Waking the Dead - Solidarity: Part One - 12:35 am Friday, February 20 on U&Drama

Trevor Eve (Actor) .. Det Supt Peter Boyd

Born: July 01, 1951 in Birmingham

Best Known For: Playing 1970s detective Shoestring.

Early-life: Trevor John Eve was born on July 1, 1951, in Birmingham, but was raised in Wales. His father was a drinks wholesaler who was 50 when Eve was born. His mother was 15 years younger. He describes his dad as the most frugal man he's ever met, who saved hard to pay for his education. Eve was disappointed to miss out on being captain of his school cricket team, but knew he was never good enough to turn professional. Instead, he decided to become an artist, but later trained as an architect. He never acted until applying to Rada, and to his surprise, they accepted him.

Career: Eve made his professional debut at the Liverpool Playhouse as Paul McCartney in Willy Russell's John, Paul, George, Ringo - and Bert. Singled out for praise, it demonstrated his early promise. He then appeared in West End production Filumena before playing the roguish private eye Shoestring on TV in 1979, the part that made him a household name and a heart-throb. Laurence Olivier was a fan, and hired Eve to star in his TV series Best Plays. Memorable work since includes The Politician's Wife, A Sense of Guilt, Troy, The Family Man and the brilliant BBC drama Waking the Dead, which ended in 2011 after nine series. His other notable work includes playing game show host Hughie Green in Hughie Green, Most Sincerely, the 2010 ITV remake of Bouquet of Barbed Wire, and three-part drama Kidnap and Ransom. He has also worked and lived in the US, but is now settled in London.

Quote: "It's astonishing that people connected to solving crime do the job day after day. I don't know how they escape or where they go for rest and relaxation."

Sue Johnston (Actor) .. Dr Grace Foley

Born: December 07, 1943 in Warrington, Cheshire

Best Known For: The Royle Family and Brookside.

Early-life: Born Susan Johnston on December 7, 1943, in Warrington, Cheshire. Her mother was a housewife, and her father was a plumber who worked his way up to become a clerk of works. While employed at a tax office, Johnston would visit the Cavern in Liverpool during her lunch break. She used to hang around with Paul McCartney, and went to his 21st birthday party. They lost touch until a few years ago when they met during a visit by the Queen to Liverpool. She eventually quit her job and studied at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career: On leaving drama school, Johnston began landing roles in fringe theatre, school workshops and occasional TV appearances in shows such as Coronation Street. She didn't become a famous face until her eight-year stint in Brookside as long-suffering Sheila Grant. She went on to star in Medics, hit comedy The Royle Family (alongside Brookie co-star Ricky Tomlinson), and The Things You Do for Love, in which the actress played former Corrie actress Pat Phoenix. Among her film credits are the award-winning Brassed Off, and crime drama Face, starring Robert Carlyle. Other projects include Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll, Score, My Uncle Silas, Jam & Jerusalem, Waking the Dead and Being Eileen.

Quote: "I'm a character actress, not a glamour one. I like playing a dried-up old stick."

Trivia: Her memoir, Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother, was published in 2011.

Tara Fitzgerald (Actor) .. Dr Eve Lockhart

Wil Johnson (Actor) .. DI Spencer Jordan

Best Known For: Waking the Dead and Emmerdale.

Early-life: Wilbert Johnson was born in London in 1965. His acting training came courtesy of the Mount View theatre drama group in Crouch End, The Haringey Theatre and three years spent at the National Youth Theatre. He made his professional acting debut in the play Four Seasons at the 1985 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He followed this up with guest appearances on TV in Casualty, London's Burning, Dramarama and Mr Don & Mr George.

Career: During the 1990s, Johnson landed recurring roles on Anna Lee and Cracker and starred in the TV movie Babymother. His big break came in 2000 when he was cast in Waking the Dead as Detective Sergeant Spencer Jordan. He remained on the show until it ended in 2011. In 2000, he also landed a recurring role in Paul Abbott's drama Clocking Off. His other TV credits include guest appearances in The Bill and recurring roles on Babyfather, Waterloo Road and Holby City. In 2012, he began playing Dom Andrews in Emmerdale. He left the soap in 2014. His film credits include Adulthood (2008), In a Better World (2010) and Anuvahood (2011).

Quote: "I don't set parameters for myself. I just try to keep myself open to what the next challenge is going to be."

Trivia: To make ends meet between roles, Johnson once worked for an undertaker.

Eva Birthistle (Actor) .. Det Supt Sarah Cavendish

Born: January 01, 1974 in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Best Known For: Playing Roisin Hanlon in Ae Fond Kiss….

Early-life: Born on January 1, 1974 in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. She moved to Derry, Northern Ireland, when she was 14. Eva attended Foyle College before moving to Dublin to study acting at The Gaiety School of Acting.

Career: Birthistle got her first TV role in 1995 in the series Glenroe as Regina Crosbie. The first feature film she landed a role in was All Souls' Day (1997). She then went on to appear in a number of films, including Miracle at Midnight (1998), Breakfast on Pluto (2005) and Imagine Me and You (2005). One of her most notable film roles was her lead part in Ken Loach's Ae Fond Kiss… (2004). She also appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Brooklyn (2015). Birthistle has appeared in a number of TV dramas, including The State Within, The Last Enemy and Waking the Dead. In 2015, she joined the cast of The Last Kingdom.

Quote: "Ultimately, you always dream of having a good script and a really good character that stretches you."

Trivia: Her performance in Ae Fond Kiss… won her Irish Film and Television, London Critics Circle and British Independent Film awards for best actress.

