Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) made a very dramatic exit from EastEnders tonight (16th December) after a furious rampage over late grandma Dot Branning’s (June Brown) will reading.
Dot was laid to rest in emotional scenes earlier this week, with Dot’s step-granddaughter Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) giving a moving eulogy that saw characters past and present recalling their fondest memories of the iconic mainstay.
In the days that followed the funeral, Dotty couldn’t help feeling excited as she was expecting to inherit Dot’s house – despite the fact that Sonia had been living there for years and had even been running the home single-handedly for quite a while.
Sonia also believed that Dotty would be left with the property, and she wondered where that would leave her. So Sonia asked her new love interest, and great-nephew of Dot, Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) to accompany her for moral support when the solicitor was present.
Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) joined Sonia, Reiss and Dotty as the solicitor arrived, but as the man attempted to share a memory of his dealings with Dot, impatient Dotty rudely hurried him along.
She heard that she and half-brother Charlie Cotton (Declan Bennett) would inherit £10,000 from their grandmother, and Dot had also left £1,000 to each of her younger grandchildren and great-grandchildren – all those she lovingly gained through her marriage to Jim (John Bardon).
Then, as the subject moved on to Dot’s house and estate, Dotty smiled as the solicitor declared that the Walford home would be left to Dot’s granddaughter. But much to Dotty’s fury, the name written down was Sonia’s.
Sonia was stunned, but Dotty insisted that the house was hers and even demanded that Sonia should give it up to her. But Sonia refused, and Jack was unimpressed with Dotty’s behaviour.
Afterwards, while exchanging numbers with a departing Reiss, little did Sonia know that vengeful Dotty’s anger had escalated to dangerous levels. She poured alcohol around the house and prepared to strike a match, ready to set the place on fire. As Dotty’s uncle Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley) arrived, Sonia screamed in terror as Dotty struck a match and warned her off phoning the police.
Rocky managed to stop Dotty, and she rushed off, ignoring Sonia’s pleas that she could still have a home with her. Dotty packed her bags and headed out towards a black cab, and pal Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) was shocked to find that she was leaving. But as Dotty told her what a great friend she was and that she needed to believe in herself, she added that she was never coming back.
Climbing into the taxi, Dotty called out, “To Hell with Walford!” as she was driven away. Is she really gone for good?
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