Inspector Morse - The Death of the Self - 08:15 am Saturday, February 7 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.

James Grout (Actor) .. Chief Superintendent Strange

Frances Barber (Actor) .. Nicole Burgess

Born: May 13, 1958 in Wolverhampton

Best Known For: A string of performances on the stage and the small screen.

Early-life: Born May 13, 1958, the fourth of six children from a working class family in Wolverhampton. She couldn't afford to go to drama school; instead, she did a postgraduate degree in theatre studies at Cardiff University. At one point considered working for the Samaritans: "I went to a Samaritans meeting and had an initiation period, but it wasn't for me."

Career: Started acting with Hull Truck Theatre Company, and by 25 had been accepted by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Had bit parts in Michael Palin comedy The Missionary, and A Zed and Two Noughts. Achieved a mainstream breakthrough in 1987 with the movies Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and Prick Up Your Ears. Has worked steadily since, with highlights including epic miniseries Rhodes, John Thaw drama Plastic Man, and Michael Caine movie Shiner. Other projects have included the Pet Shop Boys' West End musical Closer To Heaven, and TV offerings Manchild, The IT Crowd, New Tricks, Where The Heart Is, Funland, Doctor Who, The Fattest Man in Britain, Silk, The Spa, and Psychobitches.

Quote: "It wasn't meant to happen to a girl from Wolverhampton."

Trivia: In 2005, she appeared alongside Ian McKellen in the Old Vic's pantomime production of Aladdin.

Georges Corraface (Actor) .. Claudio Battisti

Michael Kitchen (Actor) .. Russell Clark

Born: October 31, 1948 in Leicester

Best Known For: Foyle's War.

Early-life: Born October 31, 1948, in Leicester. As a boy, he was the head chorister in the Church of the Martyrs choir. The acting bug bit early, and he started treading the boards with the National Youth Theatre and later the Belgrade Theatre. He then went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he won the Emile Littler Award, which is given to students with outstanding talent and aptitude for the professional theatre. He graduated in 1969.

Career: Kitchen immediately began gaining roles on stage, quickly building a reputation for himself. He was also keen to shun small parts in glossy productions, preferring to play larger roles in less well-attended plays. He made his movie debut in 1971's little-seen Unman, Wittering and Zigo, following it up with Dracula AD 1972. Since then, he's worked steadily on TV and in films. Among his most famous projects are Brimstone and Treacle, Breaking Glass, Out of Africa, The Russia House, Dandelion Dead, A&E and the hugely acclaimed TV series Foyle's War. He also appeared in two of Pierce Brosnan's Bond movies and starred in ITV's 2007 drama Mobile.

Quote: On playing criminals: "I've done quite a few very unpleasant, extremely nasty people and they keep coming - but there seems to be a lot more money in evil, so I'm happy to take them."

Trivia: Kitchen has two sons with Rowena Miller, whom he met while she was a dresser at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the late 1980s.

Chris Hunter (Actor) .. Andreas Heller

Julia Goodman (Actor) .. May Lawrence

Kate Harper (Actor) .. Patti Wilcox

Alan Rowe (Actor) .. Alistair Haines

Jane Snowden (Actor) .. Maureen Dyson

Jane Wenham (Actor) .. Judith Haines

Peter Blythe (Actor) .. Kenneth Lawrence

Cesare Landricina (Actor) .. Driver Ponso

Jolyon Baker (Actor) .. Guido Ventura

Giorgio Serafini (Actor) .. Thomaso Salafia

Tatyana Columbo (Actor) .. Piera Conti

Valeria Fabbri (Actor) .. Nicole's dresser

Allan Mitchell (Actor) .. Coroner

Deirdre Keir (Producer)

Colin Gregg (Director)

Alma Cullen (Writer)

Inspector Morse: The Death of the Self

08:15 am - 10:25 am, Saturday, February 7 on ITV3 (10)

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The Death of the Self
Season 6, Episode 3

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