After family members gathered around Dot’s casket on Thursday night, EastEnders viewers were moved to tears.
June Brown, who played Dot Cotton on EastEnders, passed away in April at the age of 95 after a long and successful acting career. When Dot was mentioned in the BBC soap opera, she was residing in Ireland, far from Walford. In recent scenes, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) learned her grandmother had passed away and funeral arrangements had been made over the phone.
Fans, however, were perplexed to see Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) at Dot Cotton’s funeral with the rest of the family, paying their respects.
Many fans questioned their relationship on Twitter, with one user asking: “How is Whitney related to Dot?
I was really baffled by the episode’s final scene because I didn’t realize they had that much in common.
How is Whitney so close to Dot, Jenny Sturgess continued? #EastEnders.”
I’m not sure why Whitney is there, @pennymores said. Is there a family connection I’m missing somewhere?
“Whitney’s relationship to Dot?” asked Jack Denning. Unreachable dog sitter? I don’t understand why she is there.
One Twitter user attempted to explain their relationship to other users by saying: “Whitney is Bianca’s stepdaughter, Bianca’s mum is Carol, Jim was her dad, and obviously Jim was married to Dot.
Whitney is a decent stepdaughter, so that’s good.
Added by @Connor55452873 “Sisters Bianca and Sonia Whitney’s mother by adoption is Bianca, and Dot provided Whitney with invaluable support during her difficult time with Tony.” (sic)
The show frequently featured Bianca Jackson (Pasty Palmer) and her mother Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson).
Jim Branning (John Bardon), who later wed Dot, had a daughter named Carol from his first marriage.
Bianca adopted Whitney when she was four years old, and she has been a part of the family ever since.
Whitney wasn’t her biological daughter, but Bianca treated her the same as her other kids and referred to herself as Whitney’s mother despite this.
The action-packed scenes are setting up the poignant scenes that will air the following week as Walford comes together to bid farewell to the beloved character.
I’m not ready to say goodbye, Sonia sobbed as the group gathered around the coffin.
Fans were moved to tears as they watched the scenes, and @sharonstacey tweeted: “That last scene was devastatingly good, not ready for next week #EastEnders.”
@WhovianLife applauded: “Tonight’s episode was a great example. I have to say, big applause for @bbceastenders making the ending of each episode about Dot have either no sound or respectful music and not the duff duffs. #EastEnders”
Going to be a crying mess watching the funeral on EastEnders next week, said Cody Coverdale.
“Dot’s funeral episode is going to be one of the saddest episodes this year. #EastEnders,” asserted @ekitchener97 (sic)
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