Selina Cadell:The sister of the late Simon Cadell, who played the endearingly shy and anxious Mr Fairbrother in 'Hi-De-Hi!', Selina Cadell has similarly made a number of popular comedy roles her own. Most recently, she has been playing the infatuated pharmacist Mrs Tishell in 'Doc Martin', constantly mooning over Martin Clunes' insensitive doctor. ![]() |
| As the lovelorn Mrs Tishell in 'Doc Martin' |
Other comedy roles include: 'French & Saunders', 'Victoria Wood', 'This Is David Lander', 'Birds of a Feather', 'A Bit of Fry & Laurie', 'Jeeves & Wooster', 'Bremner Bird & Fortune', 'The Catherine Tate Show' and a leading role in the curious laboratory sitcom 'Lab Rats'. She seems also to have been much in demand for kids' shows in the '80s and '90s, cropping up in 'Just William', 'Bodger & Badger' (as the nice hippy teacher Miss Moon), 'T-Bag', and 'The World of Peter Rabbit'. ![]() |
| Brother and fellow actor Simon Cadell, who sadly died in 1993. |
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In 'Prick Up Your Ears' (1987) pictured with her
fellow outraged librarian, played by Charles McKeown |
Light television drama is another of her strengths, as evidenced by roles in 'Lovejoy', 'Miss Marple', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Jonathan Creek', 'Kavanagh QC', etc. She has also appeared in quite a few feature films, including 'Prick Up Your Ears' (1987), 'Mrs Caldicott's Cabbage War' (2002), Clint Eastwood's 'Hereafter' (2010), the Vanessa Redgrave film version of 'Mrs Dalloway' (1997), and a couple of Martin Freeman's less well-regarded films, 'Confetti' (2006) and "Nativity!' (2009).
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| BBC publicity shot for 'Lab Rats' |
Trivia: From a theatrical family, she is also the cousin of actor Guy Siner, Lieutenant Gruber from 'Allo Allo', and she's apparently best pals with Sigourney Weaver. Selina Cadell - imdb
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September 4, 2014, 4:45 am
John Castle:A serious actor, strikingly handsome in a sullen way, looking rather like a cross between Derek Jacobi and Oliver Reed. Trained at RADA, he hit the acting scene with a modest bang, securing early appearances in 'Blow Up' (1966), 'The Lion in Winter' (1968), and the most talked-about TV show of the day, 'The Prisoner', though he didn't seem to quite grab the public imagination like some of his illustrious young contemporaries. He played Caesar in Charlton Heston's unloved film version of 'Antony & Cleopatra' (1972) and the Duke in 'The Man of La Mancha' (1972), but then things seemed to go a little bit quiet. ![]() |
| As Number 12 in 'The Prisoner' episode 'The General' |
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| At the circus with Charlton Heston in 'Antony & Cleopatra' (1972) |
There was a certain amount of television drama in the late '60s and early '70s, such as Johnny Speight's 'If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them' and a sprinkling of one-offs like 'ITV Sunday Night Theatre', and 'The Wednesday Play'. His next high profile role was as Postumus in the BBC's toga-ripper 'I, Claudius', which seemed to kick-start another spate of varyingly prestigious work. There are quite a few costume dramas and period pieces, which seem to suit his austere, brooding presence, such as 'The Fight Against Slavery', 'King John', 'Lillie', 'Penmarric' and a Jeremy Brett 'Sherlock Holmes'. He also plays Teddy, the destructive love-interest in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' with Geraldine McEwan. There were also a few action and police jobs like 'Strangers', 'The New Avengers', 'Softly, Softly' and 'The Professionals'. Not much in the way of comedy.![]() |
| In the BBC's 2013 Christmas ghost story, MR James's "The Tractate Middoth' |
The '80s and beyond have seen more of the same on TV, with the emphasis on providing some slightly sinister class to cosy crimes, ho-hum hospitals and political potboilers. Less cosy, perhaps, was the unenviable job of portraying racist historian David Irving in 'The Holocaust on Trial'. The big screen has also not been as forthcoming with good parts as one might hope, offering only the likes of 'RoboCop 3' (1995), Finnish mid-ocean thriller 'Merisairas' (1996), the Richard Gere Old Testament epic, 'King David (1985) and a few others. He is, however, in the excellent Mark Gatiss adaptation of the MR James ghost story, 'The Tractate Middoth', which is where I was reminded of his great presence and ability.
Salvte. John Castle - imdb
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September 10, 2014, 4:49 pm
Alan Dobie:Alan Dobie seems a rather dour, astringent sort of actor, but perhaps that's because I find it a little difficult to separate him from the character of Inspector Cribb, as seen in the '80s Victorian detective series of that name. His career on the big screen has been one interesting oddities, with early roles including 'Captured' (1959), originally an army training film about resisting interrogation that has come to be seen as a classic POW drama, and the Brit-noir 'Seven Keys' (1961) in which he plays an ex-con unravelling a mystery while seeking hidden loot. ![]() |
In 'Captured' (1959), a military training film that remained
unseen by the general public until 2004 |
He also appears in the popular Disney adventure serial, later released as a feature film, 'Dr Syn, Alias The Scarecrow' (1963) opposite Patrick McGoohan as the eponymous smuggler, and he's in the curiously seedy Kenneth More drama, 'The Comedy Man' (1964).![]() |
| In the Walt Disney adventure serial 'Dr Syn' (1963) |
For much of the '60s and '70s, he became a stalwart of the television play, appearing in various strands such as 'The Wednesday Play', 'BBC Sunday-Night Play', 'Theatre 625', and 'Play For Today'. He also in some heavy drama serials like 'Resurrection', 'The Plane Makers', 'War and Peace' and 'Hard Times', before getting the starring role in 'Cribb', itself a spin-off from an original play. Other highlights of the '80s include the post-'Secret Army' series 'Kessler', the highbrow, but rather fleshy, drama-documentary about the life of Ingres, 'Artists and Models', and the tour-de-force portrayal of Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman in the medieval religious debate of 'The Disputation'. ![]() |
| As Prince Bolkonsky in the 1972 BBC epic 'War and Peace' |
As befits such an accomplished actor, he's more often been seen on the stage and is a regular of the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic Theatre in London and the Theatre Royal, Bath.Alan Dobie - imdb
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September 14, 2014, 2:27 am
Bridget Brice:A great choice for a role needing some glamour but with a confident, business-like edge, Ms Brice may be familiar as Cowley's secretary from 'The Professionals', or from some other cop shows of the '70s including 'Z-Cars' and 'The Sweeney'. ![]() |
| Damsel in distress in 'Department S' |
Further TV appearances include 'Department S' and three different characters in the long-running private detective series, 'Public Eye' starring Alfred Burke. In addition to those Euston Films secretary roles, she also appears in 'Doctor at Sea', 'Doctor in Charge', 'Howard's Way', 'Coronation Street', 'Man at the Top' with Kenneth Haigh, and was memorable as Sal Hawke, a criminal mistress-mind in 'Dick Turpin' with Richard O'Sullivan. She also has the distinction of playing the unlikely girlfriend, Pippa, in 'Sorry!', who finally rescues Ronnie Corbett's timid Timothy Lumsden from his manipulative mother. ![]() |
| With Richard O'Sullivan in 'Dick Turpin' |
Movie-wise you can catch her, uncredited, among the British talent in Mel Brooks''The Twelve Chairs' (1970), the ecologically apocalyptic 'No Blade of Grass' (1970), and forgotten caper movies 'Loophole' (1981) and 'Real Life' (1984), as well as a fleeting role in the movie version of 'George & Mildred' (1980). ![]() |
| With a dashing Frank Langella in 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970) |
Bridget Brice-imdb
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Graham SeedPerhaps it's too much of a stretch to suggest that, like Leonard Nimoy's autobiography, 'I Am Not Spock', Graham Seed's one-man stage show, 'Don't Call Me Nigel', attempts to free the actor from the shackles of his most famous role. This pixie-faced, genteel actor - or at least, his voice - is best known in the UK for playing Nigel Pargetter in the everlasting radio serial 'The Archers' between 1983 and 2011. In fact, of course, he's acknowledging the popularity of 'The Archers', but it's true that he's been less championed for appearing in some of the better TV and film of the last four decades. ![]() |
| As Britannicus, in the classic 1976 BBC serial, 'I,Claudius' |
His boyish looks and public school accent and manners were put to use in popular TV dramas including 'Wings', 'The Agatha Christie Hour', 'Good and Bad at Games', 'Band of Brothers' and 'Brideshead Revisited', as well as showings in good old 'Midsomer Murders', 'Juliet Bravo', 'Bergerac' and 'Doctors'. He has also turned his hand to comedy, with the banalities of 'Allo Allo' and the silliness of 'The Kenny Everett Television Show' being substantially outweighed by quality like 'Jeeves & Wooster' and a number of Victoria Wood projects.
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| In the TV drama 'Band of Brothers' |
On the film front, he can be spotted in 'Gandhi' (1982), 'Little Dorrit' (1988), These Foolish Things (2005), and 'Wild Target' (2010).
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| A bogus curate jewel thief, thwarted by Jeeves in 'Jeeves & Wooster' |
Graham Seed - imdb
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November 22, 2014, 8:43 am
Janet Henfrey: With her rather severe features - somewhere between Edith Sitwell and Geoffrey Bayldon - Janet Henfrey has been called on to play forbidding schoolmarms and formidable aristocrats, although she also has a nice line in charming English eccentricity. You may remember her from the schoolroom flashbacks in Dennis Potter's 'The Singing Detective', or have seen her quite recently in 'Dr Who' or 'Toast Of London'. ![]() |
Another scary Dennis Potter schoolteacher. This one from
'Stand Up Nigel Barton', a BBC Wednesday Play from 1965 |
She has a long association with the RSC and the Oxford Playhouse and her TV and film appearances were relatively sparsely distributed in the period from the early '60s until the early '80s. TV work has seen a variety of period dramas from 'Silas Marner' to 'Tipping The Velvet', and lots of Dickens adaptations. Lighter drama and comedy jobs include 'Jeeves & Wooster', 'Boon', 'Lovejoy', 'Father Brown', 'Agatha Christie's Marple', and a regular turn in 'As Time Goes By' with Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. ![]() |
Less than a second to live... In the 2014 'Dr Who'
episode 'Mummy On The Orient Express' |
Film appearances include 'Reds' (1981), 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' (1989), 'The Man Who Knew Too Little (1998), 'Les Miserables' (1998), 'Metamorphosis' (2012), and her earliest role, in Tommy Steele's 'It's All Happening' (1963). ![]() |
As girls' school headmistress, Miss Mapleton, extracting Bertie from
the police station in 'Jeeves & Wooster', thanks to Jeeves's intervention
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She has appeared in a substantial number of kids' shows, such as 'Chocky', 'Simon & The Witch', 'Mr Majeika', 'The Famous Five', 'The Worst Witch' and 'Mike & Angelo'. She also has the distinction of having been in two Dr Who stories, the Sylveste McCoy era 'Curse of Fenric' and the Peter Capaldi episode 'Mummy On The Orient Express.
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Looking a bit more contemporary in the 1988 BBC
children's show 'Simon & The Witch'. |
Janet Henfrey-imdb
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December 27, 2014, 12:32 pm
Stephen Lewis:† Dec 17 1926 – Aug 12 2015'What's this bus doing here? You're due at the cemetery gates in four minutes! Oh my good gawd! I hate you, Butler!' Etc, etc...
Another of the great cohort of working class acting talent brought to prominence by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the late '50s. This hulking ex-merchant seaman proved to be a talented writer, creating the play, and later screenplay, for 'Sparrows Can't Sing' (1960), a unique slice of London kitchen sink comedy-drama with the young Barbara Windsor, Roy Kinnear, Brian Murphy, Murray Melvin and James Booth.
![Stephen Lewis, credited as Stephen Cato]( "Stephen Lewis (left) in 'The Frightened City' (1962)") |
An early role as a heavy in 'The Frightened City' (1961). At this point he was
using the stage name Stephen Cato, but soon after reverted to his own name |
![Screengrab of Stephen Lewis, British actor]( "Actor Stephen Lewis") |
A fleeting appearance as a scrap dealer in the gloomy and pretentious
'Negatives' (1969), which starred Glenda Jackson and Peter McEnery |
His further acting and writing ambitions appear to have been effectively sidelined when his gawping characterisation of Blakey, the miserable bus company inspector in the grimly dim-witted sitcom 'On The Buses', proved so popular that the programme became a ratings-topping British institution. His performance as Blakey was in such demand that it led to not only a direct spin-off, 'Don't Drink the Water' with Pat Coombs, but a series of near-identical portrayals of sketch-show park keepers, station masters, and traffic wardens. There were also extended spells in the nostalgic Perry & Croft railway sitcom 'Oh Doctor Beeching!' and as 'Smiler' in the long-running 'Last of The Summer Wine', both of which saw him finessing his woebegone Blakey character.
![with Reg Varney, Stephen Lewis, unidentified actress]( "British comedy 'On The Buses'") |
In a typical 'On The Buses' set up with cheeky middle-aged lothario/sex-pest
Stan Butler (Reg Varney, left) and one of the endless unlikely dolly-bird
conductresses or 'clippies' in thrall to his giggly Brylcremed charms |
There were a few small cinema appearances. As well as his own 'Sparrows Can't Sing' (1961), he crops up in a few Brit b-movies including a Soho thug in 'The Frightened City '(1961) and a military policeman in the Army heist movie 'A Prize of Arms' (1962). Naturally, he reprised his role as Blakey in the money-spinning big screen adaptations from the OTB franchise - 'On The Buses' (1971), 'Mutiny On The Buses' (1972) and 'Holiday On The Buses' (1973), as well as similar jobsworth personas in star-studded farces like 'Some Will Some Won't' (1970) and 'The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins' (1971).Something a bit different was a turn as a blonde gay pick-up for Rex Harrison in the excruciating Stanley Donen camp-fest 'Staircase' (1968) with Richard Burton, to complete a spectacular hat-trick of miscasting.
