{"id":26643,"date":"2022-12-06T01:01:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T00:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1750653"},"modified":"2022-12-06T08:09:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T07:09:42","slug":"eastenders-natalie-cassidy-on-dots-funeral-its-upsetting-but-a-celebration","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/eastenders-natalie-cassidy-on-dots-funeral-its-upsetting-but-a-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders\u2019 Natalie Cassidy on Dot\u2019s funeral: \u2018It\u2019s upsetting but a celebration\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Helen Daly\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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There are emotional scenes on the way in EastEnders<\/a> as iconic character Dot Branning (played by June Brown) is laid to rest.<\/p>\n

One person it will hit especially hard is Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), perhaps the closest person to Dot in the entire soap.<\/p>\n

Speaking to press including RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Cassidy opened up on the heartbreaking scenes and how Sonia reacts to it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a massive shock to her,\u201d Cassidy explained. \u201cDot hasn\u2019t been in Walford for a while, but she\u2019s one of those constants in everyone\u2019s lives and Sonia always thought she\u2019d been there.\u00a0That\u2019s the shock of it. Sonia also knew she had to tell some very dear people to Dot that live on the Square, like Sharon and Patrick.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people were very close to Dot and had known Dot longer than Sonia. So, when she steps into The Vic to tell everybody the news, she\u2019s being strong for everyone else at first and getting on with it. But Sonia then has a very quiet moment at the end of the day when she breaks down.\u201d<\/p>

One thing in particular she finds hard is writing Dot\u2019s eulogy, explaining: \u201cFirstly, she\u2019s not a speechmaker.\u00a0Secondly, she knows the whole of the Square loves Dot, so she wants to do the best she can. Sonia wants to make sure she says the right things and includes everybody, and it\u2019s a very, very difficult job to do because she wants Dot\u2019s funeral to be the best and to do her proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of the episode itself, Cassidy described it as one of her \u201cmost favourite episodes\u201d ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the audience is going to feel like they are there and part of it. It\u2019s a slow-moving, gentle episode that\u2019s got time to breathe. The audience has got time to think about Dot, and it is a proper send-off for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe writing is immaculate, and everybody in it is great. It will be a real treat for people as it\u2019s celebrating Dot and her life. As much as it\u2019s upsetting, people will shed a tear, but they\u2019ll also smile as it\u2019s a celebration of Dot. She was the most iconic character of the show, and she\u2019s our Queen of Walford, and that\u2019s what she deserves!\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cIt was very emotional, I have to say. Obviously, losing June as well makes it very hard. I went to June\u2019s funeral and said my goodbyes there, but it was very emotional to film Dot\u2019s send-off. When you are talking about someone, with pictures of her around, those things trigger you, and you miss that person. So doing the eulogy for me was like doing a real eulogy. Hopefully, that will come across on-screen, and you will see it\u2019s all real feelings for Dot and June.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n