Extras - Extras 2007 Xmas Special - 10:30 pm Saturday, December 20 on BBC Three HD

Ricky Gervais (Actor) .. Andy Millman

Born: June 25, 1961 in Reading, Berkshire

Best Known For: Hit BBC sitcom The Office.

Early-life: Born Ricky Dene Gervais in Reading, Berkshire, on June 25, 1961. He's the youngest of four children. Early dreams of being a scientist led him to University College London to read biology, but he switched to philosophy instead. While studying, Gervais created his own band, Seona Dancing. They released two unsuccessful singles, although one of them was a hit in the Philippines. After graduating, Ricky became the entertainments manager at London University's student union.

Career: Gervais started out in radio on Xfm, where he met Stephen Merchant, who would become his writing partner. His first taste of stardom came via Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show. Tongue-in-cheek chat show, Meet Ricky Gervais, paved the way for BBC sitcom The Office. Extras, Life is Short and An Idiot Abroad (featuring his sidekick Karl Pilkington) have also been TV hits. He's also continued to work on radio, done stand-up, wrote the children's books Flanimals, worked on The Simpsons, appeared in various Hollywood movies and wrote and directed (with Merchant) as well as appeared in the film Cemetery Junction. Gervais has won many awards, including several Baftas, Emmys and Golden Globes. His most recent project is the Channel 4 comedy Derek, in which he stars as well as directing and writing each episode.

Quote: "Money gives me the creeps and mildly embarrasses me. I get paid too much anyway."

Trivia: He hosted the Golden Globe Awards in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Ashley Jensen (Actor) .. Maggie Jacobs

Born: August 10, 1969 in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

Best Known For: Playing Maggie in Extras.

Early-life: Ashley Jensen was born in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on August 10, 1969, and raised by her mother Margaret. She claims to have known from an early age that she wanted to be an actress, and enjoyed dressing up as a child. Jensen later joined London's National Youth Theatre before taking a diploma in speech and drama at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret College. After graduating, she worked with the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and the Tron and the Traverse theatres in Edinburgh.

Career: Jensen's first TV role was in a Screen One film called Dreaming, which starred Billy Connolly. In the early 1990s, she appeared in shows such as Tickets for the Zoo, Down Among the Big Boys, May to December, Rab C Nesbitt and Roughnecks. A more prominent role came when she was cast as Angie Raeburn in Two Thousand Acres of Sky, but she reached a huge audience as Maggie Jacobs in BBC sitcom Extras. The actress has scooped a number of awards for playing the unlucky-in-love singleton, including a coveted Rose d'Or. She also starred with Patrick Stewart in ITV drama Eleventh Hour, and became well known in America thanks to her role as Christina in Ugly Betty. More recent projects include short-lived American sitcom Accidentally on Purpose, BBC comedy Nativity, ITV drama The Reckoning and providing voiceovers for animated films Gnomeo and Juliet, Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! Band of Misfits.

Quote: "I know what I look like. I'm not a babe who's automatically going to be the leading-lady type. I think I would always be cast as the friend."

Trivia: Jensen married actor Terence Beesley in 2007.

Stephen Merchant (Actor) .. Agent

Born: November 24, 1974 in Bristol

Best Known For: Being Ricky Gervais' best friend, and sending Karl Pilkington around the world.

Early-life: Merchant was born in Bristol and attended Hanham High School. He graduated from University of Warwick with a first-class degree in Film and Literature.

Career: Before Merchant met Gervais, he was performing stand-up comedy. The pair worked together at London radio station XFM. Later, Merchant worked on a production course at the BBC, in which he enlisted Gervais' help for a short film called 'Seedy Boss' - which is when the idea of The Office arose, with both writing and directing the series. While The Office then enjoyed success Stateside, Gervais and Merchant also concentrated on BBC sitcom Extras. Then came Merchant's radio show for BBC 6 Music, The Steve Show. The comic is in the midst of nationwide tour of the UK, with a stop in New York, and continues to show up in movies and TV shows, including vehicles like An Idiot Abroad and Life's Too Short.

Quote: "Ricky's quite happy to provoke opinion, to blur the line between his acting and his stand-up persona. He likes to be a little bit provocative. He takes pleasure from that and he's good at it, and to him it feels challenging. It feels important. That doesn't concern me."

Shaun Williamson (Actor) .. Barry

Born: November 04, 1965 in Maidstone, Kent

Best Known For: Playing Barry in EastEnders.