!['Staircase' (1968)]( "Stephen Lewis in 'Staircase' starring Rex Harrison (right) and Richard Burton (partly out of shot, left)") |
'Staircase' (1968) A blonde and booted Lewis finds himself in the middle of
another ridiculous mincing tiff between Rex Harrison and Richard Burton |
These days, he has hung up his raincoat and clipboard, and is apparently comfortably retired from acting - born in 1926, he is approaching 90 after all. At one time he was regularly spotted having a quiet lunch at Peter Jones department store off Sloane Square. Long may he continue to do so. Update Aug 2015: So sad to hear that Stephen Lewis has passed on at the age of 88. He was one character actor that I had hopes of meeting one day. That won't now happen, but I thank him here for his quirky contributions to British cultural identity. Stephen Lewis-imdb
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January 6, 2015, 11:14 am
Perry Benson: Baby-faced and usually bespectacled cockney actor - almost like a junior Johnny Shannon - often seen in comedy roles where he seems to make a virtue of a slightly wooden acting style to awkward comic effect. You might have seen him in a number of '80s alternative sitcoms, such as 'The Young Ones', Filthy Rich & Catflap', and 'Dream Stuffing', before he settled things down a little with 'The Black Adder', 'You Rang M'Lord', 'Oh Doctor Beeching!' and more recently 'Benidorm'. ![]() |
| In the largely forgotten 1983 sitcom, 'Dream Stuffing' |
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| You have been watching... 'Oh Doctor Beeching!' |
As a contrast to the comedy has been a darker strain of film and TV dramas in which his flat London vowels have lent a banal gangster menace or fearful snivelling to the proceedings, see for example 'Scum' (1977), the harrowing Ray Winstone/Jude Law movie 'Final Cut' (1998), 'Mr In-Between' (2001), 'and 'Capital Punishment' (2003). Even bleaker was the relentlessly horrible 'Mum and Dad' (2008), a domestic psycho-gore horror set near Heathrow Airport. ![]() |
| Scary in the grim suburban horror, 'Mum & Dad' (2008) |
The '80s comedy and cult film connections are still there though, and he can be seen in interesting stuff like '15 Stories High' (as the neighbour with a horse in his flat), Shane Meadows's 'Somers Town' (2008) and his 'This Is England' (2006) and the TV series 'This Is England '86'. He also seems to appear in a lot of short movies, none of which I've seen, but which suggest that he is somehow involved at the grass roots of the industry. ![]() |
As 'Spaz' in the 'Young Ones' brief piss-take of 'Grange Hill',
with Ben Elton and our old friend Peter Greene |
He's also in the generally unconvincing punk movie 'Sid & Nancy' (1986) playing a chunky version of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook, although I think Graham Fletcher-Cook who plays pre-Pistols frontman Wally Hairstyle looks much more the part. My 2d worth, anyway. Perry Benson-imdb
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January 11, 2015, 1:55 pm
Bill Wallis: † 20 November 1936 – 6 September 2013A great unsung character actor whose Pickwickian features appear in some of my favourite TV and film of the golden age from the '60s to the '90s, as well as some great radio including 'Week Ending' and the original series of 'Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy'. He can be seen in cult classics like 'The Avengers' and 'The Beiderbecke Tapes' on television, and fleetingly in absurd masterpieces like 'The Bed Sitting Room' (1969) and 'Brazil' (1985). He was memorable as the scrofulous jailer Mr Ploppy in 'Black Adder II', and the unscrupulous Minister for Sport in 'Yes, Prime Minister'. He is in the first ever episode of 'Midsomer Murders', Pete & Dud's 'Not Only But Also' and performs on Ivor Cutler's 'Prince Ivor' album. Well done, that man. ![]() |
Singing the interminable praises of Alan-A-Dale on 'Not Only
But Also', with John Wells, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook |
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| Working on the mail train in 'Robbery' (1967) |
Update: Largely unreported at the time, I didn't realise that Bill Wallis passed away in 2013. I salute him posthumously. Bill Wallis-imdb
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January 11, 2015, 1:56 pm
Marcia Warren: A very accomplished, indeed award-winning, stage actress, often seen in Alan Ayckbourn's comedy plays but equally at home with Shakespeare, Chekhov and Beckett, she has nevertheless been able to fit in a number of memorable film and TV roles. She might be familiar as William Gaunt's troublesome neighbour, Vera Botting, from the '80s BBC comedy 'No Place Like Home', or possibly from the more recent 'Vicious' with Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen and Frances De La Tour - all of whom she has acted with on various prestigious stages. ![]() |
Brilliantly portraying the great character actress Esma Cannon in a recreation of
'Carry On Cabby' from the TV drama 'Hattie'. Ruth Jones plays Hattie Jacques |
Equally adept at playing duchesses and dogsbodies, Marcia Warren has also appeared in some good quality television drama, see 'The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes', 'The Father Brown Mysteries' and 'The History of Mr Polly', as well as a lot of average primetime series such as 'Holby City', 'The Bill', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Doctors' and 'Casualty'. ![]() |
As the unworldly Penelope in the camp sitcom, 'Vicious',
starring Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen |
Sitcoms have been a staple of her TV career, including the generally forgotten 1983 Larbey and Esmonde effort 'Now and Then', 'September Song', 'Life Of Riley', 'Searching', 'Jam & Jerusalem', 'Miracles Take Longer' and 'Keeping Up Appearances'. ![]() |
As the widow of the mild-mannered lothario in 'Mr Love' (1985)
Behind her is the late Patsy Byrne, Nursie from 'Blackadder' |
Films include 'Mr Love' (1985), 'Don't Get Me Started' (1994), 'Unconditional Love' (2002), 'Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont' (2005), 'Leap Year' (2010) Marcia Warren-imdb
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January 13, 2015, 7:34 am
Michael Percival:Many people's principle memories of Michael Percival date from when he played the sardonic form-teacher Mr Mitchell in the heyday of the popular BBC school series 'Grange Hill'. He's another of those actors who used to show up regularly, but are infuriatingly difficult to place.
