Dot Branning
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| EastEnders character | |
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| Dot Branning | |
| Portrayed by | June Brown |
| Duration | 1985–1993, 1997— |
| First appearance | 4 July 1985 |
| Date of birth | 1929 |
| Marital status | Married |
| Home | 25 Albert Square |
| Occupation | Launderette assistant |
| Family | Nick, Jim |
Dorothy "Dot" Branning (née Colwell, previously Cotton) is a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. She is played by June Brown, but was played by Tallula Pitt-Brown in flashbacks in a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story.
Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 and has worked as a laundrette assistant for most of that time along with her best friend Pauline Fowler. She took a four year absence from the show in 1993 when she moved away with her son Nick Cotton and his family and returned in 1997. She is known for her devout Christian faith, addiction to cigarettes, and motherly attitude to those in need.
Dot is married to Jim Branning, the only person to refer to her by her full name of Dorothy. She was previously wed to conman Charlie Cotton with whom she had her only son Nick.
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[edit] Life
Dot had a difficult life, largely due to her first husband, Charlie, and their son, Nick. Her mother slept around with various men and abandoned her after she was evacuated to Wales during the war. Charlie came and went from Albert Square since his arrival in 1986, and always treated Dot badly and stole from her. He conned her by saying he had changed his evil ways and then ran off after taking her money. In 1991, he died in a lorry accident off-screen, away from Walford.
Her son Nick was worse than his father in terms of evilness. He had been involved in drugs, robberies, and murder and always tried to cheat Dot out of her money just like his late father. He even tried to poison her once for her bingo money but backed out at the last minute.
She was a good friend of Nigel Bates who lived in her house as lodger for a few years. Dot always thought of him as the son she never had because he was the complete opposite of Nick.
She was pursued by fellow pensioner, Jim Branning, in whom she had no interest. He proposed to her on the London Eye, and she accepted. They married on Valentine's Day 2002 and have remained happily married ever since.
Dot had a very peculiar yet strong relationship with Dennis Rickman, the son of her previously-supposed-dead neighbour, Den Watts. She looked upon him differently to the bad boy he made himself out to be. She always took him under her wing in his times of need, and gave him advice. He acted like her surrogate son, and in return, he saved her life by making her choose to have chemotherapy rather than go through with her original plans to die after her diagnosis of cancer. Her world was rocked after Dennis was stabbed and killed on New Year's Eve 2005 by Danny Moon just days after his decision to leave for the United States with his pregnant wife, Sharon.
[edit] Departure
In July 1993, Nick turned up with his estranged wife Zoe who he never told Dot about, and introduced Dot to their son Ashley Cotton. Dot became close to Ashley and eventually was asked by Zoe to move away from Walford with her, Nick and Ashley to Gravesend. Dot was reluctant to move away at first but agreed. She left the Square in July 1993 and wasn't seen again for nearly four years.
[edit] Return
Dot returned to Walford on 14 April 1997, revealing that Nick had gone back to his old ways and had been arrested for drugs possession and Zoe and Ashley had moved away. Dot had been left alone in her house since Nick was arrested and decided to move back to Walford, realising that leaving there in the first place was a mistake. As long as Nick was in prison she was happy.
She was shocked by his surprise return in April 1998. He tried to cheat her out of money once again by telling another lie: that he had AIDS. He claimed he needed money to go to France where Ashley and Zoe had moved to. Dot believed him but a week later, she discovered Nick had been lying about his illness and was on the run from police. She informed the police of his whereabouts a week after his return and he was arrested.
She later moved in with fellow senior citizen Lilly Mattock, where she was arrested for the illegal use of cannabis, which she had mistakingly confused for herbal tea after new age wannabe Irene Raymond convinced her of its "healing properties". After Lilly was mugged, she moved out of the square, and Dot went to live with her old friend Pauline Fowler.
