{"id":26847,"date":"2022-12-08T22:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T21:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1752555"},"modified":"2022-12-08T23:49:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T22:49:32","slug":"eastenders-boss-chris-clenshaw-talks-dots-funeral-and-sonias-importance","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/eastenders-boss-chris-clenshaw-talks-dots-funeral-and-sonias-importance\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw talks Dot\u2019s funeral and Sonia\u2019s importance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lewis Knight\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 08 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Dot Branning\u2019s funeral comes with a \u201chuge responsibility\u201d for EastEnders<\/a>, revealed executive producer Chris Clenshaw.<\/p>\n

Following the death of actress June Brown earlier this year<\/a>, the BBC One soap has chosen to have Dot Branning pass away off-screen in Ireland and on Monday (12th December 2022), the residents of Albert Square will say farewell to an iconic character.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press at a special screening of the funeral episodes, EastEnders\u2019 executive producer Chris Clenshaw discussed the importance of getting Dot Branning\u2019s send-off right, especially in the wake of June Brown\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that we couldn\u2019t put it off for much longer,\u201d revealed Chris Clenshaw. \u201cWe of course spoke to June\u2019s family, who also knew that this is what their mother would have wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, June\u2019s children named Sophie and Billy knew how much EastEnders meant to their mother so much that they requested to attend Doc\u2019s funeral<\/a> to say their goodbyes, which was absolutely lovely for all of those involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, stories were shared throughout the day, which was just gorgeous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussing June\u2019s impact as Dot, Clenshaw added: \u201cThe word iconic is often thrown around, but I think what June created in Dot was the definition of iconic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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June Brown as EastEnders icon Dot Cotton.<\/span><\/figcaption> Alisdair MacDonald\/Mirrorpix\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

He went on: \u201cJune appeared in 2,284 episodes of EastEnders. I think it\u2019s kind of impossible to sum up in just a few words.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe arrived in Albert Square soon after the show launched as the gossiping, chain-smoking Christian friend of Ethel Skinner and Lou Beale, who worked with Pauline Fowler in the launderette, and she had a difficult relationship with her husband Charlie and her son, Nick.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what happened over the next 35 years saw Dot become the beating heart of our Square. Always there to give her opinion, always there to give advice, and always there to open her home to anyone that wanted it. And even those that didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cJune\u2019s performance as Dot could make you laugh, make you cry, or just sit in awe as you watched her. She\u2019s still the only actor in soap to do one episode entirely on her own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clenshaw continued: \u201cShe really was one of a kind \u2013 a unique, glorious woman that made a lasting impression on everyone.\u201d<\/p>

The executive producer also explained the enormous weight of responsibility with getting the send-off for Dot just right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think every story we tell comes with, you know, a huge responsibility, and any kind of exit for a character comes with a great responsibility,\u201d explained Clenshaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you have to say goodbye to an iconic character that pretty much everyone in the country knows \u2013 one of the most-loved characters to ever grace screens on British television \u2013\u00a0 it comes with an enormous amount of pressure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll the way through the process, from storyline running through the script through to the shoot \u2013 the kind of atmosphere that was on the floor during the shoot, it was slightly different.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think there was a lot of respect, people were not just saying goodbye to Dot, but we were also saying goodbye to June.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think through that process, June guided us. I\u2019d say every decision we did through the process, we always were questioning what we were doing and say, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019re doing it like this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Clenshaw added: \u201cJune, I hope you\u2019re watching down on us and I hope we\u2019ve done you proud. I\u2019m sure that if we haven\u2019t, you will let us know in your own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sonia Fowler, Dotty Cotton and Jack Branning at Dot Branning\u2019s funeral.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

One character who plays a very key role in the episodes is Dot\u2019s beloved step-granddaughter Sonia Fowler, played by Natalie Cassidy.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the end results, Cassidy commented that she believed June herself would be pleased with the episodes.<\/p>\n

Cassidy said: \u201cI think she\u2019d be absolutely thrilled by it actually. Absolutely bowled over. And she was such a modest lady at times and she didn\u2019t ever want any fuss. She wanted truth \u2013 what June was only ever interested in was the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clenshaw added: \u201c<\/span>That was what we were going for. We wanted something that June would respect. Something that I think people would also relate to.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, we\u2019ve all lost people in our lives and I think the story that Sonia goes through, which is a very simple but relatable story of not exactly knowing how to put her feelings down on paper, and then to a congregation, is something that I hope people can relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Natalie Cassidy as Sonia Fowler in EastEnders.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

On why Sonia was always going to be front and centre in the funeral episodes, Clenshaw added: \u201cIt was kind of inevitable. I don\u2019t think it was something we mulled over. Sonia and Dot had a very, very special relationship \u2013 I think that Dot shaped Sonia\u2019s character.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that Nat and June had a very special, very unique relationship. She\u2019s always cared so much about Dot, so she had to be at the centre and I think Nat did a stellar performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sonia is joined in her grief by the likes of Dot\u2019s granddaughter Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) and stepson Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), while old faces return<\/a> in the form of Dot\u2019s friends Colin Russell (Lord Michael Cashman), Mary Smith (Linda Davidson), and Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt), while Dot\u2019s step-granddaughter Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) also returns from New Zealand to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

It is sure to be an emotional outing for Albert Square.<\/p>\n

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