An EastEnders star has revealed that a soap legend was the “only one” allowed to break a huge role on set

An ex-EastEnders actress has spilled the beans on a massive rule that one of the show’s legends was given a free pass to break.

Katie Jarvis, who portrayed Hayley Slater in the hit BBC One drama, dished the dirt during her appearance on The Criminal Connection podcast. As Kat Slater’s cousin, Hayley was at the centre of some major plots, from scandalous affairs to battling the bottle.

Jarvis joined the soap in 2018 but waved goodbye to Albert Square in 2019. Reflecting on her time there, she revealed: “106 episodes I did, and they gave me Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year episodes. I was very lucky.”

The telly favourite also shared how EastEnders was a staple in her household growing up, saying: “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.”

During the podcast, host Terry Stone reminisced about his own stint on the soap and a memorable encounter with June Brown, aka Dot Cotton, reports the Mirror. Stone recalled: “I always remember, June sat down, and she was just smoking and smoking.”

This prompted Katie to reveal: “Yeah she was the only one that was allowed!” Terry then touched upon June’s career highlights, noting that her “big break” came when she landed the iconic role of Dot.

Terry and Katie have went on to share a touching memory of June Brown’s incredible professionalism on set. Terry recalls: “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?!” 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!”

Soap legend June Brown, famed for her portrayal of the iconic chain-smoking Dot Cotton in EastEnders, became one of the show’s most cherished icons. Since making a splash in 1983, she dazzled viewers for an incredible 31 years until her exit in 2020. The beloved actress sadly passed away in 2022, at the age of 95.

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer