'EastEnders' Dot is Christian role model, says BBC

BBC One controller Danny Cohen has claimed that EastEnders' Dot Branning (June Brown) is a Christian role model.

Cohen said that the chain-smoker, who is better known as Dot Cotton before she re-married, is an example of a Christian living out her faith in a "day to day way".

The BBC One boss made the remarks after being challenged to provide instances of ordinary believers on television who were not "freaks, geeks or antiques".

Cohen told delegates attending this year's Church and Media conference on Tuesday: "She is a single example of someone who lives out her faith on television in a charitable way."

However, the controller's case study did not go down well with some faith leaders and broadcasters.

Afterwards the Rev Hayley Matthews, chaplain for MediaCity UK, the new Salford base for BBC North, said: "I don't think Dot Cotton is very representative of Christians. I think a lot of people would be offended by that."

Matthew Adcock, from the London School of Theology, commented that although Cotton was portrayed as a Christian she did not represent the country's "growing younger demographic".

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