Upon her arrival, Dot Cotton was quickly established as the gossip, whose purpose, as author Anthony Slide sees it, was "that of a Greek chorus, commenting on the foibles of her fellow residents of Albert Square, from her vantage point as manager of the local launderette". The "gossip" is a soap opera role that author Christine Geraghty has described as "crucial to the audience's engagement with a serial and provides both a source of information and a means of speculation for the viewer." She asserts that a fundamental aspect of British soap is the idea of supporting members of community, based on the sharing of intimate knowledge, allowing "practical and emotional needs to be met" within the enclosed community. However, according to Geraghty, there is nevertheless "an unease about the price paid for such support and an acknowledgement of the fine-line between neighbourliness and nosiness. The 'gossip' personifies this unease and though her task of passing on information and ferreting out problems is crucial to the community, she [...] is frequently the butt of mockery and criticism [...] The avidity with which Dot Cotton seeks out news is the subject of some embarrassment to her more restrained neighbours but the exchange of information she provides is essential if the community is to provide support to its members [...] the very process of exchanging information makes her an essential yet mistrusted figure."