The Darling Buds of May - When the Green Woods Laugh - Part Two

David Jason (Actor) .. Pop Larkin

Born: February 02, 1940 in London

Best Known For: His role as Del-Boy in Only Fools and Horses.

Early-life: Born David John White in Finchley, north London, on February 2, 1940, the son of a cleaner and a porter. As a child, he blossomed after appearing in a school play, but he followed his father's wishes and became an electrician. He remained a member of an amateur theatre group until a local newspaper critic advised him he had real talent and should turn professional. He signed up for drama school and joined actors' union Equity, only to be told they already had a David White on their books.

Career: After stints in local theatre, Jason graduated to TV, joining Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Jones for Do Not Adjust Your Set in 1967. In the early 1970s, he appeared in the films White Cargo and Under Milk Wood and played the lead in TV comedy A Sharp Intake of Breath, before being cast opposite Ronnie Barker in the popular sitcom Open All Hours. He worked with the comedian again in 1975 in Porridge when he played old man Blanco, a performance that prompted producers to invite him to audition for the role of Grandad in Only Fools and Horses in 1981. The show's makers decided to cast him as Del-Boy instead after noticing his obvious chemistry with on-screen brother Nicholas Lyndhurst. It turned him into a household name. In the 1980s, he also provided the voices for animated children's favourites, including Danger Mouse and Count Duckula. Jason's huge success continued in the 1990s with The Darling Buds of May and A Touch of Frost. Even though he retired from the role of Det Insp Jack Frost in 2008, after playing the character for 16 years, he claimed to have no plans to retire himself from acting. His recent work includes The Royal Bodyguard and Still Open All Hours.

Quote: "I've never 'felt my age', whatever that means. I think there are a lot of people who feel 22 when in fact they're 62, and there are a lot of youngsters who behave as if they were four times their age. It's an attitude of mind, isn't it?"

Trivia: He was knighted by the Queen in December 2005.

Pam Ferris (Actor) .. Ma Larkin

Born: May 11, 1948 in Hanover, Germany

Best Known For: Her role as Florence ‘Ma' Larkin in The Darling Buds of May.

Early-life: Pamela Ann Ferris was born on May 11, 1948 in Hanover, Germany, to Welsh parents Ann and Fred, who were stationed there while her father served in the Royal Air Force. Ferris spent her childhood in the Llanelli area of Wales, after her father became a police officer, with her mother working in her family's bakery business. Pam's family emigrated to New Zealand when she was 13, but she returned to the UK in her early twenties.

Career: Ferris first made an impact in the 1985 drama series Connie. Other than The Darling Buds of May, she has also appeared in TV shows Hardwicke House, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Paradise Heights, Where the Heart Is, Rosemary & Thyme, Gavin & Stacey and Grandma's House. A "Jill of all trades", Pam has appeared in a number of Royal Court Theatre and Royal National Theatre productions, and in films like Matilda, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, Nativity!, Telstar, and Malice in Wonderland. In 2012, she began playing Sister Evangelina in Call the Midwife.

Quote: "The business [acting] has been extraordinarily kind to me. I have no complaints."

Trivia: In 2014, she was a contestant on The BBC Children in Need Sewing Bee.

Philip Franks (Actor) .. Charley

Catherine Zeta-Jones (Actor) .. Mariette

Born: September 25, 1969 in Swansea

Best Known For: Being Mrs Michael Douglas.

Early-life: Born Catherine Zeta Jones (the hyphen came later) on September 25, 1969, she was raised in Swansea by her Irish mother and Welsh father. The name Zeta was derived from her grandmother. Fiercely ambitious, she became an accomplished singer and actress from a young age, largely as a result of her involvement with the local Catholic congregation's amateur performing troupe. After moving to London to pursue a full-time acting career, she landed her first West End lead role, in the musical 42nd Street.

