As Albert Square mourns the passing of Dot Branning in EastEnders, memories of the past will no doubt be stirred up.
In Monday’s funeral episode (12th December 2022), the residents of Walford past and present gather to pay their respects to Dot.
Among them is soap favourite Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) who is also reunited with former teen runaway Disa O’Brien (Jan Graveson), who Dot had once taken in.
It is also mentioned how Dot took in Kathy’s daughter Donna too, but who was Kathy Beale’s daughter Donna Ludlow in EastEnders?
Who is Kathy Beale’s daughter Donna Ludlow in EastEnders?
Donna Ludlow was the daughter of Kathy Beale who she gave up for adoption as a teenager, as the pregnancy was the result of her being raped by a man named Marcus Duffy.
Years later, Kathy had been approached by Donna’s godmother asking if she would like to meet her biological daughter but Kathy rejected the idea.
In 1987, the enigmatic character of Donna Ludlow (Matilda Ziegler) arrived on Albert Square and managed to get a job as a barmaid in the Queen Vic pub where Kathy sometimes worked. Unbeknownst to Kathy, the daughter she had once given up was now right under her nose.
In her early months in the soap, Donna would call Kathy who worked at a Samaritans call centre and confide in her about her problems.
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Donna was shown to be manipulative and a habitual liar and clearly had a secret with fabrications about her past, but it was not until the following year that the truth of her identity was finally revealed to Kathy – who had grown concerned by a growing spark between Donna, who she now suspected of the troubling calls, and Kathy’s son Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).
Ultimately, unable to face being reminded of the trauma she experienced as a child, Kathy rejected Donna.
In the aftermath, Donna went on a vendetta and sought to make Kathy’s life hell by trying to seduce her half-brother Ian and sowing seeds of doubt in the mind of Kathy’s husband Pete Beale (Peter Dean) about her fidelity.
In the end, Donna’s actions forced Kathy to reveal how she was conceived, sending Donna into a further spiral.
After fighting with Cindy Williams (Michelle Collins) for the attention of Simon Wicks (Nick Berry), Donna was fired from the Vic and became homeless.
Briefly taken in by Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Michelle Fowler (Sue Tully), Donna was eventually kicked out for manipulating them against each other.
Following this, Donna was forced to squat. She began using heroin and turned to extortion and prostitution to survive, sleeping with her own drug dealer for a fix and then being almost gang-raped until she is saved by chance by Rod Norman (Christopher McHallem) who tries then tries to help her off drugs.
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Seeking further pity, Donna lies and says that her adoptive parents have died in a car crash in a bid for financial aid – but the arrival of her adoptive mother only exposes the truth.
Donna moved in with Dot Cotton (June Brown) who gave her shelter and sympathy.
In this period, Donna still proved destructive, spreading rumours about gay Walford resident Colin Russell (Lord Michael Cashman) having AIDS and helping split up Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih) from his wife Sue (Sandy Ratcliff).
After being rejected by Kathy one final time and left by Rod, Donna returned home to Dot’s house and overdosed on heroin, subsequently choking on her own vomit.
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Dot was horrified to discover Donna’s body on the floor of her living room and, tragically, few mourned her passing.
In 2019, Kathy discussed Donna in a conversation with recovered drug addict Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks), admitting that she regrets the lack of support she gave Donna and wonders if her daughter’s life would have turned out differently had she truly been there for her.
Read more:
- EastEnders cast: Who is joining, leaving and returning to the soap?
- EastEnders biggest reveals since Sharongate
- EastEnders confirms returning characters for Dot Branning’s funeral – full list
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