Jonathan Bryan (Actor) .. Hugo Christie

Cara Horgan (Actor) .. Young Lucy Christie

James McGregor (Actor) .. Young Oleg Leontyev

Adam Rayner (Actor) .. Piers Kennedy

Frances Tomelty (Actor) .. Jane Hussey

Kieran Bew (Actor) .. Young Murray Stuart

Born: August 18, 1980 in Hartlepool, County Durham

Best Known For: Playing the lead role in Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands.

Early-life: Born on August 18, 1980 in Hartlepool, County Durham. Kieran attended English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College before going on to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In 1999, he worked as a fight choreographer and captain for productions of Hamlet and Two Noble Kinsmen at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Career: One of Bew's earliest roles was that of PC Smith in the TV series Bedtime in 2002. Since then, he has appeared in episodes of Hustle, Spooks and Where the Heart Is, as well as the TV films Brush with Fate (2003) and Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairy Tale (2003). He has also appeared in the feature films AVP: Alien vs Predator (2004) and Green Street (2005). For a short time from 2005 until 2006, Bew played Benjamin Meadows in The Bill. Since then, he has had roles in such TV series as The Street, Crusoe, Personal Affairs, Silent Witness, WPC 56 and Da Vinci's Demons. In 2016, he played the leading role in ITV's Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands. More recently, he was a voice actor for the video game Mass Effect: Andromeda and he appeared in an episode of Doctor Who.

Quote: "I always love being an actor for the simple fact that, whenever you do a job, you have to read a lot of stuff that you've never read before."

Trivia: When he was a teenager, he competed in fencing competitions in the United Kingdom and Europe. In 1996, he placed 21st at the Cadet World Championships.

Susie Emmett (Actor) .. Young Grace

Elize Du Toit (Actor) .. Young Bonnie Yorke

Michael Cantwell (Actor) .. Young Ralph Palmer

Anna Chancellor (Actor) .. Lucy Christie

Born: April 27, 1965 in Richmond, Surrey

Best Known For: Punching Hugh Grant at the altar in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Early-life: Anna Chancellor was born on April 27, 1965, in Richmond, Surrey, into an aristocratic family. She was the daughter of the Hon Mary Joliffe (daughter of William Jolliffe, 4th Baron Hylton, of the Baron Hyltons) and John Chancellor. Her uncle is journalist Alexander Chancellor and her eight-times great aunt was author Jane Austen. She has spent time living in several countries around the world and has a particular attraction to Zimbabwe. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, but left at the age of 21 when she became pregnant with her daughter, Poppy.

Career: Although Chancellor's first love is the stage, she has extensive film and TV credits to her name. She appeared in Inspector Morse, Poirot and Comedy Playhouse before her big break came in 1994 playing 'Duckface', Hugh Grant's largely hated bride-to-be in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Since then she has had small-screen success in Kavanagh QC and Tipping the Velvet, and appeared in such big-budget outings as A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Agent Cody Banks 2, Breaking and Entering and St Trinian's. She also had a regular role in Spooks.

Quote: "I do try and curb my mouth, but I find it really hard. I wonder how many jobs I've talked myself out of!"

Trivia: Chancellor is one of the Honorary Patrons of the London children's charity Scene & Heard.

Penny Downie (Actor) .. Bonnie Yorke

Jack Shepherd (Actor) .. Ralph Palmer

Born: October 29, 1940 in Leeds

Best Known For: Wycliffe.

Early-life: Jack was born in Leeds on October 29, 1940. He studied fine art at Kings College, Newcastle, and during his time in the North East, he was an amateur actor with the People's Theatre. He went on to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and the Drama Centre London.

Career: Shepherd worked at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1965 to 1969, and during the 1970s, he was a regular on TV, appearing in Budgie, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Bill Brand, Crown Court, and Ready When You Are, Mr McGill. From 1977 to 1985, he was a member of Bill Bryden's Cottesloe Theatre Company at the National Theatre. He continued to work on TV, appearing in the likes of Blind Justice, Shoot to Kill, Between the Lines, Lovejoy, High Stakes, The Jury, Silent Witness, All About George, The Nativity, and The Politician's Husband. The peak of his TV popularity came when he played the title role in ITV detective drama Wycliffe from 1993 to 1998. He has also written and directed a number of stage plays.

Quote: "I got addicted to the creative process when I was at art school, from the age of 18 to 22. I was already writing play sketches and all kinds of things at that time."

Trivia: Shepherd is an accomplished jazz musician. He won an Olivier award in 1984 for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross.

John Shrapnel (Actor) .. John Christie

Roger Ringrose (Actor) .. Oleg Leontyev

John McArdle (Actor) .. Murray Stuart

Born: August 16, 1949 in Liverpool

Best Known For: Playing Billy Corkhill in Brookside and Ronnie Hale in Emmerdale.

Early-life: Born on August 16, 1949 in Liverpool. Before he decided to become a professional actor, John tried other jobs and went to live in Australia for five years. At 26, he became a student at the E15 Drama School. His first TV role was as economics teacher Mr P Todd in Brookside, before he took on the character of Billy Corkhill.

Career: One of McArdle's most notable roles is Billy Corkhill from Brookside, a role he played from 1985 until 1990. Following this, he appeared in a number of soap operas and dramas, including Gallowglass, Firm Friends, Merseybeat and The Bill. He played Oliver Mead, Christopher Mead's father, in Waterloo Road in 2010. In 2016, he joined the cast of Emmerdale as Ronnie Hale.

Quote: "Hardships strengthen you. When I went to drama school at 26, I had so much life experience, I thought I could get through anything."

Trivia: He wrote a book called You Never Said Goodbye, which looks at how he dealt with the death of his father.

Ed Whitmore (Writer)

Andy Hay (Director)

Colin Wratten (Producer)

Waking the Dead: Solidarity: Part One

12:35 am - 01:55 am, Friday, February 20 on U&Drama (20)

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Solidarity: Part One
Season 9, Episode 5

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