1. In 1966, June Whitfield played the leading role in the television sitcom Beggar My Neighbour, which ran for three series.
22 Facts About June Whitfield
1. 2.
From 1992 to 2016, June Whitfield played Edina Monsoon's mother in Jennifer Saunders' Absolutely Fabulous.
3.
From 1993 to 2001, June Whitfield played Miss Marple in the radio dramatisation of all twelve of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novels on BBC Radio 4.
4.
June Rosemary Whitfield was born at 44 Mount Ephraim Lane in Streatham, London, in 1925, to John Herbert Whitfield and his wife Bertha Georgina nee Flett.
5.
In 1944, June Whitfield graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with a diploma.
6.
June Whitfield began her career in the 1940s working with Wilfred Pickles, and worked on stage in the West End and the regions.
7.
Five years later, in 1992, Julian Clary created Terry and Julian, a Channel 4 sitcom which spoofed the title of Terry and June; Whitfield made an appearance in one episode.
8.
June Whitfield was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions: in April 1976, when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at her home in Wimbledon; and in March 1995, when Michael Aspel surprised her at BBC Television Centre.
9.
In 1998, June Whitfield played the housekeeper in the London-set episode of Friends "The One with Ross's Wedding, Part Two" and voiced a character in an episode of the animated comedy series Rex the Runt.
10.
June Whitfield appeared in The Royal, followed by appearances in Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie's Marple, New Tricks and Last of the Summer Wine, which she joined in 2005.
11.
June Whitfield had an episode of The South Bank Show devoted to her on 29 July 2007 and, in the same year, appeared in the English National Opera's production of On the Town in London's West End.
12.
In 2010, June Whitfield was signed for a short appearance on ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
13.
In 2013, June Whitfield became the inaugural recipient of the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award, a recognition of her lifetime's contribution to the world of comedy.
14.
In May 2015, June Whitfield made a guest appearance in the BBC soap EastEnders as a nun called Sister Ruth and returned to the show in January 2016 to complete a storyline.
15.
June Whitfield made a guest appearance as God in the Sky 1 series You, Me and the Apocalypse, which was broadcast in November 2015.
16.
In 1982, June Whitfield was made a Freeman of the City of London.
17.
June Whitfield was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1985 Birthday Honours, Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1998 Birthday Honours, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to drama and entertainment.
18.
In 1994, June Whitfield was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Comedy Awards.
19.
In December 2017, June Whitfield said that she was living in a care home.
20.
June Whitfield died in London on 29 December 2018, aged 93.
21.
June Whitfield's 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.
22.
June Whitfield reprised the role in 2015, starring in three adaptations of Miss Marple short stories.