Inspector Morse - Absolute Conviction - 06:00 am Sunday, February 8 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.

Diana Quick (Actor) .. Mrs Stevens

Sean Bean (Actor) .. Alex Bailey

Born: April 17, 1959 in Sheffield

Best Known For: Blunt-talking soldier Sharpe.

Early-life: Born Shaun Mark Bean in Sheffield on April 17, 1959, the elder of two children. A fanatical Sheffield United supporter with "100% Blade" tattooed on his shoulder, he left school at 16 with two O-Levels. His first job was working for his father's welding firm, and while he was doing a day-release course at college he stumbled on an acting class. He was later accepted into Rada and made his professional stage debut in 1983 as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.

Career: Sean worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his TV debut in a 1984 episode of The Bill. Roles in The Fifteen Streets, Stormy Monday and Patriot Games followed before Lady Chatterley and the first Sharpe TV movies made him a household name in 1993. Other work includes A Woman's Guide to Adultery, Bravo Two Zero, GoldenEye, Ronin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Equilibrium, Troy, National Treasure and HBO TV series Game of Thrones. He is one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors and always has a number of productions in the pipeline.

Quote: "I don't have any problems with women seeing me as their ideal bit of 'rough'. Why would I?"

Trivia: He has voiced characters in a number of video games.

Jim Broadbent (Actor) .. Charlie Bennett

Born: May 24, 1949 in Lincoln

Best Known For: Iris, Moulin Rouge! and Bridget Jones's Diary.

Early-life: Born May 24, 1949, in Lincoln, the youngest of three children. Father Roy was a furniture maker, who also renovated a Methodist chapel, turning it into a theatre, which was renamed the Broadbent Theatre after his death in 1971. Mother Dee was a sculptress and a keen amateur thespian. Jim attended a Quaker boarding school in Reading and, after passing his A-levels, attended art college. His heart lay in acting and he later transferred to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career: Broadbent caught the eye of casting directors following Illuminatus in 1976, a 12-hour sci-fi production. He worked with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and as the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man comedy troupe he co-founded with Patrick Barlow. Despite originally turning down the role of Del Boy, he played bent copper Roy Slater in Only Fools and Horses. Bigger parts came in the 1990s, in such projects as Life Is Sweet, Bullets Over Broadway, Richard III and Topsy-Turvy. He also starred in Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, Iris (for which he won an Oscar), Gangs of New York, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and two Harry Potter movies. His recent work includes The Iron Lady, Cloud Atlas, Le Week-End, The Harry Hill Movie, Paddington and Get Santa.

Quote: "As an actor, I'm quite prepared to look silly. I don't mind looking like a complete berk."

Trivia: He reportedly declined an OBE in 2002.

Suzanna Hamilton (Actor) .. Mrs Emma Cryer

James Grout (Actor) .. Chief Superintendent Strange

Steven Mackintosh (Actor) .. DS Cheetham

Born: April 30, 1967 in Cambridge

Best Known For: Playing a drug-dealer in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Early-life: Steven Mackintosh was born on April 30, 1967, in Cambridge. He caught the drama bug and got his first acting job at 13. When more roles started flooding in, he had to decide between going to drama school or carrying on with his conventional education. He decided to pursue acting.

Career: Mackintosh made his TV debut in 1983 series Nanny, and went on to appear in Doctor Who, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4,The Bill, Care (for which he won a Royal Television Society Award), London Kills Me, The Buddha of Suburbia, Cadfael, Blue Juice, Prime Suspect, Undercover Heart and The Land Girls. He won Best Actor at the Brussels International Film Festival for his part in gender-bending comedy Different for Girls. Theatre roles have included Brighton Beach Memoirs and My Zinc Bed. His recent work includes Underworld: Evolution (and its second sequel), Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole in My Heart, Criminal Justice, Mo, and Luther.

Quote: "I'm not ambitious to be well-known, or for the accolades, but I am to do the stuff I like."

Richard Wilson (Actor) .. Brian Thornton

Born: July 09, 1937 in Greenock, Renfrewshire

Best Known For: His role as acerbic pensioner Victor Meldrew.

Early-life: Iain Richard Wilson was born on July 9, 1936, in Greenock, Renfrewshire. He has an older sister called Moira. His father worked in the shipyards and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Wilson claims to have been teased at school due to his slight frame. On leaving school, Wilson became a hospital laboratory technician, did National Service and eventually got into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) at the age of 27. After graduating, he concentrated largely on theatre work.

Career: Wilson has film credits, sitcoms and top dramas to his name. Only When I Laugh, Tutti Frutti and A Passage to India are among them, but it is probably for the character of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave that he will be best remembered. The series was written with him in mind by David Renwick, though Wilson turned it down at first, believing he was too young to play a retired man. Luckily, he changed his mind and a TV legend was born. Since then he's appeared in such projects as Born and Bred, Doctor Who, and he had a regular role in BBC hit Merlin. Away from the small screen, he continues to direct plays and was awarded an OBE in 1994.

Quote: "I do find it quite easy to get angry, especially after a hard day. In public, you have to try and rein in your temper because people try and goad you into it."

Trivia: He lent his voice to a character in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet.

Tony Steedman (Actor) .. Lawrence Cryer

Luke Williams (Actor) .. George Newcombe

Robert Pugh (Actor) .. Harris

Cheryl Hall (Actor) .. Laura

David Howey (Actor) .. Dr Stephen Archer

Sue Johnston (Actor) .. Mrs Bailey

Born: December 07, 1943 in Warrington, Cheshire

Best Known For: The Royle Family and Brookside.

Early-life: Born Susan Johnston on December 7, 1943, in Warrington, Cheshire. Her mother was a housewife, and her father was a plumber who worked his way up to become a clerk of works. While employed at a tax office, Johnston would visit the Cavern in Liverpool during her lunch break. She used to hang around with Paul McCartney, and went to his 21st birthday party. They lost touch until a few years ago when they met during a visit by the Queen to Liverpool. She eventually quit her job and studied at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career: On leaving drama school, Johnston began landing roles in fringe theatre, school workshops and occasional TV appearances in shows such as Coronation Street. She didn't become a famous face until her eight-year stint in Brookside as long-suffering Sheila Grant. She went on to star in Medics, hit comedy The Royle Family (alongside Brookie co-star Ricky Tomlinson), and The Things You Do for Love, in which the actress played former Corrie actress Pat Phoenix. Among her film credits are the award-winning Brassed Off, and crime drama Face, starring Robert Carlyle. Other projects include Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll, Score, My Uncle Silas, Jam & Jerusalem, Waking the Dead and Being Eileen.

Quote: "I'm a character actress, not a glamour one. I like playing a dried-up old stick."

Trivia: Her memoir, Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother, was published in 2011.

Kevin Walsh (Actor) .. Andy Metcalfe

June Watson (Actor) .. Mrs Harris

David Fielder (Actor) .. Prison chaplain

Susan Doran (Actor) .. Young doctor

James Aubrey (Actor) .. Pathologist

Sue Withers (Actor) .. Court usher

Richard Hampton (Actor) .. Coroner

Paul Dalton (Actor) .. Photographer

Peter Lee-Wilson (Actor) .. Journalist

Preston Lockwood (Actor) .. College chaplain

Georgia Mitchell (Actor) .. Doctor in casualty

John Brown (Writer)

Antonia Bird (Director)

Deirdre Keir (Producer)

Inspector Morse: Absolute Conviction

06:00 am - 08:10 am, Sunday, February 8 on ITV3 (10)

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Absolute Conviction
Season 6, Episode 4

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