Art & Hue Presents: Funny Women

Regular blog readers will know I'm a big fan of Art & Hue. I've featured many of their other collections, from the Carry On range of prints covering the Anglo Amalgamated era to '70s Cops' and the more recent 'Funny Men' range. To bring style and fun to your walls, Art & Hue has now launched a new collection of stylish pop art prints featuring British comediennes and comic actresses.

Funny-"ha-ha", in a humorous and comical way, but also funny-"peculiar" with their unique, quirky characters and work, these distinctive talents have brought joy to countless listeners & viewers across the years through their idiosyncratic performances. 

Liz Fraser, Yootha Joyce, June Whitfield, Joyce Grenfell, Mollie Sugden, Gracie Fields, Irene Handl, Margaret Rutherford, Penelope Keith, and Beryl Reid all get the pop art treatment in this collection of iconic funny men from British film & television. 

Carry On links are clear to see - Liz Fraser appeared in four of the films - Regardless, Cruising, Cabby and Behind while her close friend, the late Dame June starred in Nurse, Abroad, Girls and Columbus, as well as the film of Bless This House. Meanwhile the iconic Irene Handl had cameos in both Carry On Nurse and Carry On Constable. Beryl Reid came late to the series, but was probably the best thing in Carry On Emmannuelle in 1978. Even Penelope Keith had a brush with the Carry On phenomenon. Her small role in Doctor may have been cut, but stills remain while she was allegedly offered the role Joan Sims went on to play in Carry On England.

An official collaboration with Studiocanal, Art & Hue has delved into the archives to uncover images of classic British comedy stars which have been transformed into ten stylish pop art prints.

Exclusively by Art & Hue, the collection is available in three sizes and 18 colour options, printed on museum-quality archival card of 310gsm, made from 100% cotton, with fine-art pigment inks for longevity.

Visit artandhue.com/funnywomen to see the full collection. 





You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Catch Bless This House this evening on Talking Pictures TV!

This evening Talking Pictures TV are showing yet another comedy classic from the golden age of British film comedy. Possibly the closest any other film got to being an official part of the Carry On team without actually gaining the Carry On title, Bless This House was yet another quickly made, cheaply made picture from Peter Rogers Productions. A big screen version of the hit Thames Television domestic sitcom, bringing Bless This House to the cinema was just another part of the very 1970s trend of transferring TV comedy favourites to film. This had varying results with some performing better than others. I think we can agree Bless This House is probably one of the most successful.

Part of its success is down to the Carry On-like quality the film has, mainly down to the personnel employed both in front of and behind the camera. Bless This House remains a hugely popular film, 47 years after it was first released. It's easy going, has bags of charm, remains completely light, frothy, undemanding and innocent and in modern, more cynical times its special brand of escapism is very appealing. Nothing really happens across its 80 odd minutes and basically writer Dave Freeman, who would go on to pen Carry On Behind and Columbus, stitches together three potential small screen half hours into one film. 

There's the traditional suburban new neighbours move in and don't get on with those around them strand. So what you say? Well when the main opponents are Sid James and an extremely pompous pre-Terry and June Terry Scott, you have comedy magic. Then there's the farcical wedding strand which sees the offspring of Sid and Terry (Robin Askwith and Carol Hawkins) hitch up and get hitched. Of course nothing goes to plan but all's well in the end. In between all this there are several small plots of little consequence such as Sally Geeson's naive 1970s environmental activism, Diana Coupland and Patsy Rowlands hoarding junk for a future antiques business and best of all, Sid and best mate Peter Butterworth attempting to make their own alcohol in the garden shed, with startling results! 

