June Bland

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June Bland
Born
June Winifred Bland

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Kettering, Northamptonshire, England
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OccupationTemplate:Pluralize from textActress
Years active1938–1989 • 2015
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(m. 1950; div. 1974)​
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(m. 2012; died 2018)​
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June Bland (born 2 June 1931) is an English actress best known for her role as Vera Harker in BBC soap opera The Newcomers.

Early life

Bland made her name in the world of entertainment at the age of 7 when she won the junior section of a "New Discoveries" contest in Irthlington, beating 20 other youngsters.[1] Known as "The Kettering Shirley Temple",[2] Little June Bland[3] and England's youngest comedienne,[4] her routine consisted of telling jokes, singing and dancing. During the Second World War, the girl entertained soldiers throughout the country with her talents.[5][6]

Becoming a member of the Cytringans Dramatic Society and performing with the Northampton Repertory Company, it was here in 1948 that Bland first met fellow actor Bill Sellars. Two years later, they became engaged, at which point she decided to head to Indiana to see friends and with hopes of starting a stage career in the States.[7] However, less than five months later, the outbreak of the Korean War forced her to return home, thus abandoning plans to move to California where more work would be available.[8] On 23 September 1950, Bland and Sellars were married.[9]

A week after their wedding, the couple joined Derby Little Theatre, appearing in productions at Derby Playhouse for the next four years. They moved to a caravan at Ockbrook in which they returned to Northampton in 1954. While Sellars became stage director and assistant producer before joining the BBC in 1958, firstly as a programme assistant followed by director and producer, Bland retired from acting to bring up their three children.[10]

Career

At a point when the children were old enough and attending school, Bland decided to return to acting, making appearances on television. These included Scotland Yard (credited as June Sellars), Lord Raingo, Bat Out of Hell (5 episodes, as Mrs. Houston), The Doctors (26 episodes, as Mrs. Lipska), Angels (4 episodes, as Mrs. Holder) and two Doctor Who serials - Earthshock and Battlefield.

Back on stage, she appeared in productions alongside the likes of Ingrid Bergman (Waters of the Moon at the Haymarket Theatre),[11] Sir John Mills (Goodbye, Mr. Chips at Chichester Festival Theatre)[12] and Elaine Paige (Anything Goes at the Prince Edward Theatre),[13] as well as playing Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch[14] and Lady Brighton in a long run of Me and My Girl at the Adelphi Theatre.[15][16]

Later life

In 1988, Bland helped to establish Stagecoach, a body of training centres designed to teach acting, dancing and singing to youngsters.[17] Starting out in Surrey, further branches opened throughout the country including Norfolk (1991),[18] Northampton (1992),[19] Wilmslow (1993)[20] and Basingstoke (1995).[21] After 27 schools opened, the company branched out as a franchise in 1994.[22] Bland, who acted as principal of the Peterborough branch,[23] sold the business on in 2005.[24]

Following this, she became artistic director of the Barn Theatre in Molesey, running the box office and directing pantomimes,[25] as well as coordinating Show for Millie in 2003, a collection of music and dance featuring David Soul and Jan Graveson with proceeds going to charity Milly's Fund.[26]

Personal life

Moving to Molesey, Surrey in the mid-to-late 1950s, Bland and Sellars became involved with the Ember Players of Esher and from 1971, the Barn Theatre Club.[27] They divorced in 1974, after which Sellars entered a civil partnership with Georgian Theatre manager Alan Sandilands, moving to Spain. After Sandilands died in 2012, Sellars returned to the UK and remarried Bland the following year, who cared for him in his final five years.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."June–Comic and Charming". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 23 March 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Market Harborough Urban District". Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail. 14 October 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Public Announcements". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 14 April 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Miscellaneous". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 11 April 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sunday Night Jollity". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 13 November 1939. p. 3. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""A Good Time Was Had By All."". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 28 December 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Hopes for U.S. Stage Career". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 5 April 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kettering Actress Returns". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 25 August 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Weddings". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 26 September 1950. p. 4. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."'Newcomers' couple worked in Derby". Derby Evening Telegraph. 2 April 1968. p. 3. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Popular Revue Returns". Dorset Echo. 4 July 1980. p. 12. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Goodbye Mr. Chips (Chichester Festival Cast, 1982) | Ovrtur". ovrtur.com. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Anything Goes- January 1990". Madeleine's Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Regional Reviews: HORNCHURCH: Annie". The Stage. 21 November 1985. p. 26. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Back on stage". Fenland Citizen. 20 January 1993. p. 8. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Me and My Girl at Adelphi Theatre" (PDF). infotextmanuscripts.org. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Training in arts". Barnes, Mortlake and Sheen Times. 24 June 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Budding stars sign up for stage school". Eastern Daily Press. 18 April 1991. p. 9. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dickens of a concert". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 10 December 1992. p. 19. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dance class bridges gap for talented youngsters". Wilmslow Express. 1 April 1993. p. 12. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Getting that first foot on the boards". Basingstoke and North Hampshire Gazette. 6 November 1995. p. 16. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""I had an idea. It succeeded 27 times. How'd you like to try it?"". The Stage. 20 October 1994. p. 48. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."School's head in the spotlight". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. 19 October 1991. p. 7. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The trick to staging a successful franchise". The Daily Telegraph. 30 May 2005. p. 26. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."June Bland". eshertheatre.com. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Administrator, getsurrey (5 February 2003). "New lead in Milly murder hunt". getsurrey.co.uk. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Barn Theatre Club celebrates 50 Years of Original Writing". courtcircular.co.uk. 20 March 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bill Sellars". The Times. 15 January 2019. p. 50. Retrieved 24 January 2026. (Obituary)
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hadoke, Toby (29 January 2019). "Bill Sellars". The Guardian. p. A8. Retrieved 24 January 2026. (Obituary)
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