“Give us a tea, Lofty. And a glass of water so I can take a paracetamol.” On 4 July 1985, these were the first words uttered by Dot Cotton. There was little indication that this prosaic line would herald the start of an epic EastEnders era. 

Now, sadly, that era is over. At the grand old age of 95, actress June Brown MBE passed away peacefully at her Surrey home on Sunday evening. After 35 years and an extraordinary 2,884 episodes in the Cockney soap opera, she leaves a huge hole in the pop cultural landscape. The phrase “national treasure” is overused but this is one of those occasions when it fits.

June Muriel Brown hailed from Suffolk and served in the Wrens. Long before the Queen Vic came calling, she was classically trained at The Old Vic alongside Alec Guinness, Albert Finney and John Gielgud. Actor Nigel Hawthorne (aka Sir Humphrey from Yes, Minister) once described Brown as “the most beautiful creature to ever walk the stage” after seeing her play the title role in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.

She saw her fair share of tragedy in her private life: her wealthy father went bust, two of her four siblings died in childhood, then she was twice married and twice widowed. A veritable soap opera of a biography.

Brown’s acting credits read like a potted history of Seventies film, TV and theatre, including a period at the RSC, a role in Doctor Who and even a stint in that other great British soap, Coronation Street. Unsurprisingly, however, her CV is dominated by her three decades-plus in London E20. She was the show’s second longest-serving actor, surpassed only narrowly by Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). Together the pair were the gatekeepers of Albert Square. The old guard. Keepers of the Cockney flame.