Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of notorious criminal Nick Cotton (John Altman). The character worked as a launderette assistant for most of that time, along with original character Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard). Dot moved away with her son and his family in 1993. In reality, Brown left the show in 1993, unhappy with the development of her character. Brown returned to the role in April 1997, and on 28 April 2017, Dot overtook Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement) as the second-longest-serving character in EastEnders, surpassed only by original character Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story (2003) a young Dot