June Brown is going blind

5 April 2019

June Brown is going blind.

June Brown

The 92-year-old 'EastEnders' legend - who has played Dot Cotton on the BBC soap for more than 30 years - has revealed she's beginning to lose her eyesight and is already struggling to "go out socially" because of her vision.

June has suffered from macular degeneration for 10 years, and although she had a revolutionary operation in 2017 to fit extra lenses in her eyes, she's revealed they haven't been as effective as she'd hoped.

Now, the iconic actress relies on her Amazon Alexa voice assistant to tell her the headlines in the newspapers, because she can no longer read them.

She said: "Alexa could help me keep up with what's going on in the world, because I've given up on my papers now. I could read the headlines at one time but that's impossible now.

"I've got very poor sight. I've got extra lenses inside my eyes to try and help me read better. They help with my ­peripheral vision, but I've got no central vision at all. I haven't driven for years and I can't really go out socially due to my eyesight."

June no longer attends award shows because she can't "recognise" other people, and hasn't been able to read or reply to any of her fan letters as she can't personalise them in the way she would like.

She added: "I never go to soap awards or suchlike now. I don't recognise people that I know and they would think I was snubbing them. And I have got loads of fan letters that I haven't been able to read or reply to since it all started.

"I don't like to just send cards and sign them, I have all different sorts I like to chose from personally. So if someone mentioned Ethel, Gretchen Franklin, I'd send them one with a picture of Dot and Ethel. I used to be meticulous about that but now I've got nobody, really, to help me do it."

And the actress says she wouldn't wish her condition on anyone.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: "I can't tell you what it's like, but you wouldn't want it, dear. So just pray for your health and strength, hearing and eyesight, and an active mind."