscar nomination … for working in a soap. She was an amazing character actress and will be much missed.

Most people won’t remember, but June Brown gave a deliciously self-centered turn as Viloet Leyton, Louisa Trotter’s (Gemma Jones) aspirational mother in the two season British series The Duchess of Duke Street (on PBS in the States 1977-1978). That series is available to stream on BritBox.

Thanks for the tip, Kit. I have never seen that and will have to look it up. Raise a glass to June Brown while watching!

It’s available on Amazon Prime.

Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 16

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The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced the full list of nominees for the upcoming 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and it was CBS daytime’s The Young and the Restless and broadcast television newest soap opera, Beyond the Gates that racked up the most nominations with 18 and 16, respectively.

The full reveal on Tuesday follows the announcement of several major categories including Lead Actor and Actress on Monday via Extra and Entertainment Tonight and The View today revealing Daytime Drama Series and more.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmys ceremony is set to take place on Friday, October 30 at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.

Photo: CBS

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS expressed, “We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television, As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

“Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Rachel Schwartz, Head of the Daytime Emmy Awards. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of genres, including daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Gold & Silver Circle Inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.

Now below, check out the nominees in the daytime drama, talk show, entertainment news series and creative arts categories and congratulations to all!

Photo: JPI

Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Stacy Haiduk (as Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives
Karla Mosley (as Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates
Michelle Stafford (as Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless
Heather Tom (as Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful
Tamara Tunie (as Anita Williams Dupree), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Eric Braeden (as Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless
Steve Burton (as Jason Morgan), General Hospital
Scott Clifton (as Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful
Thorsten Kaye (as Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful
Christian Jules Le Blanc (as Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Linsey Godfrey (as Sarah Horton), Days of Our Lives
Camryn Grimes (as Mariah Copeland), The Young and the Restless
Beth Maitland (as Traci Abbott), The Young and the Restless
Trisha Mann-Grant (as Leslie Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Amanda Setton (as Brook Lynn Quartermaine), General Hospital

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Sean Dominic (as Nate Hastings), The Young and the Restless
Timon Kyle Durrett (as Bill Hamilton), Beyond the Gates
Michael Graziadei (as Daniel Romalotti), The Young and the Restless
Roger Howarth (as Matt Clark), The Young and the Restless
Mike Manning (as Bradley “Smitty” Smith), Beyond the Gates
Lawrence Saint-Victor (as Carter Walton), The Bold and the Beautiful

Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series
Braedyn Bruner (as Emma Scorpio-Drake), General Hospital
Al Calderon (as Javier Hernandez), Days of Our Lives
Alice Halsey (as Rachel Black), Days of Our Lives
Giovanni Mazza (as Gio Palmieri), General Hospital
Ambyr Michelle (as Eva Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Arielle Prepetit (as Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series
Jasmine Burke (as June Hughes), Beyond the Gates
Jeff Kober (as Cyrus Renault), General Hospital
Eva LaRue (as Natalia Rogers-Ramirez), General Hospital
Christopher Sean (as Paul Narita), Days of Our Lives
Ray Wise (as Ian Ward), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital

Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless”

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
3rd Hour of TODAY
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Live With Kelly and Mark
TODAY With Jenna & Friends
The View

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host
Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall
Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show
Sherri Shepherd, Sherri

Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Access Hollywood
Entertainment Tonight
Extra

Outstanding Daytime Personality (Daily)
Mona Kosar Abdi, Derek Hough & Terri Seymour, Extra
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith & Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover & Mario Lopez, Access Hollywood
Star Jones & Corey Jovan, Divorce Court

Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program
Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood — An Entertainment Tonight Special
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Working In the Theatre

Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime

Beyond the Gates,” Episode 103
Have Guitar Will Travel World
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5033
Let Frankie Cook,” Getting the Band Back Together
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Outstanding Technical Direction and Video for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates,” Episode 104
The Bold and the Beautiful,” Episode 9511
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade”
The Jennifer Hudson Show, ” Episode 4041
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”

Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates,” Episode 103
General Hospital,” Episode 15719
The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Episode 5033
The Young and the Restless,” Episode 13273

So, what do you think of the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations? Who are you happy to see receive a nomination and who do you think was snubbed? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series

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Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actress and Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.

ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.

Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.

Photo: NATAS

THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …

The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.

This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.

Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.

Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.

Photo: ABC

DAYTIME TALK SERIES

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.

“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.

So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Breaking News

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actor Drama Series

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Monday afternoon, Extra kicked-off the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations with the reveal of two major categories. First, Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series — Actor, and second, Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host.

Previous Emmy winners all, the men who will be vying for daytime’s most coveted prize are: Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless, Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), General Hospital, Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful, Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Christian Jules Le Blanc (Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless.

Let’s take a look at the actors Emmy resumes: Eric Braeden has been nominated nine times for Lead Actor and won once in 1998. Steve Burton is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner, both in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category for GH as Jason Morgan and Y&R as Dylan McAvoy. Today’s nomination makes it his 10th overall, and his third time in the the Lead Actor category.

Photo: NATAS

Scott Clifton has won three times previously in 2011, 2013 and 2017 and has the distinction of being the only actor to win in Younger Actor, Supporting and Lead. This is his 8th nomination.

Thorsten Kaye is a two-time Lead Actor winner in 2023 and 2024. Christian LeBlanc has also won three times as Lead Actor in 2005, 2007 and 2009 and this is his first nod in over a decade.

Photo: NBCUniversal

TALK SHOW HOSTS

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host, the nominees are: Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro, The View, Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall, Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show, and Sherri Shepherd, Sherri.

Both The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri have come to their conclusions as Sherri was canceled after 4 seasons and Kelly Clarkson decided to end her talk show after 7 seasons.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are set to be handed out in a ceremony on October 30 in Hollywood with more details forthcoming. The complete list of 2026 Daytime Emmy nominations will be revealed tomorrow on July 14 beginning at 12pm ET/9am PT via The Emmys.TV social channels and website.

So, what do you think of the race for Lead Actor in a Drama Series? Surprised by any of the nominees? Who are you rooting for? What do you think about the the talk show host category? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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