{"id":474275,"date":"2026-03-13T23:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/474275\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T23:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:39:11","slug":"doc-martin-star-june-marlow-dies-at-95-as-family-share-statement-about-actress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/474275\/","title":{"rendered":"Doc Martin star June Marlow dies at 95 as family share statement about actress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>June Marlow, the beloved television actress whose real name was Jean Dike, has died at the age of 95. <\/p>\n<p>The performer passed away on February 22 at her Plymouth residence overlooking Sutton Harbour, with family members at her bedside.<\/p>\n<p>Her death came just weeks after she marked her 95th birthday on January 15.<\/p>\n<p>The actress had lived in her apartment for 35 years and spent her final weeks there, receiving care from St Luke&#8217;s Hospice Plymouth whilst her daughter Kate Van Dike moved in to provide round-the-clock support.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"dd71d\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"4fc895428dc342c5362ccad90e843061\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201200%20750'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/june-marlow.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"750\" alt=\"June Marlow\"\/><\/p>\n<p>June Marlow&#8217;s family confirmed her death<\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p>IMDB<\/p>\n<p>Ms Marlow&#8217;s family shared news of her passing through a Facebook announcement on The Van Dike Club page, the venue once run by her late husband Peter.<\/p>\n<p>The actress built an impressive television career spanning decades, appearing in numerous BBC productions including adaptations of The Pickwick Papers and Jamaica Inn, as well as the children&#8217;s series MI High alongside June Whitfield.<\/p>\n<p>She became particularly recognisable to ITV audiences through her multiple appearances in Doc Martin, working opposite Martin Clunes.<\/p>\n<p>Her final screen performance came at 87, when she portrayed Ethel, a patient who had injured her hand on a rusty nail.<\/p>\n<p>Reportedly aware this would be her last role, she told her co-star: &#8220;If this is my swansong, then I&#8217;m more than happy it&#8217;s with you, Martin.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Throughout her career, the Plymouth-born performer was celebrated as a dependable character actress with natural on-screen charm.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Marlow was born on January 15, 1931 in Plymouth&#8217;s tight-knit Barbican community, where her performing abilities emerged early.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers at Castle Street Infants School quickly spotted her talents during school nativity plays, where she entertained classmates with songs and impressions of Hollywood stars such as Mae West.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"ef2f3\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"8108810e42a74b41104fa57e7935ba66\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201200%20750'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773445151_544_image.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"750\" alt=\"\"\/> | <\/p>\n<p>FACEBOOK<\/p>\n<p>At just 13, she made her first professional recording with the BBC Concert Orchestra, travelling alone by train from Plymouth to London and earning 15 guineas for the engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, she appeared on ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks, hosted by Hughie Green.<\/p>\n<p>Her professional journey led her to meet musician and photographer Peter Van Dike, who played double bass in a comedy band she toured with. <\/p>\n<p>The couple married while on tour and remained together for 40 years until his death in 1988.<\/p>\n<p>Kate Van Dike expressed profound gratitude for the hospice team&#8217;s support, saying: &#8220;They treated Mum with such tenderness and acknowledged her as the most important person. We could never have cared for her at home without their help.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She described the nurses&#8217; visits as feeling like &#8220;the cavalry arriving&#8221; as her mother&#8217;s condition worsened.<\/p>\n<p>Despite her declining health, Jean remained characteristically forward-looking. &#8220;Mum didn&#8217;t want to focus on that,&#8221; Kate explained. &#8220;She kept looking forward and was always pragmatic and driven.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The family&#8217;s announcement described her as &#8220;an ever loving and inspirational Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Mother in Law, a woman of unwavering strength, grace and dignity to the end.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Those closest to her remembered her warmth persisted until the very end. &#8220;Even at the end she was still able to flash her beautiful smile,&#8221; Kate recalled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June Marlow, the beloved television actress whose real name was Jean Dike, has died at the age of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,830,96,2331,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-474275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity","tag-entertainment","tag-sgg","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}