Perhaps you can spot him in feature films like 'Marat/Sade' (1967), 'No Blade of Grass' (1970), and the John Cleese trio 'Clockwise' (1986), 'A Fish Called Wanda' (1988) and 'Fierce Creatures' (1997),
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| Unusually casual behind the bar in an episode of 'Inspector Morse' |
TV appearances include 'Boon', 'Rosemary & Thyme', 'Inspector Morse', 'Kavanagh QC', and 'My Uncle Silas'. He's also in 'Doctor Who' (Matt Smith episode 'Vampires of Venice'), 'Lovejoy' and comedies 'Me and My Girl' and 'Allo Allo', as well as a regular role in the strange secret service sitcom, 'The Piglet Files' starring Nicholas Lyndhurst. ![]() |
As an art dealer in 'Allo Allo'. As you'd imagine, he has just
purchased the 'Portrait of the Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies'. |
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| Having his car stolen by John Cleese in 'Clockwise' (1986) |
Michael Percival - imdb
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January 15, 2015, 10:39 am
Benjamin Whitrow: A very well respected character actor, probably best known for his portrayal of the peaceable Mr Bennett in the much admired 1995 BBC version of 'Pride & Prejudice', though he has had a quite slow-building TV career. After serving in the Army, he secured a few roles through the '60s before finding his feet in the popular period dramas of the early '70s, such as 'The Pallisers', 'The Bronte's of Haworth', and 'Clayhanger'.![]() |
| Losing his patience with his cheeky mod employees in 'Quadrophenia' (1979) |
His officer experience made him highly convincing in roles requiring gravitas and authority, either in actual military dramas like 'Wings' and 'Danger UXB', or as a string of headmasters, politicians and politicians. He played Amundsen in 'Shackleton', Superintendent Braithwaite in 'The Sweeney' and aristocratic socialist Paddy O'Rourke in 'The New Statesman' as well as one-offs in the likes of 'Minder', 'Boon', 'Bergerac', 'Perfect Scoundrels' and 'Rumpole'. ![]() |
| In 'The New Statesman' with the late Rik Mayall |
He has done a fair number of classic dramas and serials, from 'A Man For All Seasons' to 'The Merchant of Venice', and after the mega-success of the Colin Firth-powered 'Pride & Prejudice', there were others in the same vein, including Squire Allworthy in 'The History of Tom Jones'. And lots more primetime drama and comedy throught the '90s and '00s, like 'Jonathan Creek', 'Monarch of the Glen', 'New Tricks', 'Doc Martin' and recently, 'Toast of London'.![]() |
| As Julie Walters's accountant and client in 'Personal Services' (1987) |
In the cinema, you can see him as Jimmy's boss in 'Quadrophenia' (1979), in the John Cleese vehicle 'Clockwise' (1986), and in 'Personal Services' (1987), Louis Malle's 'Damage' (1992), and the Val Kilmer movie of 'The Saint' (1997). He also voices Mr Fowler in the hit Ardman animation 'Chicken Run' (2000). Benjamin Whitrow-imdb
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January 19, 2015, 8:13 am
Zienia Merton:With her elegant gamine good looks and sophisticated demeanour, Anglo/French/Burmese actress Zienia Merton was cast in a number of 'vaguely exotic' roles in her early days, including the 'Marco Polo' story strand from the William Hartnell-era Doctor Who (now sadly wiped), a Kashmiri girl in 'Tales from Rudyard Kipling', and as the middle-eastern Zeba Hameed in an episode of the 'Strange Report'. On the big screen, she turns up as an Indian priestess in 'Help!' (1965 ), and as Maoist Mata Hari, Ting Ling, in the Gregory Peck spy romp, 'The Most Dangerous Man in the World', aka 'The Chairman' (1969). ![]() |
| In 'The Most Dangerous Man in the World' (1969) |
Dennis Potter's (very racy for the time) 'Casanova' in 1971 saw her playing Cristina to a world-weary Frank Finlay's eponymous libertine. Although the screenplay was intended to highlight the sadness, religious guilt and regrets behind his great romantic reputation (it is Dennis Potter, after all), most people, Mary Whitehouse included, tended to remark on the indulgent use of nudity (did I mention Dennis Potter?). ![]() |
| In 'Casanova', the BBC's most talked-about drama of 1971 |
However, it was the Gerry Anderson sci-fi drama 'Space: 1999' which ran for two seasons of 48 episodes and gave her international exposure. Playing sensitive officer Sandra Benes, she featured in most of the show's heavy-handed plots, as the Andersons attempted to prove that it wasn't a children's show. Personal melodramas and cod-mystic astro-psychedelia vied for prominence, as the kids waited patiently for some explosions and spaceships. Since her Moonbase days, she has been in an interesting mix of mundane and fantasy fare, from 'EastEnders', 'Coronation Street', 'Casualty' and 'The Bill', to 'Hammer House of Mystery & Suspense', 'Dinotopia', 'Wizards vs Aliens' and 'The Sarah Jane Mysteries', which ties in nicely with her early adventures in 'Doctor Who'. ![]() |
