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John Thaw stars in this adaptation of Michelle Magorian's wartime novel as Tom Oakley, an irascible widower whose life is changed for ever when nine-year-old London evacuee Willie is billeted in his cottage. The youngster takes to village life and the pair develop a strong bond - which looks set to be broken when Willie's tyrannical mother summons him back to the capital. Co-starring Nick Robinson and Annabelle Apsion
1998
HD
subtitles
16x9
audio-description
Family
Historical/Period Drama
Literary Adaptation
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
John Thaw
(Actor)
.. Tom Oakley
Nick Robinson
(Actor)
.. William Beech
Mossie Smith
(Actor)
.. Mrs Fletcher
William Armstrong
(Actor)
.. Dr Stelton
Annabelle Apsion
(Actor)
.. Mrs Beech
John Cater
(Actor)
.. Dr Little
Geoffrey Hutchings
(Actor)
.. Ralph Briggs
Thomas Orange
(Actor)
.. Zacharias Wrench
Geoffrey Beevers
(Actor)
.. Vicar
Peter England
(Actor)
.. Michael Fletcher
Ivan Berry
(Actor)
.. George Fletcher
Harry Capehorn
(Actor)
.. Edward Fletcher
Merelina Kendall
(Actor)
.. Mrs Holland
Marlene Sidaway
(Actor)
.. Mrs Webster
Denyse Alexander
(Actor)
.. Mrs Little
Avril Elgar
(Actor)
.. Mrs Ford
Michael Cronin
(Actor)
.. Matthew Parfitt
Pauline Turner
(Actor)
.. Annie Hartridge
Thomas Russell
(Actor)
.. David Hartridge
Stephanie Perry
(Actor)
.. Ginnie Thatcher
Tanya Perry
(Actor)
.. Carrie Thatcher
Mary Healey
(Actor)
.. Gladys Rigby
Toby Whithouse
(Actor)
.. Dr Perry
Caroline Lintott
(Actor)
.. Nurse Green
Robert Oates
(Actor)
.. PC Charnock
Charles Kay
(Actor)
.. Mr Greenaway
Edward Clayton
(Actor)
.. Train guard
Hugh Hayes
(Actor)
.. Police constable
Brian Finch
(Writer)
Ted Childs
(Executive producer)
Lewis Rudd
(Executive producer)
Chris Burt
(Producer)
Jack Gold
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
John Thaw
(Actor)
.. Tom Oakley
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.
Nick Robinson
(Actor)
.. William Beech
Mossie Smith
(Actor)
.. Mrs Fletcher
William Armstrong
(Actor)
.. Dr Stelton
Annabelle Apsion
(Actor)
.. Mrs Beech
John Cater
(Actor)
.. Dr Little
Geoffrey Hutchings
(Actor)
.. Ralph Briggs
Thomas Orange
(Actor)
.. Zacharias Wrench
Geoffrey Beevers
(Actor)
.. Vicar
Peter England
(Actor)
.. Michael Fletcher
Ivan Berry
(Actor)
.. George Fletcher
Harry Capehorn
(Actor)
.. Edward Fletcher
Merelina Kendall
(Actor)
.. Mrs Holland
Marlene Sidaway
(Actor)
.. Mrs Webster
Denyse Alexander
(Actor)
.. Mrs Little
Avril Elgar
(Actor)
.. Mrs Ford
Michael Cronin
(Actor)
.. Matthew Parfitt
Pauline Turner
(Actor)
.. Annie Hartridge
Thomas Russell
(Actor)
.. David Hartridge
Stephanie Perry
(Actor)
.. Ginnie Thatcher
Tanya Perry
(Actor)
.. Carrie Thatcher
Mary Healey
(Actor)
.. Gladys Rigby
Toby Whithouse
(Actor)
.. Dr Perry
Caroline Lintott
(Actor)
.. Nurse Green
Robert Oates
(Actor)
.. PC Charnock
Charles Kay
(Actor)
.. Mr Greenaway
Edward Clayton
(Actor)
.. Train guard
Hugh Hayes
(Actor)
.. Police constable
Brian Finch
(Writer)
Ted Childs
(Executive producer)
Lewis Rudd
(Executive producer)
Chris Burt
(Producer)
Jack Gold
(Director)
