Hamish Macbeth - The Honourable Policeman - 12:40 am Saturday, December 20 on U&Drama

Robert Carlyle (Actor) .. Hamish Macbeth

Born: April 14, 1961 in Glasgow

Best Known For: The Full Monty.

Early-life: Robert Carlyle was born in Glasgow on April 14, 1961. His mother left home when he was four. He was raised by his father in a succession of communes in England and Scotland. After leaving school with no qualifications, Carlyle followed in his father's footsteps by working as a painter and decorator. At 21, he bought a copy of Arthur Miller's classic play The Crucible, which inspired him to become an actor. He studied at the Glasgow Arts Centre and the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music And Drama.

Career: Carlyle co-founded the Raindog theatre group in Glasgow in 1990 and his big break came in the same year when director Ken Loach cast him in the film Riff-Raff. Four years later, he won a Scottish Bafta for his performance as murderer Albie Kinsella in a three-part episode of Cracker. The lead role in Hamish Macbeth followed in 1995. He caught Hollywood's attention after appearing in Trainspotting and The Full Monty. He has also starred in Plunkett and Macleane, Angela's Ashes, The Beach, Bond film The World Is Not Enough, and The 51st State, as well as 28 Weeks Later.

Quote: "Acting is such a frivolous thing to do, so I want to try and use that skill on projects that have something to say."

Trivia: He was awarded an OBE in 1999.

Sally Dexter (Actor) .. Serena St Claire

Born: April 15, 1960 in Yorkshire, UK

Best Known For: Playing Faith Dingle in Emmerdale.

Early-life: Sally Julia Dexter was born on April 15, 1960 in Yorkshire. She studied at Chiltern Edge School, The Henley College and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career: Dexter has made appearances on the stage and screen. She has had roles in TV in A Touch of Frost, Dalziel and Pascoe, Night and Day and Family. On stage, she has appeared in the play Dalliance, for which she won an Olivier award in 1987, as well as Billy Elliot the Musical, Macbeth and Spice Girls musical Viva Forever. She was nominated for an Olivier award for her portrayal of Nancy in Oliver! in its 1994 run. More recently, she has played Mrs Chynoweth in Poldark and Faith Dingle in Emmerdale.

Quote: "TV and stage work present different challenges, both of which I enjoy."

Trivia: Despite playing her grandmother on Emmerdale, Dexter is only 28 years older than actress Charley Webb.

David Ashton (Actor) .. Maj Roddy Maclean

Ralph Riach (Actor) .. TV John McIver

Sharon Small (Actor) .. PC Anne Patterson

Born: January 01, 1967 in Drumchapel, Glasgow

Best Known For: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries and Mistresses.

Early-life: Sharon was born in Drumchapel, Glasgow on January 1, 1967. She studied drama at the Adam Smith College in Kirkcaldy and the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London. Her first TV credit was a guest role in an episode of Taggart in 1994.

Career: Guest parts followed in a number of TV shows until Small landed a lead role in BBC comedy drama Sunburn. This lasted for two series and she followed it up with the six-part drama Glasgow Kiss. She went on to star in About a Boy (2002) and Dear Frankie (2004) and had guest parts in Cutting It and Rebus before landing a lead role as DS Barbara Havers in BBC crime drama The Inspector Lynley Mysteries alongside Nathaniel Parker. The series ran from 2001 until 2008. More recently, the in-demand actress has starred in Murderland, Mistresses, Downton Abbey, Kidnap and Ransom, New Tricks, Silent Witness, Call the Midwife, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders.

Quote: "One of the fantastic things and joys of acting is looking for flaws in characters - if you are perfect or too likeable, you are not going to be believable, so hopefully, you bring in flaws as well."

Trivia: Small is a classically trained lyric soprano.

Stuart Davids (Actor) .. Lachie McCrae Jr

Mona Bruce (Actor) .. Edie

Stuart McGugan (Actor) .. Barney Meldon

Barbara Rafferty (Actor) .. Agnes Meldon

Best Known For: Rab C Nesbitt.

Early-life: Barbara Ann Rafferty was born in Clydebank in 1954. At the age of 13, she joined her local amateur dramatics outfit, Clydebank Rep. When she was 15, she pestered the producer of BBC drama This Man Craig for a part in the show. It did the trick because she ended up starring in three episodes. Aged 16, Barbara began working for a wealthy French widower. He liked her so much, he sent her to study at the Sorbonne University in Paris. When she returned home, she joined a drama group in Glasgow. It wasn't long until she landed a role as a woman with baby in horror classic The Wicker Man (1973).

Career: Starting a family and self doubt led to her giving up acting. Her confidence returned when she was cast in a schools tour. Her big break came in 1988 when she was cast as Ella Cotter in a pilot episode made for BBC Scotland entitled Rab C Nesbitt's Seasonal Greet. A full series of Rab C Nesbitt followed in 1990 and the rest they say is history. Since landing a role on the hugely popular sitcom, Rafferty has been in a number of theatre productions, including high-profile pantomimes, and starred in High Road, Hamish Macbeth, Rockface, Sea of Souls, River City and Garrow's Law. On the big screen, she has starred in The Last King of Scotland (2006).

Quote: "Joining Nesbitt was wonderful. The characters became so iconoclastic and it also opened the doors for the big pantos."

Trivia: When Rafferty thought she had turned her back on acting for good, she had spells working in the civil service and in a wine bar.

Billy Riddoch (Actor) .. Lachlan McCrae

John Malcolm (Actor) .. Prof Svensson

Jonas Grimas (Director)

Hamish Macbeth: The Honourable Policeman

12:40 am - 01:50 am, Saturday, December 20 on U&Drama (20)

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The Honourable Policeman
Season 3, Episode 1

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