EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy shares devastating tribute to June Brown

msn.com:

Natalie Cassidy has paid tribute to her EastEnders co-star June Brown after the Dot Cotton actress died at the age of 95. Speaking on The One Show, Cassidy, 38, who played Sonia Fowler in the long-running soap, revealed to hosts Alex Scott and Alex Jones, what it was like working with the late star, who died on Sunday.

She said: ‘I don’t know where to start really, it’s really such a sad day. She was an absolute powerhouse to work with. ‘She was incredible, she was fun, she was professional, she was cheeky and naughty at the same time, and she’s just going to be so dearly missed by all. ’Revealing why she thinks the country took Brown to heart so much as chain-smoking Christian Dot, Cassidy said: ‘That character that she created, it was so real to life, to have that woman around town who knew everybody’s business. ‘And every single thing she did and every single word she said, was truthful, and I think that’s why everybody fell in love with her’.

Brown played Cassidy’s step-grandmother in the show, set in Albert Square, and the pair shared a wide-range of scenes together over the years.

When asked if there were any scenes that particularly stuck in her mind that the two actors shared together, Cassidy recalled: ‘I had the honour of sharing an episode with June, so we had a two-hander, something I will never forget. ‘But there was a scene in there, where Sonia goes a bit crazy, and she throws a Bible at Dot, and it wasn’t really meant to go as it did, and I lost the plot a bit, and even up to eight months ago, she still spoke about that scene. ‘Do you remember that scene where the magic just happened, and something happened that wasn’t meant to happen. ‘And it was a very special scene to us and a very special episode..