User:Bluebolt94/Rose Cotton

Rose Elizabeth Cotton (née Colwell; previously Taylor and Beauchamp), played by Polly Perkins, is the estranged half sister of Dot Branning (June Brown).

Storylines
She is first seen when Dot goes to visit her in Southend-on-Sea where she lives, as she has decided to make amends before she dies. Dot sees Rose in a bar, drinking and flirting with a group of men, and leaves without speaking to her. She later follows her to an address, and Rose lies that she is well off and her husband has died. Dot leaves but returns when she realises she has left something behind. She finds that the dead man is alive and Rose has lied about everything. Dot goes to her actual home and Rose admits she did not want Dot to think bad of her. Dot tells Rose she may not have long to live and did not want to die before making amends. They start to bond, and Dot meets Rose's son Andrew (Ricky Grover), and there is animosity between mother and son. Before Dot is due to leave, Rose asks to spend some more time with her. Dot says as they are both lonely, Rose should live with her in Walford, and Rose agrees. Andrew drives them there but reveals his last name is Cotton, and Rose is forced to admit that Andrew's father is Dot's first husband Charlie Cotton, who had a bigamous marriage with Rose. Dot kicks Rose out but she later returns, saying she does not want to lose her sister again.

Rose moves in and Dot urges her to earn money. When Dot gossips to her about Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) and her family, Rose uses this information to make Jean think she is psychic, and Jean pays her for her services. She then gets a trial working for Doctor Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) as his receptionist. She gets the job and appears to enjoy it, although her constant pining over Yusef appears to irritate him somewhat. Rose reveals to Dot that she is behind with the paperwork at the surgery while Yusef has been away. Dot helps Rose sort through her workload, but they discover that Rose has misplaced some test results for a patient who has since died. Rose fears her oversight resulted in the patient's death, but Reverend Stevens (Michael Keating) tells her the patient died of a bee sting. A relieved Rose then flirts with Reverend Stevens, much to the chagrin of Dot. A few days later, Dot reveals Rose's shady past to Reverend Stevens. However, the Reverend is intrigued, and he and Rose share a drink at The Queen Victoria public house, as he wants to know more about her life. Rose brings alcohol to a church social event, which Dot is against, but Reverend Stevens thanks Dot for making it the best so far. Rose and Reverend Stevens grow closer at the event, resulting in him asking for Dot's blessing to date Rose. Rose later sleeps with Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) upsetting Reverend Stevens. Cora finds this funny but Dot kicks Cora out for laughing. Rose later apologises to Dot for embarrassing her and forgives Dot for the things she said, however, Dot asks Rose to move back to Southend. Dot also discovers Rose's passport which reveals Rose had remarried again and had the surname of Beauchamp. When Dot confronts her, Rose reveals that the marriage was abusive. Dot then allows Rose to move back in with her. Rose later does some card readings with Jean, Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Denise Fox (Diane Parish). In December 2011 Andrew comes back to Walford in December, and promises to stay for Christmas, much to the delight of Rose and Dot.

Casting
The casting of Perkins in the role was announced on 27 May 2011 and the character first appeared on screen on 22 August 2011. She is described as "flighty, fun and not one to age gracefully". Rose and Dot have been estranged for most of their lives, since Rose had an affair with Dot's first husband, Charlie Cotton. Dot decides to track Rose down after suffering a bout of hypochondria, feeling it is time to put things right, however, Rose is not pleased to see Dot again after so many years. Perkins said of her casting, "I am thrilled to be joining the cast of EastEnders, the show is a real British institution with an extraordinary creative team. I'm really looking forward to working with June again, who I have been friends with for over 30 years." Perkins and Brown were pictured filming scenes on a beach in Thorpe Bay in Essex. A spokesperson said "All I'll say is we are filming some big episodes, which we plan to broadcast later this summer. It's not our policy to comment on episodes like this so early."

Personality
The EastEnders website states that Rose "loves a bit of mischief" and "hasn't got a bad bone in her body." It continues to read: Rose hasn’t got a bad bone in her body. She has a childlike innocence to her. She loves being naughty but she’s never wicked or spiteful. No matter what scrap she gets in she’ll slap on a smile. In spite of everything that's happened to her, Rose is a survivor. Rose’s mother used to refer to her as her little princess. She was Margaret, carefree and always laughing while Dot was Elizabeth, serious and responsible. Rose was the favoured blonde, pretty child. Nevertheless, Rose admired Dot. To the eye, Rose has had an easy life, but scratch the surface and you'll see a woman who has always been in debt and on the run. Maybe in Walford she will finally settle down?" The original good time girl, Rose Cotton loves a bit of mischief and where Rose goes, mayhem happens. Unlike her older sister Dot, Rose likes to wind people up. She's always falling into trouble and is guaranteed to be the last to leave a party (and usually the first to arrive!)

Development
Polly Perkins revealed that Rose and Dot's reunion "will not go smoothly." Speaking of the forthcoming scenes, Perkins told Inside Soap: "It is a surprise for Rose to see Dot after all these years and there's no doubt things will be up and down for them - they've got an awful lot of ground to cover." In a discussion about what viewers can expect from her character, Perkins replied: "Rose is an absolute floozy! She really is. And this, of course, means she and Dot are poles apart. They really couldn't be more opposite in character. Rose has delusions of youth, you see. She's 70, but under the illusion that she's still in her 40s," she continued. "With Dot being the hypochondriac that she is, she wants to make amends with Rose before it's too late. She fears she doesn't have long left."

Perkins says she disagrees with Rose's disapproval of Heather. Speaking to Inside Soap, Perkins commeted: "Rose would be like this with any woman who wanted to marry her precious son. She has just got Andrew back in her grasp, and now she's losing him again. It's certainly not a very healthy way for her to behave - I wouldn't be like that with my own sons!" Perkins added that she gets on well with Cheryl Fergison who plays Heather. She said: "I'm going to miss her so much. She's just such a naturally funny woman, and she really wants to make everyone happy. I am so fond of her. We're all in deep mourning that she won't be staying."