EastEnders' Dotty Cotton is returning to the Square - but not as we know her
She was an evil child!
Author: Emma DoddsPublished 26th Jul 2019
EastEnders fans up and down the country will shudder at the memory of Dotty Cotton, the daughter of 'Nasty' Nick Cotton and granddaughter of Walford legend Dot Cotton. The evil little girl was about 10 when she last appeared in the soap, having grown quite the connection with poor Dot.
So when it turned out that she was actually in cahoots with her conman father to KILL Dot and make off with her money, the shock was almost too much for viewers to bear - and the little girl, then played by Molly Conlin, left the Square with her mum, whom she previously thought was dead. Well, this is Walford after all.
However, little Dotty - real name Kirsty - is now returning to Albert Square, albeit with a different face, as is wont to happen on soaps who bring back former child actors. The BBC have revealed that Milly Zero, who is known for her roles on CBBC shows, will be taking on the role this autumn.
Nine years after she left, Dotty has been living in Wales with her mum, and has been having regular visits from Dot. But of course, things won't be running smoothly with the daughter of Nick, and official press from show bosses says, 'It’s safe to say Dotty’s return spells trouble with a capital T.'
Swipe through to see all the EastEnders spoilers you need to know for next week...
The week begins with an anxious Sharon receiving her DNA test results – who is her baby daddy? Elsewhere Phil asks Ben to help out with running E20 to reduce Sharon's workload.
EastEnders' Dotty Cotton is returning to the Square - but not as we know her
The week begins with an anxious Sharon receiving her DNA test results – who is her baby daddy? Elsewhere Phil asks Ben to help out with running E20 to reduce Sharon's workload.
He's reluctant at first but after arriving at the club he makes an intriguing discovery when he stumbles upon some interesting paperwork… Ben agrees to help out at E20 and ends up celebrating with Lola Pearce.
Keanu is stunned when he discovers Phil is still involved with dodgy business contacts and ends up riling his boss up when he tells him to stop for the sake of their unborn children.
Phil completely disregards Keanu's opinion which results in Louise's boyfriend taking matters into his own hands… A furious Phil then threatens Keanu in front of everyone at The Vic.
The drama doesn't stop there though because when Sharon misunderstands a conversation with Ben she ends up putting her foot in it by revealing Keanu will now get Ben's inheritance money.
Seeing red, Ben rings Keanu and tells him to meet at The Arches. Over at The Vic, Phil spots a drunken Kat mocking him about the stolen money. She then tries to backtrack but is shaken when Phil threatens her son Tommy Moon.
When Phil arrives at The Vic, all hell breaks loose following the dodgy deals and inheritance money and he ends up getting in a fight.
He tries to get the upper hands but when he loses control he's left serious injured… Left for dead, the people involved try to cover their tracks but how far will they go to keep their names clean?
The week ends with Phil's life hanging in the balance? Is this the end of the infamous resident on the Square? Or will he manage to fight through his latest trauma?
Over to the Slater household and Ruby is thrown when Max reveals Stacey isn't happy of them dating. She's determined to figure out what's wrong with her BFF and decides to invite her and Martin on a double lunch date.
Over at the restaurant, the atmosphere changes as Ruby and Stacey can't remain civil. An annoyed Ruby decides to confront her pal – but what will she say?
Martin feels unable to be about his wife's ex-lover and storms off home. Back at theirs he asks whether Stacey still has feelings for Max and tells her she needs to prove it if she wants their marriage to work.
On Martin's birthday he's feeling anything but ecstatic and is in no mood to celebrate so he rushes off to work. When Kush Kazemi notices his friend's dampen mood he offers to take him out for a drink with Kat.
Stacey goes to spend time with her husband on his birthday but is fuming when she finds him celebrating with Kat and it's not long before Ruby and Max arrive at The Vic.
Kat continues to try and keep peace with Stacey, but the latter is having none of it. It's not long before Martin snaps at his wife and storms off.
Karen pleas with her daughter to make things right with her dad but Chantelle refuses.Later on Gray tries to cheer his wife up with a surprise.
Meanwhile Keegan Baker helps his little sister Bailey Baker out with her new school project – recycling – and Bernadette Taylor finds Karen on a date with Caren.
Bernie grows frustrated as Karen and Caren continue to date and when she gets her mum alone she forces her to think about what she's doing.
When Bernadette leaves, Karen is taken aback when Caren suggests they go back to the Taylor house as everyone is out… The pair later share their first kiss.
Bobby Beale refuses to care for Rainie so she turns to Stuart, when he arrives he's left worried about her taking painkillers.
Despite his concerns, they pair continue to bond and Stuart suggests they go on a date. After agreeing, Stuart is left questioning where to take her and realises it might be harder than he originally thought.
Bobby struggles being in the house constantly and offers to help out at the restaurant – Ian agrees but how will the rest of the employees react?
Stuart takes Rainie out for dinner but as he continues to worry about her behaviour, he decides to change his plan and ends up taking her to the Community Centre.
A confused Rainie is then left hurt when Stuart takes her to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting where he confesses he's worried about her. Back at home, Rainie snaps at him.
Meanwhile Adam tries to make things right with Habiba by asking her out on a date but he panics when he returns home and finds a half-dressed Honey suggesting they spend time together.
At first Adam tries to get out of spending time with her but when Honey begins to get suspicious he ends up cancelling his plans with Habiba.