[edit] Friendship with Ethel
Dot has since been involved in many storylines, including the death her old best friend Ethel Skinner. She had been friends with Ethel for decades, who stunned her when she revealed, in 2000, that she had returned to Walford to die of cancer. As a very weak Ethel lay in bed after celebrating her birthday (when it wasn't really her birthday, she later told Dot), she begged Dot to help her end the pain in her life. Torn between her Christian beliefs on euthanasia and her best friend's final wishes, she opted for the latter option, and helped Ethel to die, although later she thought that she should be punished and wanted to serve time in prison for murder. Dot battled with her conscience after Ethel's death, and for a long time she struggled to believe that she could be forgiven in the eyes of God.
[edit] Ashley's death
Just when Dot thought she had seen the last of Nick, he reappeared in November 2000 with his son Ashley. His feud with Mark Fowler tragically caused the death of his son, Ashley, in June 2001 after he cut the brakes on Mark's motorcycle. Ashley, not knowing this, stole the bike and died after crashing into a market stall, and having his body thrown against the launderette door. At Ashley's funeral, Nick said Mark should have been in the grave instead of Ashley, and Dot overheard this.
Dot finally disowned Nick for good after realising that he unintentionally caused the death of his son, and threw him out from Walford soon after the funeral. Ashley was the only decent family she had in her life and Nick had to destroy the only happiness she had.
[edit] Cancer
Dot was heartbroken upon being diagnosed with cancer of the kidney in 2004. She only confided in Dennis Rickman about her discovery. He persuaded her to have chemotherapy, and she has now appeared to have fully recovered.
Although Dot was initially against the idea, after much persuasion from her senior neighbour Jim, the pair embarked on a slow burning romance. Dot was very set in her ways, and getting used to another man in her life was hard for her. However, Jim provided the companionship and care that had been lacking from her life for so many years, and whilst Dot may not be the most demonstrative of people, she does care for Jim very much.
Jim eventually proposed to Dot in 2001, but this proved too much for Dot, who swiftly disappeared from Walford and sought refuge with her old friend Nigel Bates for a while. However, Jim didn't give up, and whilst the pair took a trip on the London Eye on Christmas Eve 2001, he proposed again, and this time she accepted. Dot spent much of her time before the wedding despairing over whether she would be able to consummate her vows after the wedding. This appeared to be a worry for Jim too, who had had to resort to Viagra to enhance his performance. The pair eventually decided that sex wasn't needed and that their love would remain platonic.
Dot has become a surrogate grandmother to Jim's grandchildren, particularly Sonia and Bradley, who even call her Gran. Dot and Jim have remained happy, although Dot's loyalty to Jim was tested in 2005 when her driving instructor, Michael Rawlins, made unwanted advances towards her, causing her to crash the car that she was attempting to drive.
Dot often complains about Jim and despairs of his gambling and drinking, but she makes his life complete in old age and she relishes being needed once again.
In May 2006 Jim received a call from Nick, who was in a prison hospital suffering from throat cancer. Jim tried to keep this a secret from Dot but she eventually found out and was upset that Jim did not tell her. She then decided to visit Nick to care for him while he was ill and returned to the Square when Nick recovered.
[edit] Pauline's death
Dot had to suffer more heartache when her oldest and best friend Pauline Fowler died on Christmas day 2006.
When Pauline started to go into depression Dot chose to stick by Martin and Sonia instead of her best friend. Despite this Dot was the only one who attempted to stick by Pauline and see her point of view while everyone else had given up on her, even when it was revealed she had lied about having a brain tumour. Dot attempted many times to try and talk Pauline around to making up with Martin and Joe but each time Pauline would just keep the door locked and pretend she wasn't there.
On Christmas Day after learning Pauline intended to leave Albert Square for America, Dot had one last attempt at talking Pauline around in the laundrette. Her attempts still had no results and Dot decided to give up herself after realising Pauline was not worth it anymore. Later on in the night Dot was the first to see Pauline lying in the Albert Square snow after hearing Betty barking. She called Martin over and other people went as well, where Martin announced her dead.
