Terry and June

Image: Terry finds June's bedtime reading more interesting than his own in a still from 1979.

Terry Scott and June Whitfield appeared as Terry and June Medford on 24 October 1979, in the first episode of Terry and June.

They had previously appeared together as Terry and June Penfold in Happy Ever After but, when co-creator John Chapman ended the series, the BBC moved the characters to Purley, gave them a new surname, and renamed the sitcom Terry and June. With the addition of a jaunty signature tune - 'Bell Hop' by John Shakespeare - the programme became the quintessential suburban sitcom.

The chemistry between Whitfield and Scott ensured the success of the series, even though very little ever happened. In the first episode, written by John Kane, Terry and June measure up their new home prior to moving in. They meet the neighbours and Terry ends up in hospital after a bump on the head.

With the boss inadvertently invited to their house for Christmas, Terry finds an ingenious way to get the fairy lights going in the 1982 special 'Christmas with Terry and June'.

Although Terry and June was criticised by some later comedians as being dated and too suburban, it remained very popular. Scott went on to create the voice of Penfold in Dangermouse, before dying in 1994. June Whitfield continued to appear in many shows including Last of the Summer Wine and Absolutely Fabulous - in which she parodied her Terry and June persona. She died in 2018.