New Tricks - The War Against Drugs - 01:00 am Sunday, January 25 on U&Drama

Alun Armstrong (Actor) .. Brian Lane

Born: July 17, 1946 in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, Co Durham

Best Known For: New Tricks.

Early-life: Alun Armstrong was born in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, Co Durham, on July 17, 1946. His father was from Cumberland and his mother was from Co Durham. He attended Consett Grammar School before going to Newcastle University. Unhappy in academia, he took a job as a gravedigger, where a colleague managed to get him an interview for a behind-the-scenes job with a theatre company. That in turn led to acting work.

Career: Armstrong's screen debut came in the classic Michael Caine gangster movie Get Carter in 1971. Other early roles included parts in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Softly, Softly and The Sweeney. His many other TV roles include Austin Donaghue in Our Friends in the North, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Jefferson in In the Red, and George Mole in Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years, alongside Alison Steadman. Film credits include The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Krull (1983), American Friends (1991), Patriot Games (1992) and Braveheart (1995). He has won countless accolades for his classic stage roles. He is currently best known for playing the role of Brian Lane in popular BBC series New Tricks, a part he played for 10 series.

Quote: "I'm more concerned about losing my marbles than losing parts - especially when it comes to learning lines!"

Trivia: Armstrong originated the role of Thénardier in the London production of Les Misérables and won an Olivier Award for playing the title role in Sweeney Todd.

James Bolam (Actor) .. Jack Halford

Born: June 16, 1935 in Sunderland

Best Known For: Being a Likely Lad.

Early-life: Born James Christopher Bolam on June 16, 1935, in Sunderland. His father died when he was young. The family left the North East when James was 12, and he attended school in Derby. There was no showbiz influence in his family, but Bolam went to the cinema every Saturday and that inspired him to try acting. He briefly worked as a trainee chartered accountant, before winning a place at the Central Drama School in London. He made his professional stage debut at the Royal Court in 1959.

Career: Bolam appeared on stage alongside Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, then followed it up with films The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and A Kind of Loving, before being cast as cynical Terry Collier in The Likely Lads in 1964. He agreed to reprise the role in Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? nine years later. James went on to star in When the Boat Comes In, Only When I Laugh and Alan Plater's Beiderbecke trilogy. He has also appeared in Clockwork Mice, The End of the Affair, Born and Bred, Grandpa in My Pocket, To Kill a King and controversial feature-length drama Shipman, about serial killer doctor Harold Shipman. He starred in New Tricks between 2003 and 2012 and continues to appear on stage.

Quote: "I'm suddenly popular again. I don't know why."

Trivia: He was awarded an MBE in 2009.

Amanda Redman (Actor) .. Sandra Pullman

Born: August 12, 1957 in Brighton

Best Known For: At Home with the Braithwaites and New Tricks.

Early-life: Amanda Jacqueline Redman was born in Brighton on August 12, 1957, the eldest of two children. She poured a saucepan of boiling soup over her torso and left arm when she was 18 months old and needed regular skin grafts until she was five. She studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She was shattered after her father died suddenly when she was 20.

Career: Redman first attracted attention in 1981 with her steamy film debut in Richard's Things. Roles proved sporadic in that decade, but her career took off in 1991 when she played Roberta in Spender, and Sally in The Men's Room. Bigger roles followed, such as Dr Joanna Stevens in Dangerfield in 1995. She hit the headlines in 1998, first with Close Relations which featured a ménage à trois, then as Diana Dors for glossy drama The Blonde Bombshell. Her small-screen success was consolidated with roles as a teacher in Hope and Glory and as lottery winner Alison in At Home with the Braithwaites - but she has also appeared in the films Sexy Beast (2000) and Mike Bassett: England Manager (2005). She starred in popular BBC drama New Tricks between 2003 and 2013. More recently, she starred in TV movie Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This.

Quote: "If you're seen as a strong woman, men think you don't need protecting. Yet, underneath it all, I'm quite vulnerable."

Trivia: Redman received an MBE in 2012.

Dennis Waterman (Actor) .. Gerry Standing

Born: February 24, 1948 in Clapham

Best Known For: The Sweeney, Minder, and New Tricks.

Early-life: Born February 24, 1948, in Clapham, south London, the youngest of nine children, the son of a British Rail ticket collector. As a child he attended the Corona Theatre School and began his professional career with a role in Snowball, a 1960 Children's Film Foundation production. The same year he made Night Train to Inverness, and was asked to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. Playing William in a TV series based on the Just William books made him a star. He then tried to break into Hollywood.

Career: At 16, Waterman returned to Britain and concentrated on stage work until an acclaimed performance in 1968's Up the Junction led to more film roles. Low-budget movies (such as Scars of Dracula) and TV shows (including Colditz) followed until, in 1974, he co-starred with John Thaw in Regan, the pilot episode of iconic series The Sweeney, which became a major TV hit. A 10-year stint in comedy drama Minder followed. Other projects include TV shows On the Up, Stay Lucky, and Circles of Deceit. He's also worked on the stage, most notably in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, and My Fair Lady. As Gerry Standing, in BBC drama New Tricks, he has introduced himself to a new generation of fans.

