Inspector Morse - Driven to Distraction - 12:00 am Saturday, August 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.

James Grout (Actor) .. Chief Supt Strange

Julia Lane (Actor) .. Jackie Thorn

Tariq Yunus (Actor) .. George

Tessa Wojtczak (Actor) .. Angie Howe

Patrick Malahide (Actor) .. Jeremy Boynton

Born: March 24, 1945 in Reading

Best Known For: Playing Detective Sergeant Chisholm in Minder and a string of other roles.

Early-life: Born Patrick Gerald Duggan in Reading on March 24, 1945. In 1976, he made his TV acting debut in The Flight of the Heron. Since then, the prolific character actor has appeared in a number of TV shows.

Career: Perhaps best known for playing Detective Sergeant Chisholm in the hugely popular ITV comedy drama Minder, Malahide's credits also include The Singing Detective, Middlemarch, Alleyn Mysteries, Five Days, Law & Order: UK, The Paradise and Hunted. More recently, he has starred in Game of Thrones, Indian Summers and Luther. His film credits include The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Billy Elliot (2000). Writing as PG Duggan, he created the BBC TV movie Reasonable Force and the miniseries The Writing on the Wall. Malahide's numerous stage credits include roles in The Crucible, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Beauty and the Beast, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya and Mutabilitie.

Quote: 'If I'm walking past a building site, I get 'Oi, Chisholm' from Minder fans. But if I go to a library, a female librarian will flutter her eyelashes at me because she remembers Middlemarch.'

Trivia: Malahide was nominated for a Bafta TV Award for his role in The Singing Detective.

Richard Huw (Actor) .. Det Const Dearden

Al Ashton (Actor) .. Detective

Will Benton (Actor) .. Detective

Chris Jenkinson (Actor) .. Detective

David Lonsdale (Actor) .. Detective

Christopher Fulford (Actor) .. Tim Ablett

Carolyn Choa (Actor) .. Philippa Lau

Ken Nazarin (Actor) .. Whyting Lau

Mary Jo Randle (Actor) .. DS Siobhan Maitland

Murray Ewan (Actor) .. Security officer

Cheryl Maiker (Actor) .. Paula Steadman

Malcolm Raeburn (Actor) .. Martin Cass

Kate Doherty (Actor) .. Driving Instructor

David Ryall (Actor) .. Derek Whittaker

Jake Wood (Actor) .. Jimmy

Born: July 12, 1972 in London

Best Known For: Playing devious Max Branning in EastEnders.

Early-life: Jake Dylan Wood was born in Westminster on July 12, 1972. He displayed a love of acting as a child. He trained at The Anna Scher Theatre School and began landing roles while still in his teens.

Career: Wood spent several years as a jobbing actor, receiving decent reviews for a varied selection of roles. His first acting part was in the 1985 film Flesh & Blood. He has since made guest appearances in TV series such as May to December, Only Fools and Horses, Murder in Mind, Sean's Show, Inspector Morse, One Foot in the Grave, Red Dwarf, A Touch of Frost, The Bill, Sea of Souls and Doc Martin. He has also starred on the big screen in Vera Drake (2004) and The Illusionist (2006). He appeared in a few episodes of London's Burning as Kevin Medhurst's delinquent brother's friend and also appeared in Miss Marple mystery They Do It with Mirrors. In 2006, he joined EastEnders, playing tough guy and serial womaniser Max Branning. In 2014, he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Quote: 'I knew EastEnders would change my life in terms of the hours I worked and getting recognised, so I did consider it very carefully.'

Trivia: He supports Arsenal.

Lynne Morgan (Actor) .. Sandra

Steve Shill (Actor) .. Deaf salesman

Richard Vanstone (Actor) .. Gerry Firth

James Duggan (Actor) .. Prison warden

David Lascelles (Producer)

Sandy Johnson (Director)

Anthony Minghella (Writer)

Inspector Morse: Driven to Distraction

12:00 am - 02:15 am, Saturday, August 8 on ITV3 (10)

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Driven to Distraction
Season 4, Episode 3

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