Absolutely fabulous co-stars have led tributes to fellow actress and “inspiration” Dame June Whitfield.
The veteran actor “passed away peacefully” at the age of 93 on Friday, according to her agent.
Heartfelt tributes have been paid to the talent and warmth of the star, whose career in acting spanned eight decades.
During her life in showbusiness, she tackled bawdy comedy in the Carry On films, and starred in the long-running sitcom Terry And June, as well as playing the grandmother in Absolutely Fabulous.
Her co-star on the show Julia Sawalha paid a touching tribute to her fiend and teacher in an online post, tenderly calling the late actress “Gran”.
Joanna Lumley has described herself as “heartbroken” at the news of her friend’s passing.
Taking to Twitter, Sawalha said: “Thank you #damejunewhitfield, for teaching me my craft with such grace and dignity. I always wanted you to know how in awe of you I was, however, you were always far too humble to accept my adoration.
Thank you #damejunewhitfield,for teaching me my craft with such grace and dignity.I always wanted you to know how in awe of you I was, however, you were always far too humble to accept my https://t.co/2wc2G3bQ0G were a great source of inspiration to me. Bye-bye Gran.🙏🏻💕
— Julia Sawalha (@JuliaSawalha1) December 29, 2018
“You were a great source of inspiration to me. Bye-bye Gran.”
Fellow Ab Fab actress Lumley appeared on ITV news to share her sadness at the death of her co-star.
She said: “I am heartbroken to lose such a darling friend and shall never forget her sensational talent, humour and her generosity to us all who had the joy of working with her on Ab Fab.
“She will always have a most special place in my heart.”
#JuneWhitfield ‘s incredible career in British comedy stretched all the way from ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ to ‘Absolutely Fabulous’. She was always there, always being brilliant. @ferrifrump wrote June one of the funniest lines in television history… https://t.co/zFeBkCgksY
— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) December 29, 2018
Fellow TV comic actor David Walliams also offered his appreciation for the talents of Dame June, calling her achievements in entertainment “brilliant”.
He wrote: “June Whitfield‘s incredible career in British comedy stretched all the way from ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ to ‘Absolutely Fabulous’. She was always there, always being brilliant.”
So sad this evening. Such an incredible lady with the warmest heart. I was so nervous working with her but she had a way of making you feel comfortable and specialThank you Dame June Whitfield 🙏 https://t.co/fBl0wlTLZR
— Emma Bunton (@EmmaBunton) December 29, 2018
And Spice Girls singer Emma Bunton paid her own tribute to Dame June, who made her feel comfortable on set.
She wrote on Twitter: “So sad this evening. Such an incredible lady with the warmest heart. I was so nervous working with her but she had a way of making you feel comfortable and special Thank you Dame June Whitfield.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here