June Brown has said she has left EastEnders ‘for good’

June Brown has said she has quit EastEnders after 35 years on the soap.

The actress, who has played Dot Cotton since just after the show began, said she has sent the iconic character "off to Ireland, where she'll stay." “I’ve left, I’ve left for good,” the 93-year-old  told Rani Singh on the Distinct Nostalgia podcast. “I’ve left EastEnders. I did make up a limerick, but it’s a bit dirty, really. I went back to do a good story. Alas and alack, when I got back it had gone up in smoke.

“I got a small part, a very small part. And that ended up as a big, wet fart. Alas and alack, I will never go back.”

And as for whether she had any regrets about her decision, Brown admitted she was "feeling down a few days ago."

"I thought, ‘What’s the matter? Why do I feel so sad?’ It’s almost as if I’ve been bereaved," she continued. “I’ve played two people simultaneously for 35 years. Really Dot wasn’t me, but spiritually she probably was.”

According to The Sun, EastEnders bosses are said to have had no idea about her plans not to return to the soap.

"Everyone is a little baffled by this as June’s dressing room and all her contents are still where they have always been," an insider told the publication. “In fact we were under the impression that she is attending a gathering to mark the 35th anniversary.”