andonis papadopolous, played by lee warner and known commonly as mr papadopolous, is the owner of the launderette on bridge street. in a long-running joke, employee dot branning (june brown) has difficulty pronouncing his surname, and for much of the show's history he has been referred to as mr. oppodopolus, oppydoppy, olopolopous or varying other mispronunciations; some of these are used by other characters, including yolande trueman (angela wynter) who calls him mr. p. andonis. he is not the original owner of the launderette. from the show's inception until may 1992 the property is owned by his father, until he dies while holidaying in his native athens. the character is of greek descent, but the papadopouloses are apparently based in walthamstow, east london. andonis makes his first appearance in may 1992, when he comes to walford to assess the business following his father's death. dot notices him taking a keen interest in the launderette and fears he is a murderer. she spends several days in a terrified state until andonis makes a formal introduction the following episode, revealing his first name. he makes several alterations to the way the business is managed, much to dot's dismay.