Hotel Portofino: First Impressions
12:40 am - 01:55 am, Tuesday, December 30 on U&Drama (20)
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About this Broadcast
First Impressions
Season 1, Episode 1
During the 1920s, Rose and her mother, Julia, arrive at an Italian hotel to evaluate a prospective marriage with Lucian, the war veteran son of the residence's proprietors. But his mother, Bella, has more immediate worries - her most critical guest, Lady Latchmere, has fallen ill. Drama, starring Natascha McElhone and Louisa Binder
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audio-description
General
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Carolina Gonnelli
(Actor)
.. Paola
Olivia Morris
(Actor)
.. Alice Mays-Smith
Natascha McElhone
(Actor)
.. Bella Ainsworth
Louisa Binder
(Actor)
.. Constance March
Elizabeth Carling
(Actor)
.. Betty Scanlon
Claude Scott-Mitchell
(Actor)
.. Rose Drummond-Ward
Adam James
(Actor)
.. Jack Turner
Lily Frazer
(Actor)
.. Claudine Pascal
Lucy Akhurst
(Actor)
.. Julia Drummond-Ward
Oliver Dench
(Actor)
.. Lucian Ainsworth
Petar Bencic
(Actor)
.. Francesco
Louis Healy
(Actor)
.. Billy Scanlon
Daniele Pecci
(Actor)
.. Count Carlo Albani
Lorenzo Richelmy
(Actor)
.. Roberto Albani
Imogen King
(Actor)
.. Melissa De Vere
Anna Chancellor
(Actor)
.. Lady Latchmere
Assad Zaman
(Actor)
.. Anish Sengupta
Mark Umbers
(Actor)
.. Cecil Ainsworth
Glen McCready
(Actor)
.. Henry Bowater
Pasquale Esposito
(Actor)
.. Vincenzo Danioni
Maya Ramadan
(Actor)
.. Lottie Mays-Smith
Natasha Wilkinson
(Editor)
Adam Wimpenny
(Director)
Matt Baker
(Writer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Carolina Gonnelli
(Actor)
.. Paola
Olivia Morris
(Actor)
.. Alice Mays-Smith
Natascha McElhone
(Actor)
.. Bella Ainsworth
Born:
December 14, 1971
in
London
Best Known For:
Playing opposite David Duchovny in US comedy-drama Californication.
Early-life:
Natascha Abigail Taylor was born December 14, 1971, in Hampstead, London to journalist parents. They separated when she was two and her mother, Noreen Taylor, moved the family to Brighton. Natascha studied Irish dancing from age six to 12, and was educated at St Mary's School For Girls. She graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in 1993. Honed her craft on stage in Richard III, The Count of Monte Cristo and Midsummer Night's Dream. She made her TV debut in Bergerac in 1991 and went on to appear in Absolutely Fabulous a year later.
Career:
McElhone made her film debut in 1996 offering Surviving Picasso, and appeared in Dennis Potter's final projects Karaoke and Cold Lazarus in the same year. Hollywood movies The Devil's Own, The Truman Show and Ronin boosted her profile, but over the past few years she's struggled to find hit projects with Love's Labours Lost, The Contaminated Man and Killing Me Softly among the movies which vanished without a trace. Solaris was also a costly flop, but she fared better in Charles Dance's movie Ladies in Lavender. She's currently playing David Duchovny's estranged partner in US series Californication and her recent projects have also included The Secret of Moonacre and Thorne: Sleepyhead.
Quote:
On hearing the news of her husband's death: "I dropped the phone and my knees buckled under me."
Trivia:
Married to Dr Martin Kelly for 10 years until his death in 2008. They had three children (their third son, Rex, was born five months after Kelly died).
Louisa Binder
(Actor)
.. Constance March
Elizabeth Carling
(Actor)
.. Betty Scanlon
Born:
October 20, 1967
in
Middlesbrough
Best Known For:
Playing Selena in Casualty
Early-life:
Born in Middlesbrough in 1967. She has two older siblings and a twin sister called Laura. She enjoyed drama from an early age and after leaving school attended Billingham Technical College to study an arts foundation course and an A Level in Theatre Studies. At 18, she moved to London to join the National Youth Theatre, before heading back to Newcastle, where she appeared in numerous stage productions.
