let's speak now to the actress helen lederer, who played catriona in ab fab.u very much indeed for joining us this evening. what was it like acting alongside damejune in that series? it was absolutely wonderful. i noticed increasingly, being there at the beginning, that people like guest artists would become increasingly nervous as it became more iconic in the widest sense, and june was so friendly. fantastic at the crossword. she would be busy with her crossword, she would be asking you what kind of sandwiches you are having for lunch, talk to everybody, and yet very, very focused on what she had to do. and there was just such... she gave and received something which was normal but not normal, because anyone in that career is not normal,". very driven, with a kind of realist. but it's interesting how people are applauding now the fashion, you know, a icon. iam sure in hertime fashion, you know, a icon. iam sure in her time she was a natural. i remember having a conversation with her about it, you know, if those are the lines you get, you do them well. so fash

ab fab was just continued her career right into her 90s. yes. ab fab wasjust mentioned.ite amazing. and there was a radio series called news huddlines, and the actress playing margaret thatcher on it was leaving, and june was playing the fairy queen in a pantomime, and they were talking about this, and june let slip she would love to play margaret thatcher, and roy admittedly thought could she really do that? and in the scene that night in the pantomime, as the fairy queen, she played it as margaret thatcher. and he said she got the part. is there a particular role that you remember with particular fondness? yes, take it from here was mentioned. dick bentley, the australian, and june playing eth. ron and eth. that was my first introduction to june, playing eth. ron and eth. that was my first introduction tojune, and i think one of her firstjobs, when she was pretty young, when she really got noticed. and of course, she had many different roles, but a lwa ys she had many different roles, but always somehow she was a woman with whom so many people felt they could identify.

she would always go around with ab fab scripts and get people to sign them to charity. laugh. when she would want her motivation, she would say, but why would i be walking across there? why would i be going through my handbag? she was very good at seeing the humour, never appeared to take itself too seriously, but very, very professional. part of the genius of absolutely fabulous was, i suppose, that there was this woman who in her later years was perfectly coiffed, playing it quite straight, with some really quite naughty exchanges written byjennifer saunders. yes, the thing about actors — i saw a quote that she had said work is more fun than fun. june was one of those people who loved to work. you know, as i said, she wouldn't take itself seriously. she would enjoy — the twinkle in her eyes, we can all see that she would enjoy playing it straight. she was the perfect person to give a feed line, because of course she had grown up being the one woman in a troupe of men, because of course that's how it was over several decades. and to give a feed is as good as doing the

but to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab. thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? and even in old age she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. and, in a statement, shane allen, the controller of bbc comedy paid tribute to the actress saying june whitfield was the north star of british comedy. let's speak now to the comedian, barry cryer — who was friends withjune whitfield and had spoken to her recently. we heard about the range of roles she played, what was the secret of her huge success? amazing versatility. the command of the voices and a complete lack of ego, shejust voices and a complete lack of ego, she just wanted to be part of the tea m she just wanted to be part of the team and do what was required. she was amazingly versatile.|j team and do what was required. she was amazingly versatile. i know you spoke to her very recently. she had continued her career right into her 90s. yes. absolutely fabulous, as was mentione

ab fab was a brilliant late career invention. revealed to a new audience. itjust went on and on. it was so sad it has to come to an end. at least i had a chance to work with her on a couple of occasions. and what a treat it was. she has been described by a lot of the papers as a national treasure, sometimes a term overused but in her case, really applicable. i think so, yes. all her characters... she is one of those people, so valuable in this profession, when you think of her, you smile. and all her creations. she just added so much to our lives from that point of view. because of those characters. she just had that timing and her characterisation just made life a bit better and a bit more charming, i think. the actorjohn challis remembering june whitfield who has died at the age of 93. a 21—year—old man has died following an incident outside a house in wigan. officers were called by the ambulance service shortly after 9:30pm on friday evening, following reports a man had been assaulted in abram. william livesley was taken to ho

but to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as the mother of edina in ab fab.me there is a thin person screaming to get out. just the one, dear? even in old age she delighted audiences on the radio. a versatile performer to the end. damejudi dame judi whitfield, who damejudi whitfield, who died on friday. —— june whitfield. now on bbc news — a special programme from this year's 100 women series. el salvador is the worst country in the world for the killing of women and girls on account of their gender. we explore why femicide is such a problem there — and what is being done about it. this programme contains some language and images you may find disturbing. el salvador is considered one of the world's most violent countries. it has one of the highest homicide rates outside of a war zone. after decades of civil war in the ‘805 and ‘905, el salvador has been left dominated by gang warfare, extortion rackets and extreme poverty. el salvador has the highest rate of femicide in latin america. and the third highest in the world. every 18 hours one woman here is killed

radio in the 50s and other things she did like miss marple, and on television, terry and june and ab fabng with the likes of benny hill and tommy cooper, and almost anyone you can name, not to mention her performance in the blood donor with tommy hancock. she made that role in absolutely fabulous into something greater than was originally foreseen. well, originally foreseen was never a word we knew the meaning of because in a way it always evolved and developed. originally, joanna lumley‘s character was going to be the... it rolls along and you think that the show doesn't really work otherwise, sojune and everyone else came into every episode loud and clear. what did june whitfield bring to those roles that made them such a success, made her so popular with so many viewers? she was a good, nice person. she was like your mum, or your auntie. you related to her. you thought yes, ok, that's edina's mum. i believe she doesn't really know what's going on in edina's world but she's prepared to make the odd quick sarcastic remark that will take edina down to size. make the odd quick sarcastic r

but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab.st the one, dear? and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. earlier i spoke to mike grady, an actor and froend ofjune whitfield. june was a thorough professional, of course, she had come up from rada as a young woman had got into the repertory system and she had done it all, she'd done all the things we had done. she was kind of very famous, very young, because of take it from here. she was a huge name already when i was growing up. so to meet her was meeting a legend. she didn't behave like the legend, she didn't act out being a legend, shejust turned up knowing her lines, knowing the situation, knowing how to be amiable, how to be in a company, as she was saying earlier in that interview, she never considered herself as the ingenue, the leading lady. and she certainly never behaved that way. she was great company, good fun to be with. we had a lot of good times together. it was ge

but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab.reaming to get out. just the one, dear? and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. and, in a statement, shane allen, the controller of bbc comedy paid tribute to the actress saying june whitfield was the north star of british comedy. her spectacular career is unparalleled in its longevity. mike grady worked with damejune for five years in the bbc comedy last of the summer wine and hejoins me now from devon. a sad occasion, but i wonder if you can tell me what it was like working on set with june whitfield? can tell me what it was like working on set with june whitfield? she was a thorough professional, of course, she would come up that may come up from rada as a young woman had got into the rapidly system and she had done all the things we had done. she was kind of very famous, very young, because of take it from here. she was a huge name already when i was growing up. so to meet her

.# but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab.a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? laughter. and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. here are some of the many tributes tojune whitfield: comedian and actress miranda hart, tweeted: actress and absolutely fabulous co—star, joanna lumley said: and comedian and actor rory bremnar said... june whitfield. remembered. a group of scientists, doctors and politicians is calling on the government to do more to limit the health risks in processed meats. in a letter, they say there should be a ban on the chemicals — used in products such as bacon and ham — which they say can cause cancer. andy moore reports. nitrates are often used in meat processing. this letter claims there's a consensus of scientific opinion that those chemicals convert to cancer—causing agents when eaten. it says the consumption of processed meats leads to 6,600 bowel cancer cases every year in

but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab.. just the one, dear? and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. dame june whitfield, who'd died at the age of 93. british police have acknowledged that some of the sightings of drones over london's gatwick airport may have been devices belonging to the force. an estimated 140,000 people had their travel plans ruined as experts tried to find the illegal drone operators between december 19th and 21st. police say they have not yet found the drone that caused the runway closure. gatwick airport is offering a large reward for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible. 0ur correspondent andy moore has been following the story. last weekend, police said they found a damaged drone near the perimeter of gatwick airport and they thought this may well have been the drone that caused problems for about 140,000 people. well, today giles york said that, in fact, two drones had be

but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab. is a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. dame june whitfield, who's died at the age of 93. this morning when we were reminiscing, i used to watch terry andjune reminiscing, i used to watch terry and june with my parents when i was younger, four her career to span a whole generation into the abfab yea rs whole generation into the abfab years is extraordinary. it got 15 million viewers at its height. it is something people can only dream of 110w. something people can only dream of now. friends and co—stars have taken to twitter to pay their respects. joanna lumley posted a picture of herself with dame june, and said her thoughts go out to her friends and family. comedian rory bremner said june was the... miranda hart tweeted: and julia sawalha, who played the granddaughter of dame june's character in absolutely fabulous

.# but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab.a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? laughter. and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. dame june whitfied who damejune whitfied who has died at the age of 93. well, joining me on the line is actorjohn challis, who worked alongside june in the only fools and horses spin off, the green green grass. thank you for being with us. what made her such a terrific star with such an extraordinary long career, 70 years. i loved the characters, i was always fascinated by the character and so on. i was always a character and so on. i was always a character actor like her. i loved her. i grew up with her. luckily, i found myself in the rivals, with her. she was brilliant. using all the wrong words all the time. a great thrill to meet her. her daughter was in the chair as well. that was a great pleasure. that show. later on, as you say, when we did the spin off, the green

but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab.here is a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. dame june whitfield, who's died at the age of 93. so many tributes to her in the papers this morning. and on social media. friends and co—stars have taken to twitter to pay their respects. joanna lumley posted a picture of herself with dame june, and said her thoughts go out to her friends and family. comedian miranda hart tweeted: and julia sawalha, who played the granddaughter of dame june's character in absolutely fabulous, says: someone who will be sorely missed and who was greatly admired in the acting world. the tide is six 7am. —— six minutes past seven. five people are reported to have been killed in bangladesh, as polls opened in a general election, where the prime minister, sheikh hasina, is seeking a third successive term. more than 100 million people are eligibl

ab fab was a brilliant late career invention.ience. itjust went on and on. it was so sad it has to come to an end. at least i had a chance to work with her on a couple of occasions. and what a treat it was. she has been described by a lot of the papers as a national treasure, sometimes a term overused but in her case, really applicable. i think so, yes. all her characters... she is one of those people, so valuable in this profession, when you think of her, you smile. and all her creations. she just added so much to our lives from that point of view. because of those characters. she just had that timing and her characterisation just made life a bit better and a bit more charming, i think. councils in england should be forced to consult local communities before cutting down trees, according to proposals from the environment secretary michael gove. it follows three years of protests in sheffield, where more than 5,000 trees were chopped down and replaced. mr gove says it's right that residents have a say. the labour mp lucy powell h

.# but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known as edina's mother in ab fab. me, there is a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? laughter. and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. dame june whitfield, who's died at the age of 93. friends and co—stars have taken to twitter to pay their respects. joanna lumley posted a picture of herself with dame june, and said her thoughts go out to her friends and family. comedian miranda hart tweeted, "i once sent a letter to many actors as a budding comedy actor to ask for sponsorship for the edinburgh festival. dame june replied. fifteen years later, when i met her, she had all my letters and the notes of the show she sponsored. i cried then too." and julia sawalha, who played the granddaughter of dame june's character in absolutely fabulous, says, "i always wanted you to know how in awe of you i was, however, you were always far too humble to accept my adoration. you were a great source of inspir