June Muriel Brown OBE (born 16th February 1927 in Needham Market, Suffolk; died 3rd April 2022 in Surrey) appeared on Coronation Street in both August 1970 and February 1971 as Mrs Parsons, the mother of Tony Parsons.
June originally wanted to pursue in the medical career and served in the Wrens in the later years of World War II. It wasn't until she saw an advertisement in The Times about an audition at The Old Vic Theatre School that she considered taking up acting as a profession and after writing to the theatre, gained an audition and a place. June was later taken on tour and landed in Sweden to take part in the production The Taming of the Shrew. She went on to appear in the theatre production The National alongside Judi Dench.
June was most famous for her role on BBC soap opera EastEnders as Dot Cotton/Branning, the nosey but loveable hypochondriac chain-smoking Christian mother of the bad boy Nick Cotton in a part she played from 1985 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2020. By the time June had landed the role of Dot she had only had three jobs in that year. She stated that she landed the part because she was punctual. June remained in the role of Dot for eight consecutive years before taking a four-year break. She finally left after being unsatisfied with the storylines being given to her character.
Her other on-screen roles included Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor Who, Marked Personal, South Riding, The Prince and the Pauper, Couples, The Duchess of Duke Street, God's Wonderful Railway, Now and Then, Lace, Ain't Misbehavin', Gormenghast and Doomwatch, along with the films It Started in Paradise, Inadmissible Evidence, Straw Dogs, Murder by Decree, Nijinsky, Bean and Ethel & Ernest.
June was one of the most significant figures in soap opera history as she was the only actress to carry out an entire single-handed episode in 2008. She was awarded the MBE for services to drama and charity in the same year, and promoted to OBE in 2022.