Career:
After appearing in touring productions of The Rocky Horror Show and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Carling got her big TV break in 1989 when she landed the role of Laura Marsh in Boon. She followed that with appearances in Crocodile Shoes and Men Behaving Badly, and in 1997 replaced Dervla Kirwan as cockney barmaid Phoebe in the sitcom Good Night Sweetheart. She also starred in Border Cafe and Barbara before making a brief appearance in Casualty in 2003. A year later she became a regular on the medical drama when she accepted the role of Selena.
Quote:
On medical terms: "You try to learn them as well as you can but it's like learning Swahili. It's not English and it doesn't come tripping off the tongue."
Trivia:
Away from acting, Carling is a trained singer and released a big band album, Goodnight Sweetheart, in 1999.
Claude Scott-Mitchell
(Actor)
.. Rose Drummond-Ward
Adam James
(Actor)
.. Jack Turner
Born:
September 09, 1972
in
United Kingdom
Best Known For:
Playing Cleveland O. Petty in Band of Brothers.
Early-life:
Born September 9, 1972 in the United Kingdom to actress Polly James. Adam trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama alongside Dominic West and Daniel Evans. He graduated in 1996.
Career:
After graduating, James started playing small roles in various TV series, including The Bill, Let Them Eat Cake and The 10th Kingdom, as well as such TV films as Sharpe's Regiment (1996). In 2001, he came to prominence in TV series Band of Brothers. He has made guest appearances in Holby City and he also played Pete Guildford for 17 episodes of Casualty in 2005. His other notable TV credits include Doctor Who, Extras, Ashes to Ashes and Secret Diary of a Call Girl. He has also appeared in a number of plays, such as The Pride, King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing. He played the Prime Minister in a production of King Charles III that was performed in the West End and on Broadway. James also played the Prime Minister in the TV version of King Charles III.
Quote:
"In my experience the writing is often better in theatre than in TV, so inevitably I am drawn there more."
Trivia:
In 2010, he won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor.
Lily Frazer
(Actor)
.. Claudine Pascal
Lucy Akhurst
(Actor)
.. Julia Drummond-Ward
Oliver Dench
(Actor)
.. Lucian Ainsworth
Petar Bencic
(Actor)
.. Francesco
Louis Healy
(Actor)
.. Billy Scanlon
Daniele Pecci
(Actor)
.. Count Carlo Albani
Lorenzo Richelmy
(Actor)
.. Roberto Albani
Imogen King
(Actor)
.. Melissa De Vere
Anna Chancellor
(Actor)
.. Lady Latchmere
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.
Assad Zaman
(Actor)
.. Anish Sengupta
Mark Umbers
(Actor)
.. Cecil Ainsworth
Glen McCready
(Actor)
.. Henry Bowater
Pasquale Esposito
(Actor)
.. Vincenzo Danioni
Maya Ramadan
(Actor)
.. Lottie Mays-Smith
Natasha Wilkinson
(Editor)
Adam Wimpenny
(Director)
Matt Baker
(Writer)
Born:
December 23, 1977
in
Easington, County Durham
Best Known For:
Blue Peter, The One Show and Countryfile.
Early-life:
Matthew James Baker was born in Easington, County Durham, on December 23, 1977. He grew up on his family's sheep farm and developed a love of the countryside and animals. He was obsessed with gymnastics as a youngster and was told he had enough ability to compete at a high level but he was forced to give up the sport after being diagnosed with anaemia aged 14. He went on to study drama at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh.
Career:
In the late 1990s, Baker toured around the north of England with a 1970s comedy disco-dancing revival show called Disco Inferno. He did freestyle routines with back flips and juggled wooden clubs. After finding out that Blue Peter were looking for a new presenter, he sent the BBC a showreel and managed to secure an interview. During his seven years as a Blue Peter presenter, he won two Baftas for Best Children's Presenter. He left the show in 2006 and went on to co-present Countryfile Summer Diaries, Open Country, Animal Squad, Countryfile, Secret Britain and One Man and His Dog. After a stint as a guest presenter on The One Show, he became a permanent host alongside Alex Jones in early 2011. He participated in Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, partnering professional dancer Aliona Vilani, and finished runner-up.
Quote:
"If you dedicate yourself to something, you get a result. That's a formula I've stuck to all my life."
Trivia:
He raised more than £1.9million for Children in Need in 2012 when he travelled around the country in a rickshaw. Wed childhood sweetheart Nicola Mooney in 2004. They have two children, Luke and Molly.