In the hands of lesser actors, all of this would have fallen flat and this little film would be a very distant memory. As with the main Carry On series, the secret of this films' success is the casting. The film is mainly made up of instantly recognisable Carry On faces with only leading lady Diana Coupland failing to Carry On elsewhere (a great pity I think I as you can read here: Should Diana Coupland have carried on? Leading team members Sid James, Peter Butterworth and Patsy Rowlands are joined by Carry On supporting players Terry Scott, June Whitfield, Marianne Stone, Bill Maynard, Patricia Franklin, Julian Orchard, Molly Weir, Wendy Richard and Johnny Briggs. Phew! It seems to modern viewers that Peter Rogers basically arranged for the cast of the early 1970s Carry Ons to decamp to suburban Windsor for six weeks. Recent Carry On starlets Carol Hawkins and Sally Geeson also grab leading roles while rising star Robin Askwith, soon to appear in Carry On Girls and then the Confessions series, plays Sid's son Mike. Quite an ensemble!

Of course several of these actors transferred across from the television version of Bless This House. Alongside Sid, Sally Geeson played daughter Sally in all 65 episodes of the sitcom alongside Diana Coupland. Patsy Rowlands too was a semi-regular in the sitcom as neighbour Betty. However the actors playing Trevor and Mike did not appear in the film. I don't really know why Anthony Jackson and Robin Stewart were replaced by Peter Butterworth and Robin Askwith but I can't fault either of the actors who stepped into the film. To complicate matters further, the likes of June Whitfield and Marianne Stone also appeared in the television series, albeit in very different roles!

Many of the core Carry On crew also appeared behind the camera on Bless This House. Pinewood stalwart Alan Hume was in charge of photography, Eric Rogers did the music while even the hair and make up team moved across in the familiar guise of Stella Rivers and Geoff Rodway. It really was a team effort and a film family and us fans take great comfort from seeing all these names scrolling across the screen once again. 

So make a date to catch up with your favourite comedy character actors in an undemanding hour and half of slapstick, gentle humour and family fun. 

Bless This House is on Talking Pictures TV tonight at 7.10pm. Find out more here: https://talkingpicturestv.co.uk


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Join Bernard, Bob and June for some Punch Lines!

Here's a lovely thing from the BBC Radio archives. As you'll probably know, the great Bernard Cribbins recently celebrated his 90th birthday. To help mark this momentous occasion, BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a range of special programmes from the BBC archive.

Punch Line was a comedy panel game from Radio 2, originally broadcast in the mid 1970s. The show came from an idea by Myles Rudge, a song writer who was known for writing musical revues in the 1950s and 1960s and for crafting a range of novelty pop songs for the likes of Joan Sims and Cribbins himself.

This episode, from 1975 features the glorious Bernard alongside two other comedy legends, the great Bob Monkhouse and the recently departed and much-missed Dame June Whitfield. Another icon of radio, Terry Wogan, acts as referee.

You can listen to this slice of comedy magic right here


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Dame June Whitfield's Last Interview

Sadly we lost the magnificent Dame June Whitfield last week at the grand old age of 93. There have been fulsome tributes all over the internet, in the press and on television and rightly so. 

Before June passed away, she gave one final interview, to the DJ and broadcaster David Hamilton for BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey. David was a good friend of June's and has spoken warmly of their longstanding friendship since her sad passing. The interview was recorded shortly before Christmas and the BBC broadcast the interview on 27 December. As David himself said, June was on fine form, as funny, warm and self-deprecating as usual. 

In the hour long interview, June talks to David about her long career on stage, film, radio and television. She discusses her fond memories of working with the likes of Terry Scott, Frankie Howerd, Roy Hudd and the cast of Absolutely Fabulous. It's a fine last hurrah for Dame June and I'm so glad she did this interview before she left us.

You can listen to the interview, produced by Mark Carter for the BBC, right here.

And you can read my tribute to June here: Carry On Blogging: Remembering Dame June Whitfield

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Remembering Dame June Whitfield

I had decided today to share a blog looking back at the sadly all too many Carry On faces we have lost in 2018. Unfortunately that post now needs another addition with the news last night that Dame June Whitfield has passed away at the age of 93. 