Zienia Merton officiating at the wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (the late Elizabeth Sladen),
until the Doctor (in this case Tennant) arrives to stop her marrying Nigel Havers |
Zienia Merton-imdb
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January 25, 2015, 4:21 am
John Cairney:Dark, broodingly handsome Scots actor, largely associated with his memorable portrayals of the poet Robert Burns. His lasting association with Burns began in 1965 with Tom Wright's solo play "There Was A Man" at the Traverse, Edinburgh, and at the Arts Theatre, London. From Burns, he moved on to other solo pieces on William McGonagall, Robert Service and Robert Louis Stevenson.![]() |
| In the full Rabbie Burns get-up. |
Though his movie career began in the mid '50s, it appears that his TV heyday was probably the mid '60s to late '70s, after which he moved to New Zealand. His many television parts include other literary figures, like Branwell Bronte and Edgar Allan Poe, and other famous Scots, like Robert the Bruce. He has featured in programmes as varied as 'Dr. Finlay's Casebook', 'Secret Agent', 'The Avengers', 'Man In A Suitcase', 'Jackanory', 'The Persuaders', 'Elizabeth R', and 'Taggart'. He'd probably be better known if the BBC hadn't wiped his starring role in the 1966 Scottish drama series 'This Man Craig' in which he played an idealistic teacher. (Incidentally, his son in the programme was played by the young Brian Pettifer, saluted here earlier.)
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| With Glenda Jackson in the acclaimed 1971 BBC series 'Elizabeth R' |
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In 'Jason & The Argonauts' (1963), second from right, just
over Laurence Naismith's shoulder |
Feature film appearances include 'Lucky Jim' (1957), the Titanic story 'A Night To Remember' (1958), 'Victim' (1961), 'Jason & The Argonauts' (1963), Cleopatra' (1963), and the Sherlock Holmes meets the Ripper movie 'Study In Terror' (1965).
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| In the low-budget British sci-fi adventure 'Spaceflight IC-1' (1965) |
He made some TV movies in New Zealand during the '80s and '90s as well as writing a number of books on Burns and other great Scottish figures Robert L Stephenson and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
John Cairney-imdb
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January 28, 2015, 8:08 am
Ellis Jones:Here's a slightly elusive one. As an energetic and distinctively beaky young actor, Ellis pops up in a swathe of TV in the early '70s. These days he's a respected senior drama coach and creative bigwig at RADA, although he has continued to make sporadic appearances on our screens over the years.
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| In an episode of the BBC naval drama 'Warship' |
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With the late Ken Jones in an episode of Eric Chappell's
office sitcom, 'The Squirrels', from 1975 |
I particularly enjoyed his turn as the office ingénue in 'The Squirrels', an unfairly overlooked minor classic from the pen of 'Rising Damp' creator Eric Chappell. He also shows up in 'Warship', 'Z-Cars' and 'Doctor Who' (he is, in fact, the first person to appear in 'Doctor Who' in colour, in the opening Pertwee-era story, 'Spearhead from Space' in 1969) and a number of Shakespearean roles including the Fool in the Thames TV production of 'King Lear' with Patrick Magee, much shown in school English classes. ![]() |
| In 'Spearhead from Space', the first Jon Pertwee story of 'Doctor Who' |
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| In the 'Cadfael' mystery, 'A Morbid Taste For Bones' |
So perhaps it's ironic that he's probably best remembered by many for playing the hapless Hal Adden (geddit) in 'Pardon My Genie' with Hugh Paddick as the crabby and obtuse spirit of the lamp, rather than for helping the acting careers ofTom Hiddleston, Ben Whishaw, Eve Best, Sally Hawkins, Gemma Arterton and Matthew Macfadyen, to name but a few. Ellis Jones-imdb
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January 29, 2015, 3:18 pm
Robert Putt:Very distinctive moon-faced character actor who flits occasionally across our screens, having progressed from non-speaking extra and minor roles. He's racked up an impressive list of TV programmes from 'The Sweeney' and 'The Professionals' to 'The Monocled Mutineer', 'Martin Chuzzlewit' and 'Our Friends In The North'. He's also blown bubbles at The Rutles in 'All You Need Is Cash' and chased a nun around Holby General with his flies undone.
