Dotty Cotton

Dotty Cotton
Molly Conlin as Dotty Cotton (2009)
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Molly Conlin
Duration	2008–2010
First appearance	Episode 3708 26 December 2008
Last appearance	Episode 3954 23 February 2010
Introduced by	Diederick Santer
Classification	Former; recurring
Father Nick Cotton Mother Sandy Cotton Half-brothers Charlie Cotton Ashley Cotton Grandmothers Dot Cotton

Kirsty "Dotty" Cotton is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Molly Conlin. She was introduced on 26 December 2008 as the daughter of established character Nick Cotton (John Altman). Dotty was used as Nick's partner in crime, as the duo planned to kill her grandmother Dot (June Brown) and inherit the money from her will. She and Dot subsequently became friends after Nick's failed murder attempt, due to Dotty sabotaging their murder plan at the last minute. In her final storyline, airing on 23 February 2010, she left with her mother Sandy (Caroline Pegg), whom she believed dead.

Critics disliked Dotty, with her accent being criticised by Jane Simon from The Daily Mirror. Critics from The Daily Mirror and The Guardian were glad to see her leave. However, executive producer Diederick Santer praised Conlin for her portrayal of Dotty, whilst both Brown and Altman opined that the storyline was one of their highlights.The Sun described her as "one of the youngest, most wicked female soap villains".

Dotty, whose real name is Kirsty, was conceived in a one-night stand between Nick Cotton (John Altman) and an alcoholic woman named Sandy (Caroline Pegg). While serving time in prison, Nick received a letter from Sandy telling him that she had given birth to their daughter. Upon his early release in April 2008, Nick took custody of Dotty, telling her that Sandy had died in a car crash.