Having played the role of Dot Cotton for decades, June Brown won the hearts of the nation thanks to her role in EastEnders, but she was hiding a horrible secret from the public
EastEnders legend June Brown believed she was responsible for her first husband’s devastating death.
It has been three years since June – who won the hearts of the nation as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap – died on April 4. A trooper until the end, June made sure that she would be able to enjoy her last months of life, refusing to give up any of her worldly pleasures.
But behind the scenes, the EastEnders actress harboured a horrible secret that involved her first husband, who died in 1957. She went on to reveal that she blamed herself for his death after seven years of wedded bliss.
June first laid eyes on her first beau – an actor by the name of John Garley – in 1950. The pair were both working in acting at the time, performing together at the Old Vic theatre, before sparks soon began to fly.
Just months after the pair first met, they would go on to tie the knot, and embark on married life. However, the marriage was beset with problems – with both John and June cheating on each other over the course of it.
The pair would go on to patch things back up, and things had been going well for the pair. However, June was hit with immense shock in 1957, when John took his own life.
Writing in her autobiography, Before The Year Dot, June admitted she felt responsible for her husband’s death. Describing the moment she found her partner, she penned: “I walked into the bedroom and there was Johnny, lying on the bed, the gas fire propped up next to him.
“Suicide was still a criminal offence in the late-fifties,” she explained. “I’d got him breathing again but it was obvious he’d suffered severe brain damage; he lasted three days in hospital before dying on May 8.”
June said that she felt she was responsible for John’s suicide after she had left money for him to buy the gas to heat their home. She also pondered whether her life would have been different if she did not leave the money to her darling husband.
“I didn’t want to think that if I hadn’t left him the one and eight pence he wouldn’t have been able to do it,” she sobbed. However, despite her pain, June was able to move on with her life – getting hitched to her second husband Robert Arnold just one year on from John’s death.
Robert and June would eventually go on to sire six children in the space of just seven years together. However, the pair were hit with tragedy when one of their kids sadly lost their lives as a baby.
June would go on to live a happy life with Robert, staying well and truly infatuated with each other. However, things came to a tragic end for the pair in 2003, when Robert was diagnosed with – and then died from – Lewy-body dementia.
Lewy-body dementia is triggered due to clumps of protein that build up within brain cells, which can cause problems behaviour, mood and movement. The condition is the second-most common form of dementia, with the most common being Alzheimer’s disease.
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