Quote: "If I am not such a hell-raiser any more, it isn't because I've given up. It's just that my energy levels have fallen. I haven't stopped looking at women. I'm not blind."

Trivia: He has made several records, including, famously, the theme tunes of several of his TV shows.

Anthony Calf (Actor) .. DAC Robert Strickland

Susan Jameson (Actor) .. Esther Lane

Richard Wilson (Actor) .. Fr Bernard

Born: July 09, 1937 in Greenock, Renfrewshire

Best Known For: His role as acerbic pensioner Victor Meldrew.

Early-life: Iain Richard Wilson was born on July 9, 1936, in Greenock, Renfrewshire. He has an older sister called Moira. His father worked in the shipyards and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Wilson claims to have been teased at school due to his slight frame. On leaving school, Wilson became a hospital laboratory technician, did National Service and eventually got into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) at the age of 27. After graduating, he concentrated largely on theatre work.

Career: Wilson has film credits, sitcoms and top dramas to his name. Only When I Laugh, Tutti Frutti and A Passage to India are among them, but it is probably for the character of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave that he will be best remembered. The series was written with him in mind by David Renwick, though Wilson turned it down at first, believing he was too young to play a retired man. Luckily, he changed his mind and a TV legend was born. Since then he's appeared in such projects as Born and Bred, Doctor Who, and he had a regular role in BBC hit Merlin. Away from the small screen, he continues to direct plays and was awarded an OBE in 1994.

Quote: "I do find it quite easy to get angry, especially after a hard day. In public, you have to try and rein in your temper because people try and goad you into it."

Trivia: He lent his voice to a character in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet.

Malcolm Storry (Actor) .. Brother Raymond

Nick Sidi (Actor) .. Brother Mark

David Michaels (Actor) .. Neil Barclay

Fay Ripley (Actor) .. Anna Greening

Born: June 28, 1966 in London

Best Known For: Playing Jenny Gifford in Cold Feet and those Tesco ads.

Early-life: Born on June 28, 1966, in Wimbledon. Her parents separated when she was two years old. Abandoning her childhood ambition to become a nurse, she decided to go into acting. She took an A-level in drama and during her time at college, performed her own small shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It took three attempts before she was accepted into the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. To support herself, she was a door-to-door saleswoman, worked as a receptionist and spent five years as a children's entertainer.

Career: Ripley's first acting role after graduating drama school was playing Osatko in the chorus of Around the World in 80 Days at the Liverpool Playhouse during the 1990-91 pantomime season. Following minor roles in film and TV, her big break came in 1996 when she landed a role in Cold Feet; she later became the only cast member to be nominated for a BAFTA award. Ripley left the drama during series four, but made a guest appearance in the final episode. After Cold Feet, she appeared in Bedtime, Reggie Perrin, Monday Monday and a long-running series of Tesco adverts with Mark Addy.

Quote: "Cold Feet completely changed my career - well, I didn't really have one before."

Trivia: She was the voice of Meg in the animated children's series Meg and Mog, and she has released two cookbooks.

Zoe Henry (Actor) .. Natalie Joyner

Born: September 03, 1973 in England

Best Known For: Playing Rhona in Emmerdale.

Early-life: Zoe was born on September 3, 1973. She studied for an acting degree at the Manchester Metropolitan University School of Television & Theatre. She won the Manchester Evening News Best Actress award in 2002 for playing Eliza Doolittle in her university's production of Pygmalion. Her first TV credit was a small part in an episode of Cold Feet in 1998.

Career: In 2001, Henry secured the role of new vet Rhona Goskirk in Emmerdale. She played the character for a month before returning for eight months in 2002. After leaving Emmerdale, Henry had roles in the likes of A Touch of Frost, Conviction, Holby City, Coronation Street, Doctors, The Bill, Casualty, New Tricks and EastEnders. She returned to Emmerdale in 2010. Henry is married to Emmerdale co-star Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle.

Quote: "It's fab to be working alongside Jeff. I thought it would be a bit weird for him, but he's been so cool about the whole thing."

Trivia: Henry worked as a care worker while training to be an actress.

Lizzy McInnerny (Actor) .. Claire Makepiece

Steven Elder (Actor) .. Alen Smith

Keith Bartlett (Actor) .. Norman Smith

Peter Sullivan (Actor) .. Curtis McCormack

George Burton (Actor) .. Alen Greening

Keith Thompson (Producer)

Martyn Friend (Director)

Roy Mitchell (Writer)

New Tricks: The War Against Drugs

01:00 am - 02:00 am, Sunday, January 25 on U&Drama (20)

About this Broadcast

The War Against Drugs
Season 6, Episode 1

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