Inspector Morse - Fat Chance - 12:00 am Saturday, August 29 on ITV3

John Thaw (Actor) .. Chief Inspector Morse

Born: January 03, 1942 in Manchester

Best Known For: Inspector Morse.

Early-life: John Edward Thaw was born on January 3, 1942, in Manchester. He had a younger brother, Ray, but theirs wasn't an easy childhood. The boys' mother, Dorothy, left home when John was seven, while their father, Jack, was often away working as a long-distance lorry driver. Despite being painfully shy, John began appearing in amateur dramatics productions and eventually won a place at RADA, where he studied alongside his friend, Tom Courteney.

Career: Thaw's first professional job came at the Liverpool Playhouse. His film debut came in 1962's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, which starred Courteney. Thaw worked extensively on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre, and early TV roles came in Z Cars and Redcap. But it was The Sweeney, alongside Dennis Waterman, that made him a household name thanks to its uncompromising style. He switched to comedy with Home to Roost, but it was playing Inspector Morse that made him a national treasure. Almost everything he touched then turned to gold; he starred in top-rated dramas such as Kavanagh QC, Goodnight Mister Tom and Buried Treasure. He died in 2002 following a battle with cancer of the oesophagus.

Quote: 'I was born looking fifty.'

Trivia: Divorced first wife Sally Alexander after four years and one daughter in 1968. Married Sheila Hancock in 1974. They had a daughter together, and Thaw adopted Hancock's daughter from her first marriage.

Kevin Whately (Actor) .. Det Sgt Lewis

Born: February 06, 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Best Known For: Playing John Thaw's right-hand man Lewis in Inspector Morse.

Early-life: Kevin George Edward Whately was born on February 6, 1951, in Hexham, and grew up in the remote Northumberland countryside. His father was in the Navy, and Whately only saw him two or three times a year. He began acting at the age of four and it remained a passion throughout school, alongside a short-lived desire to be a doctor. When his careers teacher advised against acting, he went into accountancy for three years. He later trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His brother, Frank, is a drama lecturer.

Career: Whately's TV debut came in a 1979 episode of Shoestring. Two years later he had a six-week stint on Coronation Street. His big break came in 1983, when he landed the role of Neville in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. In 1987, he made his first appearance as Sgt Lewis in Morse, and has since appeared in Peak Practice, the TV dramas Trip Trap, Gobble, and The Broker's Man, as well as Oscar-winning drama The English Patient. Other projects include Paranoid, Silent Cry, Murder in Mind, Purely Belter, Promoted to Glory and The Children. He's now the star of hit Morse spin-off Lewis.

Quote: On John Thaw: 'John had a wonderful sense of humour which is belied sometimes by journalists' impression of him as irascible. He was a wonderful mimic, particularly of people on the set rather than famous people.'

Trivia: Married to actress Madeleine Newton, who appeared alongside him in both Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Inspector Morse. They have two children, Kieran and Kitty. His daughter is an acclaimed opera singer.

Maurice Denham (Actor) .. Rev Lance Mandeville

David Grant (Actor) .. Geoffrey Boyd

Born: August 08, 1956 in London

Best Known For: Being a singer, vocal coach and TV presenter.

Early-life: David was born in London on August 8, 1956. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as a singer. He was a member of the funk duo Linx and had a number of solo hits, including Could It Be I'm Falling in Love, a duet with Jaki Graham.

Career: Grant later became well known as a vocal coach with his second wife Carrie Grant. They worked on Pop Idol and Fame Academy and with a number of leading UK pop acts, including the Spice Girls, Take That, S Club, Will Young and Joss Stone. David and Carrie also worked as judges on BBC talent show The One and Only and hosted their own show, Carrie & David's Popshop. David also appears on the debate show The Wright Stuff and presents episodes of Songs of Praise.

Quote: 'True heroism is very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.'

Trivia: Grant has worked as a session singer for Diana Ross and Rick Astley.

Julian Gartside (Actor) .. Desmond Kelly

Caroline Ryder (Actor) .. Dinah Newberry

Zoe Wanamaker (Actor) .. Emma Pickford

Born: May 13, 1949 in New York

Best Known For: Playing a variety of strong women.

Early-life: Born May 13, 1949, in New York, the daughter of acclaimed actors Charlotte Holland and Sam Wanamaker. At the age of three, her family fled the US before her father could be called by Senator McCarthy's notorious House of Un-American Activities Committee; the family settled in the UK. Zoë decided to become an actress at age 10 after spending a summer in Stratford-Upon-Avon watching her father. Both parents tried to persuade her not to go into the profession but she enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1970.

Career: Wanamaker spent 25 years with the RSC and National Theatre, and continues to appear on stage. She made her TV debut in 1975 in Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill. Her most memorable work has come on the small screen in projects such as Edge of Darkness, the first episode of Prime Suspect, A Dance to the Music of Time, Love Hurts, My Family, David Copperfield, Gormenghast and Doctor Who; she also has a recurring role as Ariadne Oliver in Agatha Christie's Poirot. Films include Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Wilde.

Quote: 'I think there is a niche for Beauty and the Beast, but there are also people who want to see good drama, who want to be moved by something.'

Trivia: Despite her English upbringing, she remains a US citizen and received an honorary CBE in 2000.

Maggie O'Neill (Actor) .. Hilary Dobson

Born: November 15, 1962 in Buckinghamshire

Best Known For: EastEnders and Shameless.

Early-life: Margaret O'Neill was born in Buckinghamshire on November 15, 1962. She was educated at a convent school and was inspired by a sixth-form drama teacher to take up acting. She went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1985, she appeared in the video for Simply Red's Holding Back the Years, before making her stage debut in Moving Pictures at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds.

Career: O'Neill made her big-screen debut in Mona Lisa (1986) and two years later starred in Gorillas in the Mist. Better known for her TV work, she has made guest appearances in a number of programmes and had recurring roles in Take Me Home, Peak Practice, Shameless and EastEnders.

Quote: 'Some people feel guilty if they're not doing something with their day. Not me. I'm a slacker.'

Trivia: She enjoys pilates, yoga and reading.

Sarah Carpenter (Actor) .. Victoria Hazlett

Una Brandon-Jones (Actor) .. Nadine Stacey

Arbel Jones (Actor) .. Jane Barnes

Nicholas Selby (Actor) .. Dr Corder

Eileen Dunwoodie (Actor) .. Mrs Gardam

Kenneth Haigh (Actor) .. Freddy Galt

Tilly Vosburgh (Actor) .. Irene Saunders

Alan Starkey (Actor) .. Rowlands

Ben Onwukwe (Actor) .. Doctor

William Roberts (Actor) .. Hank Briardale

Dorothea Alexander (Actor) .. Mrs Hulme

Josephine Welcome (Actor) .. Judy

Maureen Bennett (Actor) .. Val Lewis

Badi Uzzaman (Actor) .. Chip van owner

James Grout (Actor) .. Chief Supt Strange

Peggy Mount (Actor) .. Nun

Alma Cullen (Writer)

Roy Battersby (Director)

David Lascelles (Producer)

Inspector Morse: Fat Chance

12:00 am - 02:15 am, Saturday, August 29 on ITV3 (10)

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Fat Chance
Season 5, Episode 2

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