I was finishing dinner with friends in Glasgow when I did that ridiculously modern thing of checking my phone at the table. A picture of June was what greeted me, along with the terrible news that she was gone. I know June had reached a great age and that it was inevitable as we're all here but once, yet June Whitfield was such a permanent presence in all our lives it really did feel like she would be with us forever. My Gran would have listened to her on the wireless in the 1950s as Eth in Take It From Here. My Mother and Father watched her suburban antics with Terry Scott in Terry and June in the 1970s and 1980s and I discovered her as the cunningly absent-minded Mrs Monsoon in Jennifer Saunders' sensational Absolutely Fabulous in the 1990s. June transcended generations and comedy styles really by continuing to be herself. Styles changed, she didn't and everyone came to love what she did.

Few actors have a career that lasts as long as June's did. On my calculation she worked across eight decades, beginning during the war years and culminating somewhat fittingly with the Absolutely Fabulous feature film in 2016. Radio was important to June throughout her life. From her big break alongside Dick Bentley and Jimmy Edwards on Take It From Here in the 1950s, June became a much in demand actress on the airwaves, working with the likes of Leslie Crowther, Ronnie Barker and Roy Hudd and even becoming Agatha Christie's Miss Marple for several adaptations of those famous tales. 

Of course there were films too but the big screen never dominated June's career. Such was her popularity you'd have thought she was a Carry On regular yet June only appeared in four of the films. She played Leslie Phillips' girlfriend Meg in the second in the series, Carry On Nurse in 1958 and returned many years later as his Queen in the otherwise deeply regrettable Carry On Columbus. In between those two roles there were two wondrous comedy character studies in the early 1970s. June's repressed dictatorial Evelyn Blunt made husband Stanley's (Kenneth Connor) life hell in the package holiday farce Carry On Abroad in 1972. However after an afternoon dancing and drinking champagne with Ray Brooks' Spanish waiter it was a different matter entirely with the Blunts' bed eventually disappearing through the hotel floor! The following year June returned to play the formidable feminist councillor, the gloriously named Augusta Prodworthy, in the beauty contest comedy Carry On Girls. June's character took on the might of Sid James and an even draw was declared! In between those two 1970s Carry Ons there was also the role of Vera Baines in the big screen version of Bless This House, produced by Peter Rogers and starring Sid James, Peter Butterworth, Diana Coupland and June's screen husband, a certain Terry Scott.

June's real home, however, was television. Yes of course there were the familiar years playing the patient, understanding wife to Terry Scott in sitcom land, but Dame June did so much more than that. Their association started in 1968 with the series Scott On …  which also featured the delightful Peter Butterworth and Frank Thornton. Each week the show would tackle a different subject - marriage, work, children - and the same cast would appear. Out of this came their first sitcom effort, Happy Ever After, which ran from 1974 until late 1978. The duo played Terry and June Fletcher and when that series came to an end there was clearly still a demand as the pair returned in 1979 as simply Terry and June. With its instantly memorable theme tune and undemanding situations, Terry and June was a massive ratings winner for the BBC and ran right through until 1987. The BBC didn't renew the show in the growing face of alternative comedy and Terry never really recovered. June however was never typecast and ended up working with many of the so-called alternative comedians that technically could have brought her career to an end.

June had her first brush with television back in 1951 in The Passing Show. Much of her early television work was broadcast live - no easy feat - although it did see her working with the likes of Bob Monkhouse and Arthur Askey. Two colleagues she'd develop solid working relationships with over the years. June worked with Benny Hill, Jimmy Edwards, Stanley Baxter, Frankie Howerd, Harry H Corbett and Tommy Cooper. Some of her most memorable work was opposite Tony Hancock. She famously played the Nurse in the 1961 Hancock episode 'The Blood Donor', and returned to appear in his 1967 series, just a year before his sad demise in Australia. More work came with The Goodies, Mike Yarwood, Reg Varney, Dick Emery and even much later, Julian Clary. This all led Roy Hudd many years later to brand June, albeit affectionately, 'The Comic's Tart' given just how many comedians she had supported over the years!

