Here's why Dot Cotton has left EastEnders 'for good', and if she'll ever be back

Actress June Brown has told the Distinct Nostalgia podcast that she didn’t “want a retainer for EastEnders” and that she’s “left for good.”

Brown played Dot Cotton, and had been a mainstay on the screens of soap fans for 35 years

The character was last seen – or rather heard – in an episode last month, leaving a voicemail for Sonia Fowler saying she had moved to Ireland.

"I've sent her off to Ireland and that's where she'll stay.” said Brown. “I've left EastEnders. I did make up a limerick. It's a bit dirty.

During her podcast appearance, Brown said leaving EastEnders felt like a bereavement.

"I was feeling down a few days ago," she said. "I thought, 'What's the matter? Why do I feel so sad?' It's almost as if I've been bereaved.

"I've played two people simultaneously for 35 years. Really Dot wasn't me, but spiritually she probably was."

Who was Dot Cotton?

Brown is perhaps EastEnders' best-known star and played the larger-than-life Dot, known for her devout Christian faith and hypochondria.

The veteran actress arrived on Albert Square shortly after the soap began in 1985, and aside from a break between 1993 and 1997, has been a regular since.

Some of Dot's biggest storylines have explored controversial issues such as euthanasia, cancer and homophobia.