Early-life: Born November 4, 1965 in Maidstone, Kent. To pay the rent he worked for the Post Office; the Navy; a supermarket and as a holiday rep. Williamson created his own amateur theatre group and staged a production of A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg. The production won him Best Actor in the Kent Drama Festival. He completed a three-year acting diploma at The Webber Douglas Academy. In 1994 he landed the memorable part of lovable loser Barry Evans in EastEnders.

Career: Williamson stayed with the soap for 10 years and after leaving Albert Square featured in the pantomimes Snow White and Cinderella, and starred in the stage productions Saturday Night Fever, The Rocky Horror Show, Oliver and Guys and Dolls. He enjoyed a new wave of popularity when Ricky Gervais cast him as a comic version of himself in Extras. Also appeared in BBC drama Funland; the movie Daylight Robbery; Comic Relief does Fame Academy 2007; Holby City and BBC One's Fairy Tales.

Quote: "I don't mind portraying myself as someone who's a bit of a loser and who hasn't worked at all because I know it isn't the truth."

Trivia: In 2009, he played Norman Stanley Fletcher in a stage version of TV comedy Porridge.

Shaun Pye (Actor) .. Greg

Clive Owen (Actor) .. Himself

Born: October 03, 1964 in Keresley, Coventry

Best Known For: Becoming a Hollywood megastar.

Early-life: Clive was born in Coventry on October 3, 1964. He's the fourth of five brothers. His father left home when he was three; they met up again 16 years later, but are now estranged. He was raised by his mother and stepfather, and claims his childhood was tough. After playing the Artful Dodger in a school production of Oliver! he decided to become an actor, eventually training at Rada alongside Ralph Fiennes and Jane Horrocks.

Career: Owen's professional career began on stage, but he soon switched to TV, making his debut in a 1987 episode of Rockliffe's Babies. Adaptations of Precious Bane and Lorna Doone raised his profile, but it was Chancer that made him a star in the early 1990s. Projects such as Close My Eyes, An Evening with Gary Lineker, The Return of the Native, Sharman and Second Sight sealed his standing as a reliable leading man. Croupier (1998) made Hollywood bigwigs sit up and take notice, and he's enjoyed big-screen success ever since. He received an Oscar nomination for Closer (2004), and also featured in Gosford Park (2001), The Bourne Identity (2002), King Arthur (2004), Sin City (2005), Derailed (2005), Inside Man (2006), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and Shadow Dancer (2012). In 2014, he began starring in American period medical drama The Knick.

Quote: "Theatre is like going to the gym and having a vigorous workout. But every few years is enough because I love filming. I am a real film animal."

Trivia: In 2006, he became patron of the Electric Palace Cinema in Harwich, Essex.

George Michael (Actor) .. Himself

Born: June 25, 1963 in East Finchley, London

Best Known For: His successful pop career.

Early-life: Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou was born in East Finchley, London, on June 25, 1963. His father was a Greek-Cypriot restaurateur and his English mother was a dancer. The family later moved to Bushey in Hertfordshire, where George met Andrew Ridgeley for the first time. They formed their first band, the Executive, with schoolfriends and Ridgeley's brother Paul. Throughout his teens, George worked in various jobs, but always dreamed of pop stardom, and practiced his performance skills via busking on the London Underground.

Career: George formed Wham! in 1981 with Ridgeley. The band went on to massive success, releasing a string of hit singles including Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do), Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, and Last Christmas. They were also the first Western pop act to visit China when they played there in 1985. Wham! split in 1986, by which time Michael had already released a handful of solo singles. With songs such as Careless Whisper, Freedom 90, Jesus to a Child and Fastlove, he's become one of the biggest popstars on the planet, selling in excess of 80 million records. However, he's also hit the headlines over his personal life, including drugs and health issues. In 2014, he released Symphonica, his first album since 2006's Twenty Five.

Quote: Of his various public misdemeanours: "I have been through enough in 24 years of dealing with the media to know what I am in for. Much of it will be inaccurate or simply untrue. I can handle that."

Trivia: In 2013, Michael needed to be airlifted to hospital when he sustained a head injury after falling from his moving car on the M1 motorway.

Gordon Ramsay (Actor) .. Himself

Born: November 08, 1966 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire

Best Known For: His temper.

Early-life: Born Gordon James Ramsay Jr on November 8, 1966, in Johnstone, Scotland. He and his three siblings grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon. As a youngster he dreamed of playing professional football for Glasgow Rangers, and played for numerous junior teams. His claim to have featured in two matches for Rangers has been questioned over the years, but his footballing career came to an abrupt end following a devastating knee injury. As a result, Gordon turned to a career in catering.