June was appearing on television right up until 2016. Most recently she had parts in the comedy series Boomers with Alison Steadman, as Granny Wilson in a BBC version of Cider With Rosie and a particularly memorable turn as a Nun in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. This role saw her working with the actress Jessie Wallace and the pair shared some delightful, unusual and quietly heartbreaking scenes. Once again, June showed what a great all round actress she was. 

June also enjoyed a long stage career. She worked in pantomime throughout her life, from her very early days on tour with Wilfrid Pickles right up to the early 1990s alongside more modern stars across regional theatre in the south of England. There were also plays, such as An Ideal Husband and The Rivals at Chichester Theatre and many traditional farces and summer seasons, often collaborating with her most famous small screen partner in crime, Terry Scott. Back in the 1950s June starred in several big budget, big name musicals in the West End including Love From Judy (where she first met a young Barbara Windsor), South Pacific and Ace of Clubs, which brought her into contact with a certain Mr Noel Coward. June told a wonderful story of hosting a party for the cast of that particular show at her parents' house and being absolutely delighted when Noel asked if he could attend. For her amateur thespian mother it was one of the best nights of her life, as Mr Coward played the family piano to entertain the guests.

I had the good fortune to see June twice in my lifetime, although sadly I never met the great lady face to face. The first time was at London's National Theatre when she gave a talk about her career to a packed house as she launched a new photo book on her life. And then last January I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington to hear June and her daughter Suzy in conversation about June's life and her amazing career archive. June had made the wonderful decision to donate her archive to the museum so it could be catalogued and enjoyed by generations to come. That was the measure of the woman. I'm so glad she was around to make that decision and to see what joy it would bring to so many of her fans and well-wishers. I'm also relieved the powers that be pulled their collective fingers out and gave June her well deserved damehood last year. A richly deserved honour and it was so good to see Dame June Whitfield at the Palace. 

June was married to Tim Aitchison from 1955 until his death in 2001. Together they had a daughter, Suzy, who also became an actress. Tim mainly stayed out of the limelight and June confessed he was sometimes baffled by the actor's life and the show business side to her career. He did enjoy socialising with several of her comedy colleagues though, with the likes of Morecambe and Wise and Frankie Howerd regular guests at their home in Wimbledon. 

My only regret is that after that National Theatre show I opted not to join the very long queue of people waiting to meet June and have their books signed. Perhaps I was just tired or feeling impatient but of course now I really wish I had stuck around as meeting June Whitfield would most definitely have been worth the wait. As we left the auditorium at the V&A almost a year ago now, I remember looking towards the stage and seeing June's tiny figure, still beautifully turned out and immaculate, surrounded by her daughter and some officials from the museum. Yes she was a little frail and at 92 you would expect that, but she still had the presence and warmth to captivate an audience that spanned the generations. I think that's how I'd like to remember our June. She was a trailblazer in comedy and she achieved this not by making grand gestures, by hash tagging across social media platforms or demonstrating outside of parliament. She achieved it just by being herself and doing what she knew. 

Last night I watched a couple of journalists discussing June's passing on BBC News. Describing her autobiography 'And June Whitfield' the man seemed to believe it was a rather spiky reference to the fact June was rarely the star and always the support to a male comedian. To assume this was to misjudge the woman June was. She herself maintained she gave her book that title because she was happiest playing second fiddle - after all if the show failed it would be the star who would carry the bad reviews. June enjoyed a long-lasting career which went on and on after many of her male co-stars had retired, fallen out of fashion or left this world. June never fell out of fashion. Each new generation loved what she did and what she brought to comedy shows old and new.

The expression 'end of an era' is often over used but in reality the passing of Dame June Whitfield is exactly that. 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Listen: Dame June Whitfield interviewed by Joanna Lumley

As it's Dame June Whitfield's 93rd birthday today I thought I would share this extra special little treat. I was scrolling across the internet this morning when I came across this lovely podcast interview June recorded on the occasion of her 90th birthday three years ago. 

Interviewed at her home in London by long time friend and colleague, the actress Joanna Lumley, June reflects on her long and illustrious career as an actor. Entitled "June Whitfield: 90 Not Out" the interview was produced by Giddy Goat Media. The interview comes in two 30 minute parts and I think it's a really nice way to toast June on yet another amazing milestone.

