Absolutely Fabulous star June Whitfield claims women should "not lose sleep" over gender pay gap row
Get celebs updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Veteran comedy actress Dame June Whitfield says women should “not lose sleep” over equal wages.
Dame June, 92 – who starred in BBC sitcoms Terry and June and Absolutely Fabulous – told women battling the industry’s gender pay gap: “Keep your head down and do the job.”
She added: "You can only go so far. Should all the girls working in a factory be paid the same as the directors?
"We were just grateful to be paid back in the day and you did the job because you loved it."
But Dame June agrees that if women become big stars, or are doing the same job as men, they should get equal pay. “I think when you are at a certain level, you should be paid the same as men.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
“When they are the draw of the show, or on par with the men – Judi [Dench] is the draw – those at the top should definitely get equal pay.
“If someone is getting millions of pounds and you are getting 10 bob, then it’s right [to fight for equal pay]. I can understand if you are in a show equally with a male actor, but you really should not lose sleep over it.
“As long as you have got enough for what you need to do, why worry?”
Speaking about wealthy actors such as US star Meryl Streep wading into the row, Dame June added: “What are they worried about? I know – more, more.”
(Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, the actress said she would prefer stars to wear bright colours to the BAFTAs rather than the all-black dress code celebs have been adopting at awards ceremonies to raise awareness of sexual harassment.
Joanna Lumley , 71, Dame June’s Ab Fab co-star, is due to host the BAFTAS in London on February 18. Dame June said: “I think we should wear something jolly for Joanna. I hope she does wear colour. I think it [the protest] has gone much too far.”