Home to Roost: The Way We Were
02:25 am - 02:50 am, Friday, January 30 on Great! TV (34)
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About this Broadcast
The Way We Were
Season 1, Episode 7
As his parents' anniversary approaches, Matthew decides to reunite them, hoping a little time in each other's company will pave the way for a permanent reconciliation. Sheila Hancock guest stars, alongside Reece Dinsdale and John Thaw
Comedy
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
John Thaw
(Actor)
.. Henry Willows
Reece Dinsdale
(Actor)
.. Matthew Willows
Elizabeth Bennett
(Actor)
.. Enid Thompson
Sheila Hancock
(Actor)
.. Sue
Eric Chappell
(Writer)
David Reynolds
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
John Thaw
(Actor)
.. Henry Willows
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.
Reece Dinsdale
(Actor)
.. Matthew Willows
Born:
August 06, 1959
in
Normanton, West Yorkshire
Best Known For:
Playing ill-fated Joe McIntyre in Coronation Street.
Early-life:
Reece Dinsdale was born on August 6, 1959, in Normanton, West Yorkshire. He trained at the Guildford School of Music and Drama from 1977 to 1980 then honed his craft on stage in Nottingham, Birmingham and at the Edinburgh Festival. He made his TV debut in 1981 thriller Knife Edge before landing a part in the series Partners in Crime in 1983. He was much in demand in 1984, appearing in an episode of Minder, apocalyptic drama Threads and acclaimed Michael Palin film A Private Function. In the years that followed he paid the rent with a string of projects, including Bergerac, Robin of Sherwood and The Storyteller.
Career:
In 1985 Dinsdale landed a key role in Eric Chappell's sitcom Home to Roost, starring alongside John Thaw. It ran for five years and paved the way for Haggard, ITV's answer to Blackadder, also penned by Chappell. In 1995, he starred in ID, a movie about football hooligans, and a year later landed the role of DI Charlie Scott in detective drama Thief Takers. Other notable projects have included Kenneth Branagh's film version of Hamlet, Conviction, Life on Mars, The Chase and Coronation Street; he appeared in 175 episodes of the Weatherfield soap. Recent offerings have included roles in Taggart and Waterloo Road.
Quote:
"I was more nervous coming on to the show [Corrie] than anything else I've done in my career."
Trivia:
In 2012, he directed the one-off drama The Crossing.
Elizabeth Bennett
(Actor)
.. Enid Thompson
Sheila Hancock
(Actor)
.. Sue
Born:
February 22, 1933
in
Blackgang, Isle of Wight
Best Known For:
Her roles in a string of hit TV programmes and plenty of stints on the stage.
Early-life:
Born Sheila Cameron Hancock on February 22, 1933, in Blackgang, Isle of Wight, but was brought up in London where her parents worked in pubs. During the Second World War, she was evacuated to Berkshire. At only eight years old, she found the experience traumatic and was bullied by the local children. Once back with her parents, Sheila won a grammar school scholarship, where she began acting. She went on to study drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada).
Career:
For nine years after leaving Rada, Hancock worked in theatre. Her breakthrough came in 1960s sitcom The Rag Trade. Other early productions include Carry On Cleo, But Seriously, It's Sheila Hancock, and How I Won the War. Roles in Brighton Belles, The Buccanneers, Love and Death on Long Island, Bedtime and EastEnders propelled her further into the spotlight. She took a break from acting when her husband John Thaw fell ill, but returned with Fortysomething in 2003. Hancock continues to work on stage and screen, and in 2010 was a judge alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber on talent search Over the Rainbow. She's also written two acclaimed memoirs. She also regularly works in radio.
Quote:
"I can't be bothered to go through the process of getting to know somebody and to pretend you are something else or whatever you do for them. I like my privacy now, I like my freedom.'
Trivia:
Hancock's first husband Alec Ross died of oesophageal cancer in 1971. Two years later, she married actor John Thaw, who was killed by the same disease in 2002. Sheila and John each had a daughter from their previous marriages, and one between them - all three girls are actresses.
Eric Chappell
(Writer)
David Reynolds
(Director)