With a career stretching back to the 1940s, Dame June has worked across all media and with almost every comedy performer you could ever imagine. From Noel Coward and Wilfrid Pickles; though Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Stanley Baxter and Tommy Cooper to Terry Scott, Jennifer Saunders and Julian Clary, June has been there, seen it and done it all. Sadly there aren't many from June's generation still around today but we're all thrilled June is still with us and well. And long may she continue to shine.

You can listen to the first part of the interview here


You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Happy Birthday Dame June Whitfield!

Dame June Whitfield is 93 years young today. The woman is a phenomenon, beloved by generations of viewers and generations of peers. She's been an absolute joy for decades and has never disappointed. Her strike rate has been amazing, she has worked with everyone and by often being billed as "And June Whitfield", even if a show bombed, she didn't have to carry the burden. What a wise woman!

Generations of families across the country know June for very different reasons. For the grandparents, she is forever Eth, the wet nelly who was engaged to Ron for year after year in Take It From Here on radio. For those slightly younger, June was a familiar supporting player for all the major comedians of the 1950s and 60s. She worked with Ted Ray, Arthur Askey, Dick Emery, Stanley Baxter, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse, Roy Hudd and Morecambe and Wise. To name a few off the top of my head.

June of course, also appeared in four Carry Ons. Making a cameo appearance as Leslie Phillips' girlfriend in Carry On Nurse in 1959, it would be a further thirteen years before she got the call to return to Pinewood for more frolics with the gang. June's two mid-70s Carry On characters were worth waiting for though. Her uptight, starched Evelyn Blunt in Abroad and bombastic feminist Councillor in Girls are the stuff of legend. A shame she wasn't asked to be in more films in the series as she was a natural. She did return for Columbus in 1992 but we'll gloss over that film I think.

For some reason the film world never took over June's career. She is much more likely to be found on television and radio. There have been stage successes too - Love From Judy in the 50s, working with Noel Coward in the West End and years of touring in farces from the likes of Alan Ayckbourn. There were some films away from the Carry Ons - The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins, Bless This House, Not Now Comrade and Jude. 

To my parents' generation she is queen of the suburban, middle-class sitcom. June enjoyed a working relationship on television with Terry Scott for nearly twenty years. First of all on Scott On and then a thirteen year long run as his telly wife, first as June Fletcher in Happy Ever After and then as June Medford in Terry and June. Unfortunately the successful, long-running formula of domestic sitcom fell foul of the powers that be and the growing trend for alternative comedians in the late 1980s.

Who'd have thought that before too long, June would be working with those very same trendy comedian types? The genius of the later stages of June's career has been that while she is working in different mediums, often with the latest fashionable names, her act (as it were) has remained exactly the same. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! The fact the likes of Julian Clary and Jennifer Saunders desperately wanted to work with her in their shows demonstrates just what broad appeal June has and how straightforward, old fashioned talent never goes out of fashion.

For my generation, Dame June Whitfield is forever Mother in the bonkers sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. The toast of the 1990s and a massive success around the globe, June quite frequently stole the show opposite the likes of Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Jane Horrocks and Julia Sawalha. Even the smallest cameo in an episode could bring the house down. June also often surprised audiences with her participation in slightly more daring material than we were previously used to seeing! 

June's involvement in Absolutely Fabulous without a doubt introduced her to whole new audiences and different casting directors. Lots of new work came in and once again, June proved indispensable. Within the last couple of years we've seen June in the BBC sitcom Boomers; an episode of Midsomer Murders; Jonathan Creek; Cider With Rosie; EastEnders and most recently, June has even played God in an episode of You, Me and The Apocalypse. I don't want this blog to be anything other than a celebration as I know June has much more to give. 

Dame June Whitfield is quite simply a marvel. She is very quiet and unassuming. She's not a starry star. She has worked with the greats of British comedy yet you can also imagine meeting her in Marks and Spencer doing her shopping or inviting you round for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. And I think that is her secret. She has been such a constant, reliable presence for decades and my only worry is that the likes of June are in startlingly short supply these days. We must cherish her and all her achievements.

