28 Doctor Who Actors Who Died In 2022
13. June Brown
June Brown was born in February 1927 and first appeared alongside the Doctor in the Third Doctor serial The Time Warrior, as Lady Eleanor. She would, however, return to Doctor Who, sort of, as herself many years later. The Time Warrior, incidentally, was a pivotal story for the show. It revealed the name of the Doctor's homeworld to be Gallifrey, and introduced the Sontaarans to the franchise.
Brown, of course, would be best known as Dot Cotton, the long-serving operator of the launderette in Eastenders. In 2011, she appeared in the spoof Dermot And The Doctor, which was produced for the National Television Awards. When the TARDIS appears outside her launderette, she is quick to identify that this Doctor...isn't the Doctor. At least, not how she knows him.
Brown was, to date, the only actor to ever carry an entire episode of a soap opera by herself. In 2008, an episode of Eastenders saw her dictate a monologue into a dictaphone, with only Brown appearing in the episode. She received a BAFTA nomination for it.
Brown was appointed an MBE in 2008, and an OBE in 2022. She died on 3rd April. She was 95 years old.