Career: In 1991, Zeta-Jones became a household name in the UK after starring in the hugely popular The Darling Buds of May on TV alongside David Jason. She then played supporting roles in a variety of films, before Steven Spielberg spotted her and offered her a major part in The Mask of Zorro. Credits have since included The Haunting, Entrapment, High Fidelity and Traffic. In 2002 she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Chicago. Since then, she's appeared in The Terminal, Intolerable Cruelty and Ocean's Twelve. She reprised her role as Elena de la Vega in The Legend of Zorro. She returned to the stage in 2009 and won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance on Broadway in A Little Night Music.

Quote: "For marriage to be a success, every woman and every man should have her and his own bathroom. The end."

Trivia: Zeta-Jones has appeared in TV commercials for T-Mobile and Alfa Romeo.

Moray Watson (Actor) .. Brigadier

Rachel Bell (Actor) .. Edith Pilchester

Michael Culver (Actor) .. Sir George Bluff-Gore

Richenda Carey (Actor) .. Lady Bluff-Gore

John Grillo (Actor) .. Mr Jerebohm

Susie Blake (Actor) .. Mrs Jerebohm

Kika Mirylees (Actor) .. Angela Snow

Arthur White (Actor) .. Uncle Perce

Celia Imrie (Actor) .. Corinne Perigo

Born: July 15, 1952 in Guildford, Surrey

Best Known For: Her association with Victoria Wood.

Early-life: Born Celia Diana Savile Imrie in Guildford, Surrey, on July 15, 1952. Her father, David, a radiographer from Glasgow, didn't live to see his daughter's success, although she believes he would have been very proud. Her Scottish blood has come in handy in playing numerous Celts on the big and small screen, although her original dream was to be a dancer. Unfortunately, a growth spurt in her teens meant she became too tall for ballet. She worked as a cleaner before landing starring roles.

Career: Imrie's first professional jobs in showbusiness were in the chorus of various pantomimes. Her film and TV debuts came in 1974 in House of Whipcord and Upstairs, Downstairs. She continued to gain small roles in various productions, but her big break occurred when Victoria Wood offered her roles in As Seen on TV in 1985. Since then, she's continued to occasionally work with Wood and won a prestigious Olivier Award in 2006 for her role in Acorn Antiques: The Musical. Her other credits include Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Highlander, Gormenghast, Bridget Jones' Diary, Star Wars: Episode One, Doctor Zhivago, Frankenstein, Calendar Girls, Nanny McPhee and St Trinian's (and its sequel). On TV she has also appeared in Kingdom, After You've Gone, Cranford, and the acclaimed one-off drama The Road to Coronation Street.

Quote: On stripping off for Calendar Girls: "I am very happy now that at my time of life I have learned to laugh at my bosom. In years gone by I could never have done all this."

Trivia: In 2013, Imrie received an honorary doctorate by the University of Winchester.

Gawn Grainger (Actor) .. Captain Perigo

Ian Price (Actor) .. Bertie Fanshawe

Jane Downs (Actor) .. Countess Czernikov

John Carlin (Actor) .. Reverend Spink

Harriet Harrison (Actor) .. Ingrid

Ron Meadows (Actor) .. Mr Barlow

Brian Baines (Actor) .. Clerk of the court

Martyn Read (Actor) .. Sergeant Wilson

Anthony Wingate (Actor) .. Court usher

Harry Beety (Actor) .. Hotel commissionaire

Ian Tucker (Actor) .. Montgomery

Julie Davis (Actor) .. Primrose

Christina Giles (Actor) .. Petunia

Katherine Giles (Actor) .. Zinnia

Stephanie Ralph (Actor) .. Victoria

Robert Banks Stewart (Producer)

Robert Tronson (Director)

Bob Larbey (Writer)

The Darling Buds of May: When the Green Woods Laugh - Part Two

09:15 am - 10:30 am, Sunday, January 4 on ITV3 (10)

About this Broadcast

When the Green Woods Laugh - Part Two
Season 1, Episode 4

Cast & Crew

More Information

Did You Know..

Before / After