Happy Birthday Dame June Whitfield, we salute you! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan

Listen Again: Carry On Britain!

With thanks to a couple of lovely followers on Twitter for alerting me to this. Back in 2008 BBC Radio 4 broadcast this hour long documentary looking at the success of the Carry On films as they celebrated their 50th anniversary. And here we are already, ten years later!

Anyway, it's a really interesting programme, presented by Carolyn Quinn. As well as celebrating the very best of British comedy, Carry On Britain also asks what the success of the films says about British society during their lifetime, from the late1950s until the 1970s. In many ways the changes in the films can reflect changes in British society at the time and as an amateur historian, I find this fascinating. 

Carolyn is joined by a range of top quality Carry On interviewees. These include original Carry On scriptwriter, Norman Hudis and some of the actors who made the Carry Ons so special: Dame June Whitfield, Dame Barbara Windsor, Fenella Fielding and Shirley Eaton.

You can listen to this programme online here and it's available for the next 29 days.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and on Instagram

Jayne Bickerton's Cracking Carry On Prints!

One of the joys of Twitter for me over the past few weeks has been getting to know the very talented actress and artist Jayne Bickerton. Jayne is known for her work on the likes of Coronation Street, Phoenix Nights and Happy Valley, but she also runs a thriving business as a very creative artist. I love her work so much that I've just ordered a print myself.

Jayne has recently started creating prints of some of our favourite Carry On actors and being a fan herself, you can see the love and attention to detail that's gone into them. I can't wait to receive my Amanda Barrie print, pictured above, which sees the actress in full on Coronation Street Alma mode. 

Other crackers include prints of Joan Sims, June Whitfield, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Sid James and one of Jayne's mentors, the ultra talented Bob Monkhouse. Each print is signed and numbered in a limited edition run of 100 prints. They are available in two different sizes, professionally printed onto 230gm heavyweight high quality matte photo paper. 

Here are some of my favourites:

My comedy heroine, Joan Sims 

 

The wonderful Charles Hawtrey

Dame June! 

Brilliant Bob Monkhouse

You can check out the full range of Jayne's brilliant art here: https://folksy.com/shops/Voodooville 

You can follow Jayne on Twitter @craftedcreature 

And you can read my blog interview with Jayne here: Carry On Blogging Interview: Jayne Bickerton

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram

An Evening with Dame June Whitfield

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending a very special event at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I joined a full house for Dame June Whitfield in Conversation on her lengthy, prolific career as an actress. Dame June had recently taken the decision to donate the entire archive of her 70 year career to the Museum and she was joined by her actress daughter, Suzy Aitchison for a thoroughly entertaining interview with the Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Performance, Simon Sladen.

The evening took the form of a guided talk through June's illustrious career with June providing some terrific anecdotes while Suzy was on hand to add her unique take growing up as the daughter of such a famous actress. Suzy is also completing a Masters degree in Museum Studies so has been well placed to work with the V&A with the cataloging of her mother's archive. Simon Sladen also shared some wonderful images from the collection, including some of June's earliest newspaper cuttings and reviews, annotated scripts, playbills and notes from some very famous friends in the business.

June's career is well known to all us fans of classic comedy but it's worth remembering that her acting work dates back to the late 1930s when she was encouraged to first tread the boards by her stage-struck mother. The conversation spent a good deal of time covering some of June's earliest work in the theatre, in revue and West End stage musicals such as Love From Judy and Ace of Clubs (with Noel Coward, who became a friend). There was also time to talk about June's work with Wilfred Pickles in various pantomimes and it was interesting to hear Suzy praise her mother for being very savvy when it came to signing contracts and accepting payment for the work. As a young woman, June would often write back to theatrical giants like Emile Littler or Jack Hylton and ask for more money or what she thought she was due. And good for her!

