EastEnders viewers in tears over Sonia’s three-word tribute to Dot at funeral

2022-12-12

Viewers of EastEnders were left in tears over Sonia Fowler's touching tribute to her late grandmother Dot Cotton at her funeral, after the emotional episode was aired tonight.

Sonia ( Natalie Cassidy ) had viewers reaching for their tissues when she delivered a heartfelt eulogy at her beloved grandmother's funeral, with her speech ending in three simple but powerful words: "I love you."

The special episode also paid tribute to actress June Brown, who passed away in April, after playing the much-loved character of Dot from 1985 to 2020.

In previous episodes, Sonia got a call to say that Dot has passed away, so she set about making funeral arrangements for her beloved grandma, whilst also leaning on ex-husband Martin Fowler for support.

The funeral episode saw new and old faces from the long-running soap come together to pay tribute to the iconic Dot.

In a particularly touching note, June Brown's real-life children, Sophie, Nim and Billy, were sat in the church during Dot's funeral.

After Sonia's emotional eulogy, fans rushed to Twitter to comment, with one person gushing: “Natalie Cassidy is an amazing actress though. I'm so emotional. #Eastenders.”

Someone else wrote: “Feels like not only a goodbye to Dot but a goodbye to June going to be a mess by the end of tonight’s episode."

"This tribute #eastenders Dot will forever live on in Eastenders. June and Dot were true icons," wrote another.

"Sorry. Anyone else crying while watching Dot’s funeral? #dotcotton #EastEnders," added a fourth.

In one heart-wrenching scene, Sonia could be seen breaking down as she listened to a voicemail from her grandmother, who told her she was going to Ireland to visit her grandson, Charlie.

Show bosses had to make the decision to kill off Dot Cotton after June Brown passed away, although Executive Producer Chris Kershaw said that, when June was alive, it had been her wish for that not to happen.

He told The Sun: “She did of course know that when she did leave us, it was the right thing to do.

"After some time, we couldn't put it off much longer. We spoke to June's family who knew it was what she would have wanted."

Speaking about June's daughters attending their mother's legendary character's funeral, Chris said: "June's children Nim, Sophie and Billy knew what EastEnders meant to their mother, so much so they requested to attend Dot's funeral to say their goodbyes."

Dot's old friends Colin Russell, Mary Smith, Lofty Holloway, Disa O’Brien and Barry Clark, made special arrangements to attend the funeral, whilst Dot’s other step-granddaughter Lauren (played by Jacqueline Jossa ) jumped on a plane to represent Jim’s side of the family and to pay her respects.

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