Could cold water hold a clue to a dementia cure? She was so loved and I will miss her hugely.”, Lumley said that she was “heartbroken to lose such a darling friend,” adding that she would “never forget her sensational talent, humour and her generosity to us all who had the joy of working with her on Ab Fab.”, Comedian Rory Bremner described Whitfield as the “go-to comedy actress for three generations.”. VideoThe woman who ferries Covid patients in a school bus, Large cat figure discovered in Peru's Nazca lines, The story of the blaze that destroyed Moria camp. Her first major steps into comedy included the Goons’ series Idiot Weekly, Price 2d and the radio show Take it From Here. But after six decades on radio and television, she established herself as a star in her own right. So convincing was the husband and wife act that many people thought they really were married. Read about our approach to external linking. By the early 70s, they had been given their own sitcom Happy Ever After, which became Terry and June in 1979. In later years, she mixed comedy and drama, appearing in Last of the Summer Wine as well as making a cameo appearance in Coronation Street. During the 1980s, Whitfield returned to radio comedy. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. [13] From 2000, she appeared in The Royal, Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie's Marple, New Tricks and Last of the Summer Wine, which she joined in 2005. From 1984, she could be heard with Roy Hudd on the satire programme The News Huddlines,[3] which finished in 2001. “I will always be grateful that she agreed to be in Ab Fab and even more grateful that she became a dear friend. .css-8h1dth-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-8h1dth-Link:hover,.css-8h1dth-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. It ran for more than 325 episodes and Whitfield considered it one of the happiest experiences of her career. Visiting will be held at the Comstock-Kaye Life Celebration Centre, 356 Rubidge Street from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, May 18 and from 10:00 -11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 19, with a funeral service to be held afterward at 12 noon, officiated by the Reverend Mark St. Pierre. Video, The story of the blaze that destroyed Moria camp, Arctic Circle teens call for help to save their homes. She called her autobiography ...and June Whitfield, in recognition of the fact that she always got second billing. I have now taken out a Funeral Plan and chosen everything I want for my ‘Big Day’! But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. Whitfield (Blair), June Elizabeth - of Peterborough, peacefully at the Kensington Hospice in Toronto on May 9, 2018 after a brief battle with cancer. She then continued to study secretarial skills at Pitman's College, Brixton Hill. In 1992, she became an unlikely icon to a new generation of fans with her portrayal of Edina's unworldly mother in the internationally successful Absolutely Fabulous. Originally scheduled to appear in just one episode, she went on to become one of the show's most popular characters. OBITUARY June Elizabeth (Blair) Whitfield 12 June, 1937 – 9 May, 2018. As for the long list of high-profile comedy actors she worked with, when asked if there was a rule to working with them, she always replied: “don’t upset the comic”. She reprised the role in 2015, starring in three adaptations of Miss Marple short stories (Tape-Measure Murder, The Case of the Perfect Maid, and Sanctuary). Five years later, however, she was offered a small part in the pilot for a new sit-com called Absolutely Fabulous. Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders have joined family and friends of their Absolutely Fabulous co-star and "national treasure" Dame June Whitfield to say goodbye at her funeral. “Always graceful and elegant with a real comic glint in her eye and (absolutely) fabulous timing,” he said. Despite her success, Whitfield never wanted a lead role, explaining that she lacked the drive and confidence. Everyone loved her and she loved everyone.". Having appeared in an episode of French and Saunders in 1988, Whitfield played Mother/Gran in Jennifer Saunders' sitcom Absolutely Fabulous from 1992. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Dame June Rosemary Whitfield DBE (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress.. ", Reverend Debbie Smith, who led the service, said: "We are holding the balance between June as just a wonderful woman who was part of this community and contributed wonderfully, as well as having a public face as well. As the new century dawned, Whitfield continued a wide variety of roles including parts in Midsomer Murders and that retirement home for actors of a certain generation, Last of the Summer Wine. Obituary: June Whitfield. But from her early radio roles in the 1950s, through to her scatty antics on Absolutely Fabulous, she made more than 1,300 appearances on radio and TV. Mourners had been asked to wear bright colours in tribute to the veteran actress, who died in December at the age of 93. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. The actress always said she was "very bad at getting round to things". “I found a way of playing ‘me’ that wasn’t really me” she said (although she admitted the real June was much less tolerant). Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. VideoThe story of the blaze that destroyed Moria camp, Arctic Circle teens call for help to save their homes. Dame June Whitfield was a constant presence in British post-war comedy. By the late 1940s, she was beginning to get noticed, including in The Glasgow Herald in 1948. June Whitfield, who has died aged 93, was the most extraordinarily ordinary of comic performers. 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When she was three, June was sent to the Robinson School of Dancing, Elocution, Pianoforte and Singing and when she was five made her first appearance in a play (the role was ‘A Boy’). Whitfield was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1994 British Comedy Awards and inducted into the Royal Television Society’s Hall of Fame in 1999. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. With Frankie Howerd, she recorded a version of the song Je T'aime, but even their spoof, complete with ironic heavy breathing, was considered too risque for the time and was famously banned by the BBC. Hardly a Hollywood case of the understudy’s dream coming true for Miss Whitfield has played the part before.” Whitfield kept a copy of the review with the words “furious, untrue” written over it – she had barely learned the part, never mind played it before. I had a 35-year course in comedy from the very best.". Later that year a first series of this was screened, and it continued for five series until 1979. Television roles soon followed, including appearances with Tony Hancock throughout his television career. The review read: “June Whitfield, after a shaky start, proved herself to be as capable an artist as she was a charming heroine. Whitfield may have played mainly conventional figures, such as June Medford in Terry and June and disapproving matriarchs in several of the Carry On films, but she remained popular because she seemed able to project a warmth that audiences liked – even though she played down her own stature, even calling her memoirs And June Whitfield.