Simon also asked June about an infamous play about baby farming, Women of Twilight. June took a role in the play after her long-time friend, actress Miriam Karlin heard a fellow actor was leaving the play before it transferred to Broadway. Jumping at the chance of a trip across the Atlantic, June signed up but it was not a success in New York and closed fairly swiftly. June recalled how Miriam, always one to make herself heard, took the demise of the play very badly and toured local radio stations to defend their work. Finally, in an over-the-top act of despair, Miriam threatened to jump from the window of the apartment they shared. June, down to earth and realistic as ever, replied "Well do it quickly as there's a terrible bloody draft in here"!

We learned that June's archive has over three hundred original scripts from radio, film and television. These include her annotated script from the classic 1972 film comedy, Carry On Abroad, the script from the wonderful Tony Hancock episode, The Blood Donor and even the pilot script for Absolutely Fabulous from the early 1990s. There were also magazine and newspaper cuttings from June's first major radio success, Take it From Here. This led to a very funny anecdote from when June was asked to perform an excerpt from Take it From Here for the Royal Family at the time of the Golden Jubilee. Joined by Ronnie Barker and Geoffrey Palmer to bring the Glums to life once again, June apologised to Prince Phillip, adding that her voice had gone down an octave in the intervening years. At this point the Queen chipped in with a perfectly timed "Ooooh Ron!"

June was also asked about her time working with Terry Scott. June spent many years as Terry's television wife in Happy Ever After and then Terry and June. Asked what it was like to work with Terry Scott, June was as diplomatic as ever! With some people suggesting Terry could be difficult, June made it clear above all else he was a perfectionist and just wanted the best for the show. June said she dealt with his perfectionism by hearing him out when he tried to get her to say a line his way, agreeing he was right and then doing the line exactly the same way as before. Terry would be happy and would say, "That's much better, June!"

It was interesting to hear from Suzy on what it was like to grow up surrounded by so many famous faces. With people like Terry Scott, Frankie Howerd and Eric Morecambe regular visitors at home, Suzy claimed it was pretty normal for her and as June wasn't at all showbizzy at home which kept them all grounded. Suzy was close to Terry's four daughters growing up and said the only time it was a little awkward was when she had friends round and they reacted with shock to find someone like Eric Morecambe sitting in the living room!

June also talked about her joy of working with a younger generation of actors and performers, particularly the team on Absolutely Fabulous and the extremely talented Jennifer Saunders. She also said she thoroughly enjoyed working with Julian Clary on television having met him on the set of Carry On Columbus. And I can't move on without mentioning June's amazement at turning up in EastEnders as a nun! She did pay special tribute to the actress Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat Slater. June said the pair got on extremely well and praised Jessie, saying what a tremendous actress she is. 

At the end of the conversation, Simon asked June if she had any advice for young people entering the acting profession. Thinking for a brief moment, June replied that young actors should "take what's offered because you just don't know where it might lead." Good advice for us all!  June was also asked to choose her favourite achievement from her long life. Without hesitation, she reached out and took her daughter's hand. I think this sums up this wonderful woman and how down to earth, sweet and human she has remained throughout her life and extraordinary career as an actress. Simon Sladen ended the evening by telling us that once the June Whitfield archive has been catalogued, it will be made available to the public to view. I look forward to more details on that!

We finished the evening sipping wine in the museum's Silver Room and it was a delightful end to a very special night. And to make the evening extra special I finally managed to meet up with the lovely Georgy Jamieson, a great friend to this blog. We had a great natter on the phone last year and it was great to chew the fat in person. You can read my interview with Georgy here: Carry On Blogging Interview: Georgy Jamieson

Dame June Whitfield may be 92 years young but she is still in fine form. She sparkles, eyes twinkling with the same sense of fun and wonderful comic timing as she's always had. She seemed so genuinely pleased that so many people had come out to see her and was very generous with her time. Long may she continue to entertain and delight us all.

