June Brown's death has hit the 'EastEnders' cast "like a punch in the gut", according to Diane Parish.
Diane Parish says June Brown's death has hit the EastEnders cast 'like a punch in the gut'
The 52-year-old star - who plays Denise Fox in the BBC One soap - has admitted it was a "very sombre day" on set yesterday (04.04.22) when the cast and crew were told of the late Dot Cotton star's passing aged 95, which comes after the recent deaths of Albert Square stars Dame Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell) and Anna Karen (Aunt Sal).
Diane said: "We were all told yesterday. I wasn't there at the time when everyone was called to be told about June's passing, but I got a phone call from one of the cast members and everyone is devastated.
"It was like a punch in the gut.
"I suppose in this awful way you expect that not everyone is going to live forever, although we hoped June would live forever.
"But it was just that thing that we didn't want it to happen and we didn't expect it to happen, so it really took everyone's breath away.
"It was a very sombre day, by all accounts, and it will be for quite a while.
"She was the rudder in the ship, she was the definition of 'EastEnders'. And it was a real genuine privilege to know her and work with her.
"We've lost some great ones - we've lost Barbara, June and Anna Karen this year. So it's tough at 'EastEnders' at the minute."
Diane joked June - who played Dot from 1985 to 2020 - was the "real guvnor" of the soap during her time in Walford.
Speaking on 'This Morning', she added: "Every scene, every moment she was in was a gem.
"The minute she walked onto the set, we knew we were going to have something very, very special with her.
"She could have reams and reams of lines and she could remember them better than some of the youngest of us. And she would re-arrange the scripts.
"All due respect to our bosses, but June was the real guvnor."
Former 'EastEnders' star Ricky Norwood - who played Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb in the soap from 2010 to 2015 - also appeared on the show to remember June, who he praised as a "true pro".
Tearfully, the star said: "June was … it's really hard talking about her in the past tense. We get to work with people a lot and when you're working with people in close surroundings, hour and hour and day in, day out, you do form a bond with each other.
"With June it was so special because straight away my character wasn't just about the slang and he wasn't a superficial type of character, there were layers we were trying to put into him. She was so kind and open.
"The first scene I had ever had with her, I couldn't look her in the eye. It was Mrs B, it was June Brown.
"I grew up with her and it was hard to look her in the eye. I remember her saying, 'If you can't look me in the eye, look me at the end of the nose and we'll get the shot, get the eyeliner and we'll move it on.' "
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