At sixteen I was very interested in palmistry. The
fate line on my right palm had a distinct break at the
age of thirty. It broke into two parts that ran for a
quarter of an inch on parallel tracks. I used to look at
it and wonder, 'What will happen to me when I am thirty
that will change my life?' Of course, it was Johnny's
death. But, in fact, my life was changed twice by death.
June Brown is an institution - a classically trained
actress and showbiz veteran, who has undoubtedly lived a
full and fascinating life. One of the few national
treasures left not to have told her story, she is
much-loved for her role as the chain-smoking Dot
Branning in the long-running BBC soap, EastEnders, a
character she has played with dedication and skill for
over 25 years. Before the Year Dot traces her colourful
childhood in Ipswich with her beloved sisters, through
the war with the WRENS, to her days as a gifted stage
actress trained by the likes of Laurence Olivier, Michel
Saint-Denis and Glen Byam-Shaw. Her legendary tours of
the Young and Old Vic Schools saw her play some of her
most memorable parts and cement her acting credentials.
In this hugely anticipated memoir, June recounts an
enthralling early life. But it is also a life marked by
two deaths that changed June forever - once when she
lost her beloved sister, Marise, and a second time with
the loss of her adored husband, Johnny. June Brown tells
her colourful story with candour and skill, and in her
own words.
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