EastEnders recreate Dot Cotton's first ever scene to mark anniversary of June Brown's debut

'EastEnders' recreated Dot Cotton's very first scene to mark the anniversary of her Albert Square debut.

On Monday night (04.07.22), Natalie Cassidy entered the cafe as Sonia Fowler in a brown coat and uttered the same line Dot - played by late soap legend June Brown - delivered back in 1985.

Sonia said: "Give us a tea Kath, and a glass of water so I can take a paracetamol."

It almost exactly mirrored Dot's first appearance 37 years ago, when she entered the cafe in a similar coat and called out to George 'Loty' Holloway (Tom Watt).

In that scene, Dot said: "Give us a tea, Lofty, and a glass of water so I can take a paracetamol."

Natalie admitted she was "really honoured" to be paying tribute to June, who sadly died in April aged 95.

In a video on the 'EastEnders' Twitter account, she said: "I'm really, really honured becuase it's the anniversary of Dot's first appearance. Sonya's going to come into the cafe and create a really special moment, we hope."

She revealed even the costume department got involved to find a nice way to honour Dot without going too far.

She explained: "We've even got a little mac on today, just as a little nod to Dot's character. Obviosly I can't come in dressed as Dot because that would look really silly on the show, but we were thinking - even costume got involved and said maybe Sonia could have a little shopping bag like Dot used to have.

"So maybe when I come in I can have it over my arm. Just a little nod to the greatness that was June Brown."

The show were among those to pay tribute to June after her death, hailing her alter ego as "one of the most iconic characters" in the soap's history.

They said at the time: "There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.

"June created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2,884 episodes, June's remarkable performances created some of EastEnders' finest moments."