Dot's Story: A Sentimental Journey
By Tim Wilson
As I sat at my desk writing this review, I had the No. 1 American soap The Young and the Restless playing behind me as audio wallpaper. A 45-year-old mystery had been unearthed-a leading character (Kay Chancellor) had at long last realised that another leading character (Jill Foster) whom she'd been at loggerheads with for over 25 years was in fact her long-lost daughter.
This revelation, besides being laughable considering the characters' long and twisted history, was played with as much eye-rolling and scenery-chewing as is humanly possible of actors (and that's saying something). However, it indirectly informed me once again why I love EastEnders, the No. 1 soap in Britain (okay, it alternates with Coronation Street for that honour) so much: because there are many instances on EE where there is truthful, heartfelt acting inspired by a good, emotionally honest STORY.
Which brings me to Dot's Story, an EastEnders "soap bubble" that was broadcast on January 2, 2003 on BBC-1 in a time slot normally reserved for a regular EastEnders episode.
BBC America, in a typical display of ungenerous programming policy, chose not to show this one here in the U.S., as they didn't with Ricky and Bianca or Nick and Ashley [editor's note: as in Cotton; Ashley is Nick's son]. It is true that these "soap bubbles" are, somehow, considered a separate entity to the show itself because they are not shot with EE's regular crew. Whatever the reason, BBCA won't show these and those of you who subscribe to this channel should feel gypped.
I was lucky enough to actually sit down and watch Dot's Story as it was being broadcast in Britain during my annual month-long visit to the U.K. With my feet up on the table and a heated-up Marks & Spencer prawn curry meal in my lap, I lapped it up.
I apologise in advance for revealing "spoilers" that were contained within the episode but I somehow doubt that BBCA, realising the wicked error of their ways, will suddenly say, "Gee, our audience might like to see Dot's Story and why don't we just run it."
Dot's Story is quite refreshingly simple, really. Dot (the consistently brilliant June Brown) has been lured from her sister Rose's sickbed in Liverpool by a strange Welshman, Ewan, who gets her to travel to Wales with him to visit his mother, her Auntie Gwen. Long-term EE viewers must remember Auntie Gwen as having been the lady Dot stayed with in Wales when she'd been evacuated there from Walford during World War II.
On the train to Wales, Dot begins to recall her time in Wales, and we get the first of many flashback sequences. In them we see a young Dot, probably eight or nine years old, being accompanied on a train to Wales by her mother, a chain-smoking, dead-common harridan, along with several other children. Young Dot (Tallula Pitt-Brown) is a LOVELY child-she's got dark hair, dark eyes and actually looks like a child movie star. She could even be the only slightly less beautiful younger sister to Elizabeth Taylor's Velvet Brown in National Velvet! Talk about wonderful casting-I absolutely believed that this kid would grow up to look like June Brown's Dot, and that sort of thing doesn't happen half as often as it should.
Anyway, poor little Dot isn't chosen to go home with any families on the railway once they arrive because she appears to be the only little girl, and farmer families would prefer boys to help with the farming, wouldn't they? This was the first time my eyes misted over watching this, darn them.
But then Auntie Gwen and Uncle Will arrived. It turned out they weren't REALLY Dot's aunt and uncle, they were just fortunate enough to show up late and then reluctantly (at least on Will's part) agree to take on little Dot, much to the nasty mum's satisfaction since she'd get paid for the privilege. Gwen and Will make a mighty fine couple-she's small and attractive in a very warm sort of way and he's handsome in a rough-hewn, Welsh Gary Cooper sort of way. Mumsy gets her pay and swans off, leaving a confused and frightened Young Dorothy behind.
The story returns to Dot in the present, who goes with Ewan to the farm to see Auntie Gwen. It turns out she's far more ill than he said-in fact, she's dying. There's a very sweet nurse looking after her who shyly but rather obviously hankers after Iwan and vice versa-one gets the distinct feeling they'll live happily ever after together no matter what happens. Auntie Gwen sees Dot and turns away-she doesn't want her there. Why did she run off without saying goodbye and never keep in touch?
Here's where the story, for me anyway, got a bit muddled no matter how enthralling it was. It had been established on EE (and then mentioned again in Dot's Story) that Dot had returned to Wales for a bit when she was a young woman in the summer of 1953.
Remember Dot's recital of that Dylan Thomas poem at Lynne's hen-night dinner? Dot remembered hearing it on the radio when she was in Wales in '53. But it was the young child Dot who actually ran away from the farm (and Auntie Gwen) back in '43 or '44. Her reason for doing this was certainly consistent with the basic, ongoing characteristic of Dot, which has partially defined her all these years on EE: her deeply felt religious faith. We find out the "truth" via a flashback.
One night on the farm Young Dot took the family dog for a walk. She took the dog off its leash (or lead, as they call it in Britain) and he fell into an animal trap and had to be put out of his misery by Uncle Will and his shotgun. Dot ran home in agony and wished Uncle Will dead. And death is exactly what happened to Uncle Will later that night-his truck went into a ditch and he was killed as a result.
Dot was inconsolable and felt as guilty as anyone ever could-in her mind it really was her fault that Uncle Will was dead. And so she packed her things and somehow got on a train headed back to London.
Back to the present-Dot and Auntie Gwen achieve a major understanding and reconciliation after all has been revealed by a still guilt-ridden Dot. Auntie Gwen, it turned out, never had a clue why Dot left the farm as a child and never got back in touch-except, mmmm, that time she came back in '53?
Sorry I keep harping on it, but that IS a bit of a plot hole, isn't it?
Did Dot go back to the farm in '53 when Auntie Gwen was off visiting relatives in Scotland or something? But no matter. The very sight of June Brown playing Dot as she faced her past and life-long guilt was sheer beauty to watch, and the actress playing the now-old Auntie Gwen was not far behind her in quality.
In an extremely touching deathbed scene Gwen has Dot on one side of her and her son on the other and they all hold hands. It is made implicit that it is all right for her to die now because she has both her "children" with her, and she does die. Dot's eyes filled up with tears and so did mine. Dot was, however, obviously grateful that she got the chance to unload the burden she carried for so long and to then be comforted by her beloved Auntie Gwen before her time had come. And a bit more of her faith had been restored in the process by Gwen assuring her ("silly child") that wishing someone dead doesn't prompt God to make it so.
It's been disappointing to me that EastEnders has so far chosen not to refer to the events which unfolded in Dot's Story-I'm hoping they still have the chance to do so with Dot's faith being challenged once again following a recent physical attack by someone claiming to be from a children's charity. I hope they do. This could only enhance Dot's story, which I hope goes on for some time to come.
She is truly one of the great soap, no, make that DRAMATIC characters of all time (even though she is also one of the most deliciously comedic), and June Brown deserves a truckload of BAFTAs and Soap Opera Awards and everything else for her portrayal year after year.
Having met and interviewed her, I'm very aware of her deep commitment to her character, and wondered how she thought Dot's Story turned out. I found myself at the BBC canteen bar a week or so after it had been broadcast and felt tremendously privileged to congratulate her when she suddenly appeared at lunchtime. I kissed her on both cheeks, said hello and congratulated her, and all she did was greet me, look towards heaven and give me a very demure Dot-like smile. That said it all for me, and I didn't need to prod her for a comment. She had a good right to be proud.
Dot's Story was a New Year's treat no matter its faults and it showcased a truly great actress who fully deserved a one-off special of her own. Hey, how about David's Story next time, BBC? And BBCA, why don't you run the special show-maybe in a marathon, along with the others?
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