‘I was an EastEnders star – and one Walford legend was allowed to break major rule on set’
An EastEnders star has revealed that a soap legend was the “only one” allowed to break a huge role on set
A former EastEnders star has let slip the huge rule that a Walford icon was allowed to break on the BBC soap.
Actress Katie Jarvis played Hayley Slater on the BBC One soap – making her debut in 2018. As the cousin of Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Hayley found herself involved in a ton of big storylines.
From shock affairs to alcohol addiction, her time in Walford was not short of drama. However, in 2019, Hayley said her goodbyes to Walford, with Katie leaving the long-running soap.
And in a recent interview on The Criminal Connection podcast, actress Katie spoke out about her time on the BBC One soap. And it turns out a soap legend was the “only one” allowed to break a rule on set.
Actress Katie played Hayley on the soap (
Kieron McCarron/BBC/PA Wire)
Recalling her stint in Walford, Katie said: “106 episodes I did, and they gave me Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year episodes. I was very lucky.”
The TV star then added: “I watched Eastenders all my life growing up, it was like a church in my house. My mum would not go a night without missing it.”
Podcast host Terry Stone then recalled his time on EastEnders and recounted a conversation he had with June Brown, who played Dot Cotton.
Katie spoke about working with June (
BBC)
“I always remember, June sat down, and she was just smoking and smoking,” Terry said. Katie then chimed in and added: “Yeah she was the only one that was allowed!”
Talking about June’s career, Terry revealed how June told him her “big break” wasn’t until she bagged the role as Dot in the BBC soap.
After they finished their conversation, Terry said: “She [June] went ‘Oh I’ve got to go now’ and she went on set and she’s just running out pages of dialogue! And you sit there going ‘How do you remember all that?!’”
Dot was a soap legend (
BBC)
Katie replied: “Yeah she was definitely known for that! She knew all of her lines never got them wrong, and obviously, she was always allowed to walk around smoking!”
June Brown played the iconic chain-smoking Dot Cotton on the soap – and was one of EastEnders’ most beloved and iconic characters. Making her debut in 1983, she went on to star in the soap for 31 years – before leaving in 2020. Sadly, June died in 2022 aged 95.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
