Carry On not beneath June

WHILE the likes of her former Carry On colleague Kenneth Williams were notoriously critical of the hugely popular comedy films, Dame June Whitfield begs to disagree.

The actress, who made four appearances in the franchise – having made her debut as Meg in 1959’s Carry On Nurse – has dismissed any criticism of the Carry On concept, by insisting she had no reservations about the roles being beneath her, she simply liked the scripts.

“I enjoyed them. I am awful I suppose,” she said during a talk at London’s Victoria & Albert museum on her 70-year career. “It is in my Yorkshire blood. I am very practical. If something comes up and I don’t dislike it I am likely to do it.”

And the 92-year-old also dished out some advice to young actors trying to negotiate a route into the industry, saying they shouldn’t be so quick to turn their noses up at anything when starting out. “I would say that to any young person intending to tread the boards: take what comes because you never know what it is going to lead to.

“You never know who you are going to meet or who they are associated with. Start with amateur companies but get experience and that is the thing.”

The museum has recently acquired the June Whitfield archive, which includes photos, tapes and scripts from her stellar career, after making her acting debut in 1946.

Her last film appearance was in 2016’s Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.