Down to Earth - Broken Dreams - 4:10 pm Tuesday, January 20 on Great! TV

Chris de Burgh (Actor) .. Himself

Ricky Tomlinson (Actor) .. Tony Murphy

Born: September 26, 1939 in Blackpool

Best Known For: Playing Jim in The Royle Family.

Early-life: Born Eric Tomlinson in Blackpool on September 26, 1939, but has lived mostly in Liverpool. His father was a baker, while his mother had three jobs. He wanted to be a footballer, but playing the banjo in clubs and pubs became more important. After marrying, he moved to Wrexham and worked as a plasterer - which led to his involvement in a 1972 strike and a subsequent prison sentence. Upon his release in 1975, he set himself up as an entertainer, and in 1980 he had a small part in Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff.

Career: Tomlinson's big break came when he landed the role of Bobby Grant in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He stayed with the show for six years until 1988, after which he featured in Ken Loach's gritty drama Riff-Raff. TV projects since then have included Roughnecks, Cracker, Playing the Field and Clocking Off, while his film CV boasts offerings such as The 51st State and Mike Bassett: England Manager. He became a comedy icon 1998 thanks to his role in the comedy series The Royle Family. He opened his own cabaret club, The Green Room, in Liverpool in May 2010. He has reportedly donated £1million to the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

Quote: "I never had acting lessons so I'm still an old ham, probably playing myself most of the time."

Trivia: A play entitled United We Stand tells the story of Tomlinson's incarceration. It toured the UK in 2014.

Denise Welch (Actor) .. Jackie Murphy

Born: May 22, 1958 in Ebchester, Co Durham

Best Known For: Being a former Loose Woman.

Early-life: Born Jacqueline Denise Welch on May 22, 1958, in Ebchester, Co Durham. Her father ran the now defunct Welch's Toffee Company and also performed as a drag act, and her mother was a nurse. Denise enjoyed acting in school productions, but was all set to go to teacher training college until her father and drama teacher convinced her to apply to the Mountview Theatre School instead. She studied there for three years, and began winning stage roles shortly after graduation.

Career: Denise starred in a variety of hit TV dramas including Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Byker Grove, Soldier Soldier and Spender before landing the part of Natalie in Coronation Street in 1997. She stayed on the soap opera for four years but left when she discovered she was pregnant with her second child. She was asked to present This Morning following the departure of Richard and Judy, but turned the offer down. She went on to make appearances in TV shows The Vice, Born and Bred, and Down to Earth, before joining the cast of Waterloo Road. The actress has also hit the charts with the singles You Don't Have to Say You Love Me and Cry Me A River. She was a panellist on Loose Women between 2002 and 2013. In August 2013, she was a contestant on ITV's dancing reality series Stepping Out.

Quote: "I do know that I feel a better wife and better mum the way I lead my life now. That's the wonderful thing - I have two fantastic kids and we're doing really well."

Trivia: Her autobiography, Pulling Myself Together, was published in 2010.

Melanie Kilburn (Actor) .. Lyn Cooper

Zara Dawson (Actor) .. Emma Murphy

Shelley Conn (Actor) .. Kerry Jamil

Rob Collier (Actor) .. Nick Christy

Marc Jordan (Actor) .. Ryan Cooper

Finn Atkins (Actor) .. Kate Cooper

Paul Kaye (Actor) .. Gavin

Born: December 15, 1964 in Dulwich

Best Known For: His character Dennis Pennis - the spoof reporter who pretended to interview celebrities so he could insult or make fun of them.

Early-life: Paul Kaye was born as Ralph Zang on December 15, 1964, in Dulwich, and raised in Wembley, where he studied theatre design and became obsessed with punk rock. Kaye became an avid fan of Arsenal FC at the age of 14. He used to be an in-house graphic designer for rival team Tottenham Hotspur in the late 1980s, but was given the boot for sticking the odd subliminal cannon into their merchandising catalogues. In real-life he's extremely well-spoken - unlike many of his alter-egos.

Career: Kaye got his TV break working on BBC Two's Sunday Show when he was 24, playing Dennis Pennis, a character he invented during evenings out with his friends, never expecting anything to come of it. Despite being a cult hit, Kaye decided to quit playing him when he found it difficult to get interviews with stars. Away from Pennis, he's appeared in comedy series Perfect World and Citizen Kaye, and hosted game show Liar. He has also starred in It's All Gone Pete Tong, Two Thousand Acres of Sky, Kingdom, Skins, Mongrels, Shameless and Being Human.

Quote: Talking to Pierce Brosnan at a celebrity bash: "When I went to see GoldenEye, I was glued to my seat - otherwise I would have left.''

Trivia: He has starred in a number of commercials for betting website BetVictor.

Philip Martin Brown (Actor) .. Trevor (Photographer)

Born: July 09, 1956 in Manchester

Best Known For: Playing Grantly in Waterloo Road.

Early-life: Brown was born in Manchester and attended Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School for Boys; his favourite subject being English. After completing his fifth year, though, he was asked to leave the school, being told he was a 'dreadful troublemaker'.

Career: Brown's acting career spans five decades; his first stint on TV was playing Sam Potter in A Horseman Riding By. He's since gone on to regularly crop up in other British dramas including Midsomer Murders, Casualty, New Tricks, Doctors, Waterloo Road and Death Comes to Pemberley.

Quote: "I work as a supply teacher at my local comprehensive. I have a different teaching style to Grantly - I hope I'm more accessible!"

Trivia: He is a regular performer on the panto circuit.

Matthew Devitt (Actor) .. PC Jim Tully

Cherith Mellor (Actor) .. Vi Hughes

Jake Hendricks (Actor) .. Simon Cole

Daniel Brocklebank (Actor) .. Ben

Born: December 21, 1979 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

Best Known For: Playing Billy Mayhew in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born on December 21, 1979 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. When Daniel was 10, he enrolled in several local amateur dramatic societies and developed a passion for performing. Outside of school, he took private LAMDA tuition and gained a teaching qualification in drama. He was cast in children's TV series Brum in 1994 and his professional acting career began to take off in 1995 when he was cast in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Lord of the Flies. He moved to London in 1996 to study on a musical theatre course at Redroofs Theatre School.

Career: While studying in London, Brocklebank worked on the mini-series Merlin and the film Shakespeare in Love (1998). He has appeared in a number of British TV series over the years, including Born and Bred, Casualty, The Bill and Doctors. He also played Ivan Jones in Emmerdale from the start of 2005 to the end of 2006. Among his film credits are The Hole (2001), Another Life (2001) and The Hours (2002). Brocklebank has had many theatre roles, too, which include performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company in As You Like It and on London's West End in Cressida. Brocklebank had a starring role in British film Release (2010). He joined the cast of Coronation Street in 2014 as Billy Mayhew.

Quote: "I've never been interested in being a celebrity. I love what I do for a living and I'm passionate about the craft and the industry."

Trivia: He is a self-taught pianist and singer.

James Bowers (Actor) .. John

Ty Glaser (Actor) .. Jo

Mark Hyde (Actor) .. Farmer Jo George

Sharon Houlihan (Producer)

Suzie Smith (Writer)

Paul Kousoulides (Director)

Down to Earth: Broken Dreams

4:10 pm - 5:20 pm, Tuesday, January 20 on Great! TV (34)

About this Broadcast

Broken Dreams
Season 5, Episode 6

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