![]( "Robert Putt in ';The Professionals'") |
| In an episode of 'The Professionals' |
Some other memorable appearances include playing East End killer Mad Danny Durbridge opposite Steve Pemberton in the oddball detective show 'Whitechapel' and the bloke who keeps a cricket ball down his pants - to hold his hernia in check - in 'Doc Martin'. ![]() |
| In 'Ruby In The Smoke' |
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Inadvertently striking the exact mid point between John Bluthal and
David Lodge, in the Enid Blyton children's series 'Castle of Adventure' |
The big screen has beckoned for roles in Mike Leigh's 'Naked' (1993) and 'Vera Drake' (2004), as well as 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (1984), 'A Fish Called Wanda' (1988), and such varied fare as the movie of 'Porridge' (1979), 'Hawk The Slayer' (1980), 'Mike Bassett: England Manager' (2001) and our old favourite 'Confessions of a Driving Instructor' (1976). A classic all-rounder.
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| Reading Imelda Staunton her rights in 'Vera Drake' (2004) |
Robert Putt-imdb
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February 1, 2015, 8:56 am
Zara Nutley:It's unfortunate in a way that this New Zealand-born actress is best known for two of British televisions least lamented '70s sitcoms. She played the imperious and disparaging Miss Courtney in 'Mind Your Language', and the curious figure of Aunt Joan in 'Never The Twain'. Other roles include the Widow Attacliffe in an episode of 'Last of the Summer Wine', and one-offs in 'Grange Hill', 'Lovejoy', 'Terry & June' and 'Metal Mickey'.![]( "Title sequence 'Mind Your Language'") |
The highly unflattering depiction of Zara Nutley from the opening
titles of the noticeably unreconstructed sitcom 'Mind Your Language'. |
Hints of something better include roles in 'Within These Walls', 'Tales of the Unexpected', Victoria Wood's television shows - VW almost always has a good eye for actors - and an early part in Jack Rosenthal's 'Spaghetti Two Step' when it was televised by Yorkshire TV in 1977.
She certainly deserves a salute. Zara Nutley-imdb
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February 4, 2015, 1:50 pm
A classical actor who knows his way around his 'King Lear' and his 'Hamlet' (he plays Claudius in the bizarre Quentin Crisp 1976 version), but also an archetypal 1970s 'big bloke', often playing a plain clothes copper who's a bit handy in a scrap, or the sort of hefty hard-nut who gets up slowly in a pub to show his size, before getting an unlikely duffing-up from a leading man. Barry Stanton appears in a fair bit of TV drama from the late-'60s on, such as 'The Saint', 'Z Cars', 'The Baron', 'Manhunt', 'Survivors', 'The Protectors', 'The Sweeney', 'Minder', and 'The Professionals'. He also turns up in the sadly-lost supernatural drama serial 'Witch Hunt' from 1967, high on many TV collector's list of BBC holy grails.
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As Noma in the 'Doctor Who' story 'The Twin Dilemma' |
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As Jim Hacker's press officer in 'Yes, Prime Minister' |
In more recent years, he has been given less generic TV roles, such as his turns as a Jacondan alien in the first Colin Baker story for Doctor Who', 1984's 'The Twin Dilemma', and as Tory press officer Malcolm Warren in 'Yes, Prime Minister'. There was also the Shakespeare play cycle 'The Wars of the Roses' televised in 1990.
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As Claudius in the adventurous 'Hamlet' (1976) which featured Helen
Mirren as both Gertrude and Ophelia, and Quentin Crisp as Polonius |
Film roles are also more varied: aside from 'Sweeney 2' (1978), there was Hammer horror 'Demons Of The Mind' (1972), 'Leon the Pig Farmer' (1993) and 'Robin Hood' (1991) - not the Kevin Costner 'Prince of Thieves' one from that year, another one starring Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman. He's in the Jackie Chan kung-fu in Victorian England romp, Shanghai Knights (2003), and portrays the playwright/MP Sheridan in 'The Madness of King George' (1994).
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As the Lord Chancellor in, 'Shanghai Knights' (2003) |
A rare leading role came in the Roy Clarke sitcom 'Mann's Best Friends' in which he appeared with the likes of Fulton McKay, Patricia Brake, and Bernard Bresslaw. Sadly, it seems to have disappeared without a trace. He's also the splendidly over-acting postman who delivers the vampire Alexei Sayle in the 'Young Ones' episode 'Nasty'.