Habiba is left gutted when Adam cancels their date and things take an awkward turn when he arrives at the restaurant alongside Honey.
Habiba has had enough and confronts Adam and demands to know why he's still with Honey. Over at the Ahmeds, Adam seems a glam looking Iqra and despite things still being frosty between them he puts her on the spot and questions who she's going to meet.
The week begins with an anxious Sharon receiving her DNA test results – who is her baby daddy? Elsewhere Phil asks Ben to help out with running E20 to reduce Sharon's workload.
He's reluctant at first but after arriving at the club he makes an intriguing discovery when he stumbles upon some interesting paperwork… Ben agrees to help out at E20 and ends up celebrating with Lola Pearce.
Keanu is stunned when he discovers Phil is still involved with dodgy business contacts and ends up riling his boss up when he tells him to stop for the sake of their unborn children.
Phil completely disregards Keanu's opinion which results in Louise's boyfriend taking matters into his own hands… A furious Phil then threatens Keanu in front of everyone at The Vic.
The drama doesn't stop there though because when Sharon misunderstands a conversation with Ben she ends up putting her foot in it by revealing Keanu will now get Ben's inheritance money.
Seeing red, Ben rings Keanu and tells him to meet at The Arches. Over at The Vic, Phil spots a drunken Kat mocking him about the stolen money. She then tries to backtrack but is shaken when Phil threatens her son Tommy Moon.
When Phil arrives at The Vic, all hell breaks loose following the dodgy deals and inheritance money and he ends up getting in a fight.
He tries to get the upper hands but when he loses control he's left serious injured… Left for dead, the people involved try to cover their tracks but how far will they go to keep their names clean?
The week ends with Phil's life hanging in the balance? Is this the end of the infamous resident on the Square? Or will he manage to fight through his latest trauma?
Over to the Slater household and Ruby is thrown when Max reveals Stacey isn't happy of them dating. She's determined to figure out what's wrong with her BFF and decides to invite her and Martin on a double lunch date.
Over at the restaurant, the atmosphere changes as Ruby and Stacey can't remain civil. An annoyed Ruby decides to confront her pal – but what will she say?
Martin feels unable to be about his wife's ex-lover and storms off home. Back at theirs he asks whether Stacey still has feelings for Max and tells her she needs to prove it if she wants their marriage to work.
On Martin's birthday he's feeling anything but ecstatic and is in no mood to celebrate so he rushes off to work. When Kush Kazemi notices his friend's dampen mood he offers to take him out for a drink with Kat.
Stacey goes to spend time with her husband on his birthday but is fuming when she finds him celebrating with Kat and it's not long before Ruby and Max arrive at The Vic.
Kat continues to try and keep peace with Stacey, but the latter is having none of it. It's not long before Martin snaps at his wife and storms off.
Karen pleas with her daughter to make things right with her dad but Chantelle refuses.Later on Gray tries to cheer his wife up with a surprise.
Meanwhile Keegan Baker helps his little sister Bailey Baker out with her new school project – recycling – and Bernadette Taylor finds Karen on a date with Caren.
Bernie grows frustrated as Karen and Caren continue to date and when she gets her mum alone she forces her to think about what she's doing.
When Bernadette leaves, Karen is taken aback when Caren suggests they go back to the Taylor house as everyone is out… The pair later share their first kiss.
Bobby Beale refuses to care for Rainie so she turns to Stuart, when he arrives he's left worried about her taking painkillers.
Despite his concerns, they pair continue to bond and Stuart suggests they go on a date. After agreeing, Stuart is left questioning where to take her and realises it might be harder than he originally thought.
Bobby struggles being in the house constantly and offers to help out at the restaurant – Ian agrees but how will the rest of the employees react?
Stuart takes Rainie out for dinner but as he continues to worry about her behaviour, he decides to change his plan and ends up taking her to the Community Centre.
A confused Rainie is then left hurt when Stuart takes her to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting where he confesses he's worried about her. Back at home, Rainie snaps at him.
Meanwhile Adam tries to make things right with Habiba by asking her out on a date but he panics when he returns home and finds a half-dressed Honey suggesting they spend time together.
At first Adam tries to get out of spending time with her but when Honey begins to get suspicious he ends up cancelling his plans with Habiba.
Habiba is left gutted when Adam cancels their date and things take an awkward turn when he arrives at the restaurant alongside Honey.
Habiba has had enough and confronts Adam and demands to know why he's still with Honey. Over at the Ahmeds, Adam seems a glam looking Iqra and despite things still being frosty between them he puts her on the spot and questions who she's going to meet.
Milly said, "I am honestly so excited to be playing Dotty Cotton and joining the E20 family. Especially playing alongside June Brown, who I have been watching on my telly since I was a young girl.
"Her and Dotty have such an interesting relationship to explore with a complicated history, so I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them. It all feels very surreal and I am buzzing already!"
Executive Producer Jon Sen said, "We’re all super-excited to welcome Dotty back to the Square – sharp-witted and with an eye for human weakness, she’s not afraid to say what she thinks. We are also thrilled that Milly will be taking on the role – her versatility as an actress and ability to capture Dotty’s blend of sass, intelligence and vulnerability ensure that Dotty will return with a bang this autumn."
EastEnders airs on Mondays and Fridays at 8pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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