Dame Joanna Lumley has revealed she does not want a memorial service when she dies, but admits the decision may not be hers to make. The Absolutely Fabulous star, who turns 80 next year, said her husband Stephen Barlow has told her that funeral arrangements will be up to him and their son Jamie.
Speaking to HELLO! magazine, the actress said: 'I've spoken to my husband. And he said: Look, your own funeral has nothing to do with you. You're not even going to be at the funeral, you'll be gone, so you can say what you like about whatever.' She added: 'So I said: But I don't want a memorial service. And he said: That's going to be up to me and Jamie if we're around.'
Despite her reluctance, if a poem were to be read at her funeral, Dame Joanna would choose one by Rabindranath Tagore. She said: 'I like the very last poem in the book by the great sage poet, Rabindranath Tagore, who says: Death is not extinguishing the light: it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has done.'
The actress, who has been married to conductor Stephen Barlow for 39 years, remains busy with her career. She stars as Grandmama Hester Frump in Netflix's Wednesday and will appear in the upcoming second series of Amandaland, a Motherland spin-off. A Christmas special of Amandaland is also set to air, featuring her Ab Fab co-star Jennifer Saunders as her on-screen sister.