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan on Facebook and on Instagram

The Navy Lark on The Reunion

Here's a lovely little treat from the Radio 4 archives. The Reunion sees Sue MacGregor presents the series which reunites a group of people intimately involved in a moment of modern history. Back in 2008, Sue brought together some of the original team behind The Navy Lark, one of the most popular and longest-running radio sitcoms. Participants include June Whitfield, Leslie Phillips, George Evans, Heather Chesen and Tenniel Evans.

The Navy Lark was a radio comedy series about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS Troutbridge. The programme was transmitted on the BBC Light Programme and subsequently BBC Radio 2. It was produced by Alastair Scott Johnston. Jon Pertwee is frequently quoted as having suggested the idea of a forces comedy based on the Royal Navy, but writer Laurie Wyman and Alastair Scott Johnston both contemplated an Air Force and an Army themed sit-com before going to the BBC with 'The Navy Lark'. 

Laurie Wyman included ideas based on excuses for late return from leave and other misdemeanours from HMS Troutbridge bulletins. He worked with George Evans (Pertwee's personal scriptwriter) from quite early on, but Alastair Scott Johnston did not want him named until the 12th series onwards. For most of its run, it starred Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Stephen Murray, whose names rotated in order of precedence every episode over the entire 15 season run.

Episodes were self-contained, although there was continuity within the series, and sometimes a reference to a previous episode might be made. A normal episode consisted of Sub Lt Phillips, scheming Chief Petty Officer Pertwee, and bemused Lt. Murray trying to get out of trouble they created for themselves without their direct superior, Commander (later Captain) "Thunderguts" Povey finding out. Scenes frequently featured a string of eccentric characters, often played by Ronnie Barker or Jon Pertwee.

It's a lovely listen and it was great to hear June and Leslie reunited so many years after they first worked together in Carry On Nurse. Indeed, Leslie recalls hearing about The Navy Lark while they were working together as boyfriend and girlfriend on that very film.

You can listen to the programme here: The Reunion: The Navy Lark

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Dame June Whitfield collects Honour from Buckingham Palace!

A lovely news story today in amongst all the usual dreary goings on. June Whitfield has been at Buckingham Palace today to receive her damehood. Arise Dame June! June's damehood was first announced in the Queen's birthday honours and it's great she has finally been invited to the Palace to make it official! June looked fabulous as she received the honour from Prince Charles. 

I know June has received many other honours during her long life and her astonishingly prominent career in comedy, however while the likes of Maggie Smith and Judi Dench were made Dames long ago, June, in many ways a peer, was not. I wondered how much this had to do with her career being dominated by comedy, by making us laugh, not by so-called straight theatre and film. I've long believed that those actors who can do comedy well are also the best actors. I think it's easier to make us cry than to make us laugh. 

June has endured for seven decades. It's quite extraordinary. The vast majority of her peers are very sadly no longer with us however June continues to work. She has bucked every trend and taste in comedy and continues to do what she's always done. Styles of comedy have developed, come and gone but June has remained constant and solid in her support. She always says she has endured because she was never the star, always the support to so many of her (often male) comedy actors and comedians. She appears to have coped effortlessly with so many challenging yet gifted performers. June must have an awful lot of stories about some very famous people, yet she has always been dignified in her responses. 

June has worked with just about everyone in post-war British comedy. Bob Monkhouse, Arthur Askey, Wilfred Pickles, Terry Scott, Stanley Baxter, Dick Emery, Sid James, Tony Hancock, Kenneth Williams, Peter Jones, Frankie Howerd, Reg Varney, Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe, Bruce Forsyth, Leslie Phlllips, Kenneth Connor, Roy Hudd, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley and Julian Clary. Quite a line up. 

In recent years June has appeared in a wide range of television programmes, most eye-catchingly as a nun in EastEnders opposite the brilliant Jessie Wallace. Her 25 year connection to Absolutely Fabulous continued with an appearance in the big screen version of that wonderful series. She continues to be a massive presence in British comedy and many today quite rightly bow down to her in respect and admiration. I can sometimes be a bit skeptical about the honours system in this country but if anyone deserved this accolade, it's got to be June.

Dame June Whitfield just sounds right, doesn't it?



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