EastEnders has revealed that Dot Cotton's (June Brown) funeral episode will end with a specially written theme tune in honour of the iconic character.
The Walford residents were devastated to learn that Dot had sadly passed away and now the Square's residents are set to pay their respects in a heartbreaking send-off for one of the soap's most legendary characters.
Dot's death was written into EastEnders after the passing of actress June Brown OBE, MBE, who played Dot for 31 years until she was 93 years old.
Now, like many other soap icons, Dot will receive her own special theme tune, aptly named Dot's Theme, which will play at the end of her funeral episode.
Over the years, composer Simon May has reworked the show's alternative theme tune, famously known as Julia's Theme to say goodbye to many other soap legends.
Julia's Theme is usually played at the end of a beloved character's final episode and Dot will be following the likes of Peggy's Theme and Pat's Theme with her own dedicated theme tune.
Peggy's Theme was played when Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) last episode aired in 2010 and Pat's Theme was featured when Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement) left the show in 2012. Now, we have Dot's Theme to add to the list.
In another special twist, Dot's funeral episode will be slightly extended to air for 37 minutes and three of June's children, Nim, Sophie and Billy, will also appear in the episode to join the residents in mourning their mother.
EastEnders' executive producer Chris Clenshaw spoke to What To Watch about how he felt taking on the big responsibility of paying tribute to Dot.
He said: "It was an enormous amount of pressure. I think every story we tell comes with a huge responsibility, and any kind of exit for a character comes with a huge responsibility.
"But when you have to say goodbye to an iconic character that pretty much everyone in the country knows who they are — one of the most-loved characters to ever grace our screens on British television, it comes with an enormous amount of pressure. Especially knowing that June had passed away earlier this year.
"I think we all felt that, all the way through the process. From the storylining, to the script, through the shoot. Our wonderful director Richard Lynn is here this evening. He and Nat, and all the rest of the cast and crew, will be able to tell you the atmosphere that was on the floor during the shoot was slightly different.
"There was a lot of respect. People weren't just saying goodbye to Dot, they were saying goodbye to June. Through that process, I think June guided us, I'd say. Every decision we made through the process, we were always questioning: 'What would June say? Would June like this?'"
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
