Eccentric actress a fixture of UK comedy from Coward to Absolutely Fabulous
It was once said of June Whitfield that she had supported more actors than the Department of Social Security had. Over the course of a career that spanned three quarters of a century she worked alongside some of the greatest names in British comedy: Wilfred Pickles, Noel Coward, Peter Sellers, Frankie Howerd, Tony Hancock, Roy Hudd and, more latterly, Jennifer Saunders.
Far from yearning for the limelight, Whitfield, who has died aged 93, relished being second string. In recognition of the way her name invariably appeared on the credits, her autobiography was entitled . . . and June Whitfield. When asked what it had been like to work with so many eminent, and often famously tricky people, Whitfield said: ‘‘I didn’t really think anything of it at the time. I just kept my head down, did what I was supposed to do and made sure I was no bother – that’s the secret.’’
Blonde, 5ft 2in, often dressed in pink and always immaculately coiffed, Whitfield looked the model of a suburban matron. ‘‘I am what you see before you, a housewife from Wimbledon,’’ she liked to say. Yet behind her twinset exterior was a supremely accomplished comic actress with faultless timing and a lethal way with an aside, who, in later life, relished undercutting her rather starchy image.
Asked recently if there were any parts she enjoyed playing at this late stage in her career, she paused and said: ‘‘Ones that involve a lot of sitting down . . . or dying.’’
June Rosemary Whitfield was born in Streatham, south London, the daughter of two keen amateur actors. She admitted it was more or less a foregone conclusion that she should become an actress: ‘‘I never had a burning ambition. It just became a job.’’
After leaving the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, her first professional engagement was in a 1944 radio programme called Focus on Nursing. She had one line as a nurse, and also featured as a crying baby.
She was then chosen by Coward to appear in his show Ace of Clubs. Again she had one line, but featured in the finale, singing a song entitled Would You Like to Stick a Pin in My Balloon? At the end of the run she threw an impromptu party at her parents’ house, where, to her surprise and delight, Coward turned up and played the piano.
The critic Ken Tynan was less impressed, referring to her as pudgy. Whitfield was characteristically undaunted. ‘‘I was never a great beauty,’’ she said. ‘‘I think I amused more than I aroused.’’ That said, she once had a rose named after her, which she was delighted to see was listed in the catalogue as ‘‘vigorous and superb for bedding’’.
Her big break came in 1953 when she appeared in the radio comedy Take It from Here, written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. In a section of the show called The Glums, Whitfield played Eth, the longsuffering
actress b November 11, 1925 d December 28, 2018 Do you know someone who deserves a Life Story? Email obituaries@dompost.co.nz ‘‘I just kept my head down, did what I was supposed to do and made sure I was no bother – that’s the secret.’’ June Whitfield on her seven-decade career
June Whitfield Contact us fingers through his hair. Howerd was horrified, and suggested that she caress his shoulders instead. It was only later that Whitfield realised he wore a wig.
In 1971, Whitfield and Howerd reunited to record a spoof version of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s risque hit Je t’aime . . . moi non plus, which had been banned by the BBC. In their version she did the heavy breathing while an appalled Howerd endeavoured to fight her off – ‘‘Control yourself, woman!’’ Much to their amusement, this was also banned by the BBC.
Whitfield was more eccentric than she appeared. She had a dog called Rabbit and, if she had an uneven number of guests for dinner, would set a chair for Rabbit. ‘‘As people spoke he would turn and look at them,’’ she said, ‘‘and you could almost feel him nodding.’’
Her most enduring comedy relationship was with Terry Scott, with whom she appeared first in Happy Ever After, which ran from 1974 to 1978, and then in its successor, Terry and June. When the BBC took it off air in 1987, it effectively signalled the end of Scott’s career, but Whitfield’s stood on the brink of a new golden age, playing Saunders’ mother in Absolutely Fabulous, in which her innocently withering comments were a key ingredient.
‘‘What you two don’t seem to realise is that inside of me there is a thin person just screaming to get out,’’ wailed an extravagantly self-pitying Saunders in an early episode, whereupon Whitfield replied brightly: ‘‘Just the one, dear?’’
Despite saying she didn’t think actors deserved awards for doing a job they loved, Whitfield was made an OBE, CBE and, in 2017, dame. She appeared twice on This is Your Life, and in 2009 was the subject of an entire evening’s tribute programming on BBC2.
At the age of 88 she decided she was becoming unfit and took on a personal trainer. Shortly before that, she had been asked for tips on how to remain positive in old age. As crisp and pragmatic as ever, she declared: ‘‘Keep your fingers crossed and don’t anticipate disaster.’’
She married Tim Aitchison, a chartered surveyor, in 1955, and they remained happily married until his death in 2001. She is survived by their daughter Suzy. – The Times