Although she has a string of television and stage credits dating back to the early 1950s, it wasnt until 1985 that June Brown became a household name, playing Eastenders' resident gossip and later warm mother figure Dot Cotton. A role she continues to play and shows no signs of giving up on just yet. But before Walford came calling, Brown had an encounter with the Third Doctor in 1974s The Time Warrior; a story that marked the first appearance of both Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans. Appearing in all four of the storys episodes, Brown played Lady Eleanor Wessex, a noblewoman from the Middle Ages whose castle was besieged by local robber baron Irongron, who began to step his campaign to drive Wessex and her husband out of their home with the help of stranded Sontaran Linx. Although most of the storys action was left to the Doctor and ace archer Hal, Lady Wessex still played a vital role in the story by organising the creation of a powerful sleeping draught to use on Irongrons guards so that the Doctor and Hal could storm his castle. At the moment, Brown is continuing her role in Eastenders and will soon have appeared in a whopping 1,700 episodes.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
