June Whitfield

A well-known and beloved British radio and TV personality, June Whitfield gained fame and fans in the USA as the dotty mother of Jennifer Saunders' Edina Monsoon in the cult hit comedy "Absolutely Fabulous" (1992-95). The London-born, RADA-trained player racked up such stage credits as "South Pacific" and "Love for Judy" in London's West End and "An Ideal Husband" and "Ring Around the Moon" elsewhere in England. She gained real prominence in her native land, though, when she joined the long-running radio show "Take It From Here" in 1953, creating the role of the long-suffering Eth. Whitfield has continued to make appearances into the 90s, including "The News Huddlines".

Whitfield segued to the small screen and has been featured in a number of British comedy series, including "Beggar My Neighbor" (1967), "The Fossett Saga" (1969) and two teamings with Terry Scott, "Happy Ever After" (1974-79) and "Terry and June" (1979-87). She broke into films in "Carry On Nurse" (1958) and was featured in several installments in that series ("Carry On Abroad" 1973 and "Carry On Columbus" 1992). Whitfield had a rare dramatic role as the dour aunt of the title character in Michael Winterbottom's "Jude" (1996).

• Also Credited As:
  June Rosemary Whitfield
• Born:
  November 11, 1925 in London, England
• Job Titles:
  Actor

Family

• Daughter: Suzy Aitchison.

Significant Others

• Husband: Tim Aitchison.

Education

• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England

Milestones

• 1953 Made radio acting debut as cast member of "Take It From Here"; created role of Eth
• 1956 Early TV credit, as a sketch actor on "Idiot Weekly, Price 2d."
• 1958 Feature film debut in "Carry On Nurse"
• 1961 Had featured role on the comedy series "The Arthur Askey Show" (BBC)
• 1962 Reprised radio role of Eth in TV series "Six More Faces of Jim", starring Jimmy Edwards
• 1967 Appeared in the half-hour comedy "Hancock's"
• 1969 Featured in British series "The Fossett Saga" alongside Jimmy Edwards; played music hall singer Millie Goswick
• 1971 Appeared on the BBC sitcom "The Goodies"
• 1973 Returned to the "Carry On . . ." films with "Carry On Girls" and "Carry On Abroad"
• 1996 Had first serious film role in decades as the aunt of "Jude"
• 2001 Reprised role of June Monsoon in another series of "Absolutely Fabulous"
• 2002 Starred opposite Richard Briers in London stage revival of "Bedroom Farce"
• Again paired with Scott for "Terry and June"
• Appeared on long-running British radio show "The News Huddlines"
• Began stage appearances after graduating from RADA
• Co-starred in British sitcom "Beggar My Neighbor"
• Played June Monsoon, mother to Jennifer Saunders' Edina, on the British comedy "Absolutely Fabulous"
• Regularly appeared on Terry Scott's comedy series "Scott On ..." (BBC)
• Teamed with Terry Scott for the BBC comedy series "Happy Ever After"