Home > Soaps > Eastenders: June Brown (Dot Cotton) signs £300,000 deal March 6th, 2011 by Lisa McGarry. No comments June Brown has reportedly inked a new ‘EastEnders’ contract, which has made her the show’s second-highest earner. The 84-year-old actress – who plays chain-smoking Dot Cotton – will now earn £300,000-a-year as bosses made a desperate bid to keep her much loved character on the BBC soap. Her new deal means only Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) is paid more than her and producers are thrilled she decided to stay on. An insider told the News of the World newspaper: “June is soap royalty. The BBC pulled out all the stops. “It’s great news for June and ‘EastEnders’ fans.” A show spokesman added: “Viewers will be pleased to hear they can continue to enjoy June’s brilliant work.” In 2009, June admitted she was worried her alter-ego Dot could be killed off in a bid for the show to save money. She said: “If they want to drop you, most often they will give you a rather unple...