Legend of TV comedy dies at 93
HE IS best known as a stargazer but as he prepares to tread the boards in the musical Hairspray, Russell Grant reveals his first love was always the stage.
Theatre-trained Russell, 67, who undergoes a transformation to play Edna Turnblad, said that acting is “where my heart is, it’s my passion”.
He admitted that astrology “was a hobby” that became his main career.
But he says that his stint on Strictly in 2011, when he was fired from a cannon, helped revive his acting dream.
He said: “People did not know about my musical theatre roots. For me, Strictly brought me back to the thing where I felt I truly belonged.
“I’d never danced but I knew I had rhythm because I had done musical theatre. I also knew I could perform because I was a trained actor.
“It was those things that joined me on my evolution from beginning to end.”
The Sunday Express astrologer said the role of Edna is a
“dream come true” for him.
American star Divine – created by Harris Glenn Milstead – played the original downtrodden wife turned glamour puss Edna in the
1988 hit film. Russell says he channelled Divine, who died in the same year aged 42, when finding his inner female for the role.
He said: “Divine was the perfect Edna for me. In the film, Divine really portrays this incredible woman who comes out of her shell, I am playing this role where the ugly duckling becomes a swan.”
John Travolta, 64, played the same role in the 2007 version of the film.
Middlesex-born Russell got his first acting role aged 10 in BBC’s The Wednesday Play.
Edna is not Russell’s only female role. His DJ alter ego Venus La Diva is to appear at the London venue Studio 88. Russell became a household name when he gave the Queen Mother her astrological chart in 1978.
Hairspray will open in May at The Gaiety Bar, Southsea, Hampshire. COMEDY legend Dame June Whitfield died “peacefully” aged 93 on Friday night.
Known for Carry On films and TV sitcom Terry And June, by the 1980s she was seen by alternative comedians as representing the kind of traditional, safe comedy they were reacting against.
But she gained new audiences when she appeared in Absolutely Fabulous in 1992, which became one of the most popular sitcoms of the decade.
Born in Streatham, London, to a mother into amateur dramatics, June had elocution and dancing lessons from an early age before attending Rada.
Her appearance on the radio comedy Take It From Here in 1953 made her a household name. Over the next few years she worked with most of the biggest names in comedy, including Arthur Askey, Tony Hancock and Eric Morecambe.
She became a television double-act with Terry Scott on Happy Ever After in 1974 and Terry And June in 1979. She also appeared in Carry On Nurse in 1959, Carry On Abroad in 1972 and Carry On Girls in 1973.
She married chartered surveyor Tim Aitchison in 1955 and aged 34 had her only child, Susan Jane Aitchison, in 1960.
She was made a Dame in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama and Entertainment.