The Catherine Tate Show

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.

Martin Akehurst (Actor)

Nigel Betts (Actor)

Lorna Brown (Actor)

Jennifer Rae Daykin (Actor)

Andy Dennehy (Actor)

Aschlin Ditta (Actor)

Charlie Hicks (Actor)

Mathew Horne (Actor)

Melanie Hudson (Actor)

Richard Lumsden (Actor)

Jonathan McGuinness (Actor)

Angela McHale (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.

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)

Dominic West (Actor)

Born: October 15, 1969 in Sheffield

Best Known For: Playing McNulty in The Wire.

Early-life: Dominic Gerard Fe West was born on October 15, 1969, in Sheffield. He's of Irish descent but grew up in a village just outside the South Yorkshire city. His father, George, owned a plastics factory. His mother, Moya, was a housewife. West is the youngest of six children and was educated at Eton, where he was encouraged to take up acting as a career. After leaving school, he spent several months as a cattle-herder in Argentina before gaining an English Literature degree from Trinity College, Dublin.

Career: West enjoyed early success on the stage, and appeared in several movies, including Spice World and Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace before taking a break to join the acrobatic Argentinean circus De La Guarda. He then had a supporting role in Chicago before landing the part of drunken but lovable detective McNulty in hugely acclaimed TV series The Wire. West has also appeared in 300, Hannibal Rising and The Devil's Whore. In 2011 he received critical acclaim for his roles as TV news anchor Hector Madden in the 1950s-set BBC drama The Hour and serial killer Fred West in ITV1 drama Appropriate Adult. He also continues to appear on stage, most notably in his native Sheffield.

Quote: 'I don't know why British actors are getting big parts in American TV shows. Maybe it's because we're cheap.'

Trivia: Away from acting, he's a Sheffield Wednesday supporter.

Paul O'Grady (Actor) .. Himself

Born: June 14, 1955 in Birkenhead

Best Known For: Being Lily Savage's alter ego.

Early-life: Paul James Michael O'Grady was born in Birkenhead on 14 June, 1955 - his mother's maiden name was Savage. He enjoyed dressing up and performing, but after leaving school got a job as a clerical assistant. During the 1970s, he also worked as a cleaner for Cleo Laine and as a waiter in a Manila brothel. He moved to London in the early 1980s and became a social worker, but to supplement his income worked in a pub that hosted regular amateur drag nights. He began performing as Lily Savage in 1985.

Career: O'Grady/Savage was soon popular enough to play large venues. He also acted, taking a small role in the film In the Name of the Father in 1993. In 1995, Lily became a regular on The Big Breakfast, which led to the character presenting Blankety Blank and her own series, Lily Live, as well as winning a part in the stage production of Annie. In 2000, he ditched the drag to host TV travelogue Paul O'Grady's Orient and its sequel Paul O'Grady's America. He played the Child Catcher on stage in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and starred in BBC sitcom Eyes Down. He's also hosted his own chat shows on ITV and Channel 4 and published several autobiographies.

Quote: 'Animals are good for the soul.'

Trivia: He divides his time between his homes in London and Kent, where he cares for numerous animals.

Jonathan Harvey (Writer)

Gordon Anderson (Director)

Geoffrey Perkins (Producer)

9:35 pm - 10:15 pm, Saturday, March 21 on U&W (25)

About this Broadcast

Season 3, Episode 5

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