Career: During the 1980s, Ramsay worked under some of the biggest names in the industry, from Marco Pierre White to Albert Roux, before moving to France in 1990, then returning to London to work at the Aubergine restaurant. While there, he won two Michelin stars in three years. In 1998 he set up his own eatery, but it was the screening of controversial documentary Boiling Point that made him famous. His TV career took off in 2004 with the Bafta-winning series Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. It was closely followed by the likes of Hell's Kitchen, The F Word and his Ultimate Cookery Course. He now has restaurants across the globe, and appears regularly on TV at home and abroad.

Quote: "I think cooking is like football. It's not a job, it's a passion. When you become good at it, it's a dream job and financially you need never to worry."

Trivia: In 2009, he fulfilled his aim of finishing 10 marathons in 10 years by running his 10th consecutive London Marathon.

David Tennant (Actor) .. Himself

Born: April 18, 1971 in Bathgate, West Lothian

Best Known For: Being the 10th Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born David John MacDonald on April 18, 1971, in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, the youngest of a vicar's three children. At the age of three he announced he wanted to be an actor because he loved Doctor Who so much. At 17 he began studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow before embarking on his first professional roles at the Young Vic theatre. He changed his name because there was already an actor named David MacDonald, adopting the surname of Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant.

Career: Tennant's TV debut was in a 1993 episode of Rab C Nesbitt, but he first made people sit up and take notice thanks to an acclaimed performance in Takin' Over the Asylum a year later. His first film was 1996's Jude. He then appeared in the likes of Duck Patrol, Love in the 21st Century, Bright Young Things and He Knew He Was Right. In 2004, musical mini-series Blackpool helped raise his profile, while Casanova turned him into a heart-throb. Tennant replaced Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who in 2005, but left the role at the start of 2010; he did, however, return for the 50th anniversary episode in 2013. Projects since include Single Father, Fright Night and Broadchurch - he is also the star of the US version, Gracepoint. He continues to appear on stage whenever possible.

Quote: "I've always been a geek and slightly awkward. I was never the cool kid at school."

Trivia: In 2011, Tennant married Georgia Moffett, daughter of fellow Doctor Who star Peter Davison.

Gareth Hale (Actor) .. Himself

Norman Pace (Actor) .. Himself

Lionel Blair (Actor) .. Himself

Born: December 12, 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Best Known For: Appearances on 1980s quiz show Give Us a Clue.

Early-life: Born Henry Lionel Blair Ogus on December 12, 1931, to parents Myer and Della. The family moved when Lionel was still a baby from Montreal, Canada, to Hackney, London, where his sister Joyce was born. He spent most of his childhood in Tottenham and caught the acting bug early, making his stage debut at the age of 14 in West End stage musical Watch on the Rhine. He also appeared in talent shows, dancing with his sister.

Career: His career took off in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to appearances in the films The World of Suzie Wong, and A Hard Day's Night. During the 1970s, he was a panellist on the talent show New Faces and the next decade saw him fixed firmly in the nation's hearts as one of the team captains for parlour game show Give Us a Clue. His CV has encompassed acting on TV, cinema and stage, directing, producing, choreographing, and dancing. In 2003 he enjoyed small-screen success in the soap Crossroads, and won plaudits for his role in the 2001 series Revolver. He has also released a number of dancing videos and recorded an album of songs made famous by Fred Astaire. He appeared in the 2007 Christmas special of Extras and in 2010, took part in The Young Ones, a social experiment featuring well-known faces in their seventies and eighties, and appeared in a TV sketch with Ronnie Corbett and Rob Brydon to help mark Corbett's 80th birthday. In January 2014, he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Quote: "I want to play villains, people do not expect that of me. I would love to play a Bond villain, and I want to be the next Dr Who - I'd play him the same way that my favourite, Jon Pertwee, did."

Trivia: In 2006, Lionel and comedian Alan Carr helped save a man about to fall from the end of Blackpool pier.

Dean Gaffney (Actor) .. Himself

June Sarpong (Actor) .. Herself

Lisa Scott-Lee (Actor) .. Herself

Chico (Actor) .. Himself

Jonathan Ross (Actor) .. Himself

Best Known For: His cheeky celebrity interviews.

