ABSOLUTELY Fabulous star June Whitfield has spoken of her pride in being made a dame.

The veteran star was given the honour by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace for services to drama and entertainment.

Dame June, who has a home in Petworth, said: “It’s absolutely remarkable.

“One feels so honoured and proud. It takes a lot of getting used to.”

Dame June is nowadays best known for her role as the mother of Jennifer Saunders’s hedonistic Edina in the comedy Absolutely Fabulous.

She also also became the regular voice of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple on BBC Radio 4 throughout the 1990s.

The 92-year-old, who has had a career spanning seven decades, said she was “still going, or just about”.

When asked about any future career plans she said: “It just depends.

“I think I’m now more suitable for a role that takes place in bed or in a wheelchair or something so there’s not too much walking about.”

The former Carry On actress landed her first lead role for radio in the early 1950s.

She went on to become a regular face on British television in comedy series such as Last Of The Summer Wine, terry and June and The Green Green Grass.

The star also went on to make an appearance alongside David Tennant in Doctor Who at the end of 2009.

She said she had seen “a lot of change” in the course of her long career, notably that now “it’s so much more about money”.

After the ceremony Dame June referred to the sexual harassment scandal currently gripping Hollywood and the wider entertainment industry.

She said: “I’ve never met any, what’s his name, Weinsteins.

“I’ve never met any of those luckily and if I had I think I would have told them, in no uncertain terms, to go away.”

The new dame said Prince Charles told her the honour was a long time coming.

She said the prince had to “step down to get to my height to put the thing on”.

Others to receive awards at the palace yesterday were two police officers who rugby-tackled MP Jo Cox’s killer moments after she was fatally attacked.

Both were given the Queen’s Gallantry Medal.

Constables Craig Nicholls and Jonathan Wright.

They were rewarded “for great courage” after arresting Thomas Mair, the right-wing extremist who murdered the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, West Yorkshire, in June 2016.

Mr Wright said it was amazing to be given the honour and said it was just day-to-day work.