At Pauline's funeral Rebecca told Dot about her witnessing the confrontation between Sonia and Pauline on Christmas Day. Dot told Sonia that she knew and Sonia tried to talk her out of doing anything. However, after she had made her speech Dot went outside to phone the police. When they arrived the funeral went into chaos and the stress caused Dot to faint. Dot was taken home, where she was instantly put to bed. The police arrived and requested to speak to Dot but Jim and Sonia managed to keep them away for a while. Sonia had a final attempt at talking Dot out of telling the truth but instead Dot read Sonia statements from the Bible, telling her to be the one to tell Martin the truth about Pauline's death.
Dot was then racked with guilt over Sonia.
On 25 January 2007 Dot went to the Fowler's house to retrieve Rebecca's toy rabbit, which had been dropped there. Dot put Pauline's work uniform in a cupboard, and then heard someone entering the house as she was leaving. Dot was surprised to see it was Pauline's husband Joe. Dot was originally suspicious of Joe's turning up but he was quick to point out that he had lived there and had a key. Joe and Dot then had a deep conversation over his relationship with Pauline, Joe getting more upset by the minute. They both went upstairs and Joe started drinking, making him go even deeper into his feelings. Joe then revealed to Dot that he had gone back to the house on Christmas Day to try and patch things up with Pauline again. However, they got into an argument that included some harsh words from Pauline. With all the upset and anger boiling inside him, Joe hit Pauline over the head with the frying pan, which was the blow to her head that caused her death. Dot then proceeded to say some harsh and angry words to Joe and convince him to tell the truth. She then tried to ring the police but Joe snatched the phone out of her hand and pleaded with Dot not to reveal his secret. Jim decided to take Rebecca to the Fowler's house to see if Dot had found the toy and he saw Dot at the window trying to open it. Dot wanted to shout the truth to everyone, despite Joes pleas. When Jim and Rebecca entered the house they heard Dot and Joe shouting so Jim left Rebecca downstairs and went upstairs to investigate. When Jim entered the room Dot immediately tried to tell him the truth but Joe grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth to silence her. Jim went to defend his wife and gave Joe a shove, which caused him to crash through the bedroom window, fall onto the roof and tumble down onto the street, landing on a market stall in the process. Jim and Dot stared at each other in shock, before Jim rushed to the window to see Joe lying dead on top of the crushed stall in the street.
Dot has struggled to come to terms with Pauline's death, and had trouble adjusting to Pauline's short-term replacements, Nadezhda and Yolande.
[edit] Family
- Father: Bob Colwell (deceased)
- Mother: Martha Colwell (deceased)
- Brothers: Gerry Colwell, Tim Colwell
- Sister: Rose Colwell
- Husband: Jim Branning
- Son: Nick Cotton
- Grandson: Ashley Cotton (deceased)
[edit] In popular culture
The character of Dot Branning has been spoofed in the cartoon sketch show 2DTV.
She was also impersonated by Alistair McGowan in Big Impression.
As a style icon she has been said to have inspired catwalk collections, hairstyles and more. The monthly Dot Cotton Club, a gay club night in Cambridge, is named in her honour. She is among only a few characters from EastEnders to become a British cultural emblem. Dot Cotton's long-suffering luckless life has also led to her being labelled as a gay icon.[1]
Dot is probably the most notable smoker on British television as she rarely appears on-screen without a cigarette. The character is so synonymous with smoking that the term "Dot Cotton syndome" is used within the health industry to: "describe the elderly population who continue to smoke heavily without registering the health problems they are or will soon suffer from, seeing it as their only pleasure left in life".[2]
She was also voted the 46th best TV character in a television poll entitled The 100 Greatest Television Characters.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "The new pink pin-ups", Evening Standard. URL last accessed 2006-10-23.
- ^ "Medical education via the mass media", Student BMJ. URL last accessed 2006-10-23.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest Television Characters", thecustard.tv. URL last accessed 2006-11-02
[edit] External links
