Dame June Rosemary Whitfield DBE (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy Take It from Here, which aired on the BBC Light Programme channel in 1953. Television roles soon followed, including appearances with Tony Hancock throughout his television career. In 1966, Whitfield played the leading role in the television sitcom Beggar My Neighbour, which ran for three series. She also appeared in four Carry On films: Carry On Nurse (1959), Carry On Abroad (1972), Carry On Girls (1973), and Carry On Columbus (1992).
In 1968, Whitfield and Terry Scott began a long television partnership, which peaked with roles as husband and wife in Happy Ever After (1974–1979) and Terry and June (1979–1987). From 1992, Whitfield played Edina Monsoon's mother in Jennifer Saunders' Absolutely Fabulous. She played a regular character in Last of the Summer Wine and a recurring character in The Green Green Grass.
From 1993 to 2001, Whitfield played Miss Marple in the radio dramatisation of all twelve of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novels on BBC Radio 4.
In 1955, she married Timothy John Aitchison, who was working as a surveyor. The couple had a daughter, Suzy Aitchison (born 4 June 1960), who became an actress. Timothy Aitchison died in 2001.
Despite her success, Whitfield never wanted a lead role, stating that she lacked the drive and confidence. She attributed the premature deaths of several comedians to "the responsibility, the stress and strain" of carrying their shows. In her autobiography, she described her own life as "full of love, affection and laughter, of gigs, gags and a couple of gongs".
In December 2017, Whitfield said that she was living in a care home. She died in London on 29 December 2018, aged 93. Her funeral was held at All Hallows Church in Tillington, near Petworth in West Sussex, on 18 January 2019, attended by many of her co-stars and personal friends.
Fellow Absolutely Fabulous actress Jennifer Saunders paid tribute to the "extraordinary grace" of Whitfield and said she would "hugely" miss her "dear friend". Julia Sawalha described her as a "great source of inspiration". Actress Jane Horrocks said her former co-star was a "wonderful lady", who was "versatile, funny and generous".
External Links[]
- June Whitfield at Wikipedia
- June Whitfield at IMDB