Early-life: Jonathan Stephen Ross was born on November 17, 1960, in Camden, London. He is one of six children born to a lorry driver and his film extra wife (Martha Ross had a bit part in EastEnders for over 20 years). Jonathan appeared in TV ads as a child, but after completing a degree in modern European history at the University of London, he began his TV career as a researcher on such shows as Loose Talk and Soul Train.

Career: In 1987, Ross and his friend Alan Marke devised a format inspired by Late Night with David Letterman, and after struggling to find a suitable host, Ross stepped in. The resulting show, The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross, made him a star. Other major projects include his chat shows Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and The Jonathan Ross Show, and his stint as the reviewer of the BBC's Film programme. He's also a massive comic book fan; his first foray into the genre, Turf, was published in 2010. But he's also hit the headlines for various controversies over the years, including the notorious Sachsgate, which involved a prank call made by him and Russell Brand to actor Andrew Sachs in 2008.

Quote: "People like coming on my show because they know they'll have fun and they know I'm going to be respectful to them. I'm never, you know, mean-spirited."

Trivia: He's been married to screenwriter and author Jane Goldman since 1988. They have three children.

Vernon Kay (Actor) .. Himself

Born: April 28, 1974 in Bolton

Best Known For: Hosting light entertainment.

Early-life: Vernon Charles Kay was born on April 28, 1974, in Bolton, Lancashire. He attended St Joseph's RC High School in nearby Horwich. His first taste of fame came when he was spotted by a model scout from the Select agency at the BBC's Clothes Show Live. He went on to have a successful modelling career, culminating in his selection by Channel 4 as Model of the Week on The Big Breakfast.

Career: Kay was soon snapped up to present various TV shows, including Fully Booked spin-off FBi. This led to him fronting Channel 4's weekend strand T4, as well as Hit Me Baby One More Time - which revived the careers of faded popstars - The Record of the Year, Just the Two of Us - which he co-presented with his wife, Tess Daly - All Star Family Fortunes, and various shows for The Prince's Trust. Most recently he has become the face of light entertainment on ITV, hosting All Star Family Fortunes, Beat the Star, The Whole 19 Yards, and Splash! among others.

Quote: "I like dossing about in my dressing gown and slippers, just kicking back."

Trivia: Kay supports Bolton Wanderers.

Guy Henry (Actor) .. Iain Morris

Born: October 17, 1960 in London

Best Known For: Playing Henrik Hanssen in Holby City.

Early-life: Born on October 17, 1960 in London. Guy attended Homefield School and later Brockenhurst College, where he studied for his A-Levels. Between 1979 and 1981, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career: Henry landed the role of Sherlock Holmes in ITV's Young Sherlock Holmes series in 1982. Since then, he has appeared in such TV series as Peak Practice, Doctors, Rome and Extras. His most notable TV role is as Henrik Hanssen in Holby City. Henry has also made a number of appearances in films, such as V for Vendetta (2005), Starter for 10 (2006) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) and Part 2 (2011). He provided the physical and vocal performance for Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), while CGI special effects were used to recreate the likeness of the late Peter Cushing. Besides TV and film, Henry has done a lot of theatre work, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Quote: On playing Grand Moff Tarkin: "It's very daunting, actually, to try and be a famous character in the original film. And also to emulate an actor that I myself admire."

Trivia: He enjoys driving coaches, which he learned to drive during a two-year break from Holby City.

Liza Tarbuck (Actor) .. Rita

Born: November 21, 1964 in Liverpool

Best Known For: The Big Breakfast and Linda Green.

Early-life: Born November 21, 1964, the middle child of Liverpool comedian Jimmy Tarbuck and his wife Pauline. She doesn't like talking about her family's famous mates, but was good friends with Michael Parkinson's sons while growing up. At convent school, she considered becoming an artist, a PE teacher or a nun, but decided to follow her dad into showbusiness. She had a spell with the National Youth Theatre before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career: Tarbuck started out on stage before playing Pamela in the hugely popular ITV sitcom Watching. When the series ended in 1993, she featured in gritty drama Tumbledown, but after struggling to find more roles reinvented herself as a TV presenter, fronting The Weekend Show in 1995 and She's Gotta Have It, before going on to co-host The Big Breakfast with old pal Johnny Vaughan. Tarbuck stayed with the show for a year but left to take on new projects, including Blockbusters and comedy drama Linda Green. She's also appeared in Bleak House, Saxondale, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Extras and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and presented the Channel 4 series Without Prejudice and Britain's Top Dog.