The Catherine Tate Show

Patsy Palmer (Actor)

Born: May 26, 1972 in London

Best Known For: Playing the ever-screeching Bianca in EastEnders.

Early-life: Born Julie Anne Harris on May 26, 1972, in Bethnal Green. As a child, she enrolled at the famous Anna Scher Workshop and made early TV appearances in The Bill and Grange Hill. She was forced to change her name to avoid a clash with a Hollywood actress with the same moniker. Palmer is her mother's maiden name. Her brother Harry is married to Lindsay Coulson, who plays her on-screen mother in EastEnders.

Career: After numerous small roles in dramas such as Clarissa and Drop the Dead Donkey, Palmer landed her big break in EastEnders, playing the mouthy Bianca Jackson. She became one of the soap's most popular characters and fans were sorry to see her leave after six years. Palmer then landed roles in TV dramas Love Story, Do or Die and McCready and Daughter, which was her biggest post-Walford success. She also appeared in the period drama He Knew He Was Right, had various stage roles and took part in Strictly Come Dancing. She returned to EastEnders in 2008.

Quote: 'You could make a soap about my life. If they did, I'd have to have Ken Loach or Mike Leigh directing it, and there wouldn't be anything glamorous about it, I can tell you that.'

Trivia: In 2011, she was a guest on Piers Morgan's Life Stories.

Gargy Patel (Actor)

Catherine Tate (Actor)

Born: May 12, 1968 in London

Best Known For: The Catherine Tate Show and Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born Catherine Ford on May 12, 1968, in London, she was raised in the distinctive and iconic Bloomsbury Centre by her florist mother Josephine. Catherine has revealed that she suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child. She attended Notre Dame High School for Girls, then the Sylvia Young Theatre School and later graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama and Royal National Theatre. She also spent a year with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Career: Tate's TV career began with small parts in serial dramas Casualty and The Bill, while her comedy talent was nurtured on The Harry Hill Show, Big Train, That Peter Kay Thing and Wild West, a series she made while pregnant. As well as her critically acclaimed comedy series The Catherine Tate Show, she has also appeared in Bleak House, on the West End stage and in the US version of The Office. The comedienne acquired a new set of fans when she became Doctor Who assistant Donna Noble; she reunited with co-star David Tennant in Much Ado About Nothing in London's West End during the summer of 2011.

Quote: Of her Doctor Who appearance, she joked: 'I was holding out for a summer season at Wigan rep but as a summer job this'll do.'

Trivia: Tate is the patron of the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust.

Roger Allam (Actor)

Jennifer Rae Daykin (Actor)

Andy Dennehy (Actor)

Aschlin Ditta (Actor)

Sue Elliot-Nicholls (Actor)

Martin Herdman (Actor)

Charlie Hicks (Actor)

Mathew Horne (Actor)

Richard Lumsden (Actor)

Sally Ann Matthews (Actor)

Brian Murphy (Actor)

Born: September 25, 1933 in Isle of Wight

Best Known For: Playing George Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.

Early-life: Brian was born on the Isle of Wight on September 25, 1933. During his national service at RAF Northwood, he met future actor Richard Briers. On leaving the RAF, Brian and Richard performed in productions by the Dramatic Society at what is now London South Bank University. Brian was also a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, with Yootha Joyce. During the 1960s and the early 1970s, Brian made guest appearances in a number of TV shows, including The Avengers, Z Cars, Sez Les, Callan, and Dixon of Dock Green.

Career: Murphy's big break came in 1974 when he began playing George Roper alongside Joyce in the sitcom Man About the House. Joyce played his long-suffering wife Mildred. The popularity of Murphy and Joyce's characters led to them starring in their own spin-off sitcom George and Mildred. The hugely popular series ran on ITV for five series until 1979 and ended after Joyce died in 1980. Murphy and Joyce also starred in a stage version of George and Mildred and a spin-off movie. Murphy went on to star in The Incredible Mr Tanner, L for Lester, Lame Ducks, One Foot in the Grave, the Booze Cruise TV movies, Last of the Summer Wine, and The Cafe.

Quote: 'I was just coming up to 40 when Man About the House fell into my lap and turned everything around.'

Trivia: Murphy and his wife, actress Linda Regan, have talked about their careers in An Audience with Linda Regan and Brian Murphy.

Siobhan Redmond (Actor)

Georgina Rich (Actor)

Neil Stuke (Actor)

Best Known For: Playing Matthew in Game On.

Early-life: Born in Kent in 1967, Neil Stuke earned a crust working in a clothes shop and as a second-hand car dealer. Eventually put aside dreams of being a drummer to become an actor. Finally hit the big time when he landed a part in Stephen Poliakoff's acclaimed 1993 movie Century.

Career: Stuke appeared in popular dramas Poirot, Between the Lines, Heartbeat and A Touch of Frost. He also featured in Dennis Potter's final TV projects Karaoke and Cold Lazarus. He hit the big time when he took over the role of Matthew, the agoraphobic liar in cult sitcom Game On. Hit projects Sliding Doors, Murder in Mind, Casualty, Grafters and Drop the Dead Donkey also boosted his profile. Has rarely been out of work in the past few years. He appeared on stage in Blue/Orange and Entertaining Mr Sloane. Other projects have included School For Seduction, Faith, Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, The Afternoon Play, The Virgin Queen and Chopratown. His recent work includes playing Chris Jackson in TV sitcom Reggie Perrin, Max in Monday Monday, and Billy Lamb in BBC legal drama Silk.

Quote: 'I've always found acting easy and I get frustrated when I'm not challenged.'

Trivia: In 2014, Stuke was one of the 200 public figures who signed a letter opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum.

Niky Wardley (Actor)

Gordon Anderson (Director)

Geoffrey Perkins (Producer)

Jonathan Harvey (Writer)

9:00 pm - 9:35 pm, Saturday, March 21 on U&W (25)

About this Broadcast

Season 3, Episode 4

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