The Ghost of Greville Lodge

George Cole (Actor) .. Uncle James

Born: April 22, 1925 in London

Best Known For: Playing Arthur Daley in Minder.

Early-life: George Edward Cole was born in London on April 22, 1925. His mother, whom he never met, abandoned him at 10 days old, and he was adopted by the Cole family. George left school to be a butcher's boy, but won a part in a touring musical and opted for acting instead. At 15 he and his adoptive mother moved in with Alastair Sim's family after he appeared in a film with the thespian. They helped him lose his cockney accent, and he stayed with them until his first marriage at 27.

Career: Cole made his big-screen debut in 1941's Cottage to Let, but didn't achieve fame until he landed the part of Flash Harry in the classic St Trinian's films. He went on to have a successful career on stage, TV and in movies, often appearing opposite mentor Sim in such productions as Scrooge and The Green Man. TV credits include My Good Friend, Dad, An Independent Man, Blott on the Landscape and Minder, which ran for 15 years. In his later years, he appeared in Station Jim, Bodily Harm, Mary Reilly, A Class Apart, and Diamond Geezer. He died on August 6, 2015, after a long illness. He was 90.

Quote: "I made my first film in 1940. I can't think much has changed apart from the equipment and cost."

Trivia: In 2013, Cole published his autobiography, The World Was My Lobster.

Prunella Scales (Actor) .. Sarah

Born: June 22, 1932 in Sutton Abinger, Surrey

Quote: "I remember an American producer coming up to me and saying: 'You're a wonderful actress. Now what are we going to do about your face?'"

Best Known For: Playing Sybil in Fawlty Towers.

Early-life: Born Prunella Margaret Rumney Illingworth on June 22, 1932, in Sutton Arbinger, Surrey. Her mother, Catherine Scales, was an actress, and her father John was a cotton salesman. When the Second World War broke out, her parents rented a farmhouse with no gas or electricity in Suffolk to escape the bombing. As a child, Prunella was shy, but discovered her passion for acting in her teens. She began training at the Old Vic Theatre School at 17, before going on to study at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York.

Career: Following stints in repertory theatre, Scales joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and also appeared in the films Laxdale Hall and Hobson's Choice. In 1963, she starred with Richard Briers in the sitcom Marriage Lines, but didn't become a household name until 1975, when she was cast as the fearsome Sybil in Fawlty Towers. Since then, she has worked regularly in theatre, film and TV. In 1992, she was nominated for a Bafta for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in the Alan Bennett drama A Question of Attribution, and was awarded the OBE in the same year. Other projects include Howards End (alongside son Samuel), The Shell Seekers, An Ideal Husband and Horrid Henry: The Movie.

Trivia: Scales married actor Timothy West in 1963. They have two sons - Samuel and Joseph. She and West embarked on a narrowboating holiday to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary - their jaunt was filmed and turned into a documentary series for More4. During the making of the programme, it was revealed she has a mild form of Alzheimer's.

Jon Newman (Actor) .. James Greville

Rebecca Weeks (Actor) .. Midge

Billy Smith (Actor) .. Ben

Kevin Howarth (Actor) .. Billyboy

Marc Danbury (Actor) .. Social worker

Howard Coggins (Actor) .. Durban

Niall Johnson (Director)

11:05 am - 11:55 am, Saturday, December 27 on 5STAR (32)

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