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As miserly boss Mr Grayson in 'Tucker's Luck' |
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February 13, 2015, 4:05 pm
A British perennial with that winning mix of dolly-bird prettiness and an ear for comic dialogue, Patricia Brake might be familiar from the sitcom classic 'Porridge' as Fletcher's daughter Ingrid. She made an impression in one episode for her bra-less visit to Slade Prison, and later when she proves that she is wearing a bra by lifting her top up. She also appeared in the spin-off series 'Going Straight', but despite Barker and Beckinsale's best efforts the magic was noticeably absent.
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In the forgotten US TV comedy 'The Ugliest Girl in Town' |
As a sweet young British actress, she had been cast in the strange 1968 ABC sitcom, 'The Ugliest Girl in Town', the American network's attempt to tap into the swinging London phenomenon with Peter Kastner in drag following a London model over the pond. I don't think it was ever shown in the UK and it has come high in some 'worst TV shows of all time' lists, none of which is the fault of Patricia Brake who is glamorous and fun in it.
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As Ingrid in 'Going Straight' with Ronnie Barker |
Very busy throughout the '60s and '70s, she appeared in dramas ranging from 'Lorna Doone' and 'Nicholas Nickleby' to the now lost David Hemmings serial 'Home Tonight' and 'No Hiding Place'. On the comedy front, she's in some you don't hear much about these days like 'Second Time Around' and 'Forget Me Not', as well as the more memorable; 'A Sharp Intake of Breath', 'Life Begins at Forty', the 1979 reboot of 'The Glums' and the aforementioned 'Porridge' and 'Going Straight'. I'm also intrigued by the sound of 'Mann's Best Friends' from 1985, with an impressive cast that features Fulton McKay, Bernard Bresslaw and Liz Smith, but I can't find anything much out about it.
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As Eth in the 1979 TV revival of the '50s favourite 'The Glums'. Ian Lavender plays her ever-gormless beloved, Ron |
As the '80s progressed, she moved toward soap opera and potboiler dramas with roles in 'Emmerdale', 'EastEnders' and 'Coronation Street' (as Mike Baldwin's old flame/sister-in-law), also getting one of the main parts in the BBC's shortlived 'Eldorado'. After that, there's the predictable round of 'Midsomer Murders', 'Casualty', 'Holby City', 'Doctors' and 'The Bill', but also 'The Bounder'.
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In a 2005 episode of 'Coronation Street' with Johnny Briggs |
Movie roles include the oddball Peter Sellers piece 'The Optimists of Nine Elms' (1973) and the wrinkly romance 'Love/Loss' (2010). In 'My Lover My Son' (1970), she played the girlfriend of an unusually timid Dennis Waterman (she seems more comfortable with her fully nude scenes than Dennis does in his y-fronts), who is trying to escape the cloying influence of his mother, played by Romy Schneider.
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Dennis Waterman needs a bit of encouragement for a change in 'My Lover My Son' (1970) |
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Compact and suavely handsome in a slightly weasely way, Scottish actor Denis Lawson is a stalwart of British television, but probably known only to the wider world - or the nerdier portion of it - as Wedge Antilles, one of the heroic X-Wing pilots of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy. Extra galactic trivia points are doubtless also accrued by being the uncle of Obi Wan Kenobi, Ewan McGregor.
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As Launcelot Gobbo in the 1973 ITV version of |
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'Survivors': an episode called 'The Future Hour' from 1975 |
Up until 'Star Wars' (1977) or whatever they call it now, he had been in an interesting grab-bag of serious drama, typified by the televised version of the NT 'Merchant of Venice' with Laurence Olivier, late night plays like 'Ms Jill or Jack' and 'The Paradise Run', and middle-brow TV hits like 'Survivors', and 'Rock Follies'.
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Starring in the DJ sitcom 'The Kit Curran Radio Show' made by Thames Television in 1984. |
The '80s were a bit of a boom time and he appeared in memorable stuff like the quirky time-travel TV play 'The Flipside of Dominick Hyde' and the prescient neo-noir conspiracy crime serial 'Dead Head' as well as getting the starring role in the lightweight sitcom 'The Kit Curran Radio Show'.
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As a jet-setting assassin in 'Bergerac' |
There was also some day-to-day drama and comedy to fill the diary too, 'Boon' and 'Bergerac', 'Robin Hood' and 'Miss Marple', and 'The Good Companions' and 'Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV'. More recently, he had the key role of Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of 'Bleak House', as well as major parts in the ghost tale 'Marchlands', 'Criminal Justice' and now 'New Tricks'. I also enjoyed the bleak slapstick of the 'Inside No 9' episode where he played the victim of Shearsmith and Pemberton's hapless art thieves.
Aside from the George Lucas gigs, his film credits include a rare Scottish part in 'Local Hero' (1983) and Jack Rosenthal's clever class vignette, 'The Chain' (1984). He also appears alongside his nephew in 'Perfect Sense' (2011), an example of that under-represented genre, romantic Scottish epidemic-apocalypse sci fi.
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