From Terry and June to Terry and Julian: June Whitfield and the British Suburban Sitcom

Rosie White

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Like masculinity, heterosexuality or whiteness, the British suburban sitcom has been a relatively unexamined field in television studies. This chapter examines one of the most popular suburban sitcoms, Terry and June (BBC, 1979-87) in relation to the remarkable career of its female star, June Whitfield. Reading Terry and June through the lens of Whitfield's later work on more 'alternative' comedy shows such as Terry and Julian (Channel 4 1992) and Absolutely Fabulous (BBC 1992-2012), this chapter examines how British suburban sitcom, a feminine domestic genre, endorses but also undermines cultural norms of gender and class.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationComedy and the Politics of Representation
Subtitle of host publicationMocking the Weak
EditorsHelen Davies, Sarah Ilott
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Chapter8
Pages137-152
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)978-3-319-90505-1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2018

Publication series

NamePalgrave Studies in Comedy
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan

Keywords

  • Suburb
  • sitcom
  • middle-class
  • Whitfield June
  • femininity
  • queer
  • heterosexuality
  • masculinity
  • alternative comedy
  • camp

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'From Terry and June to Terry and Julian: June Whitfield and the British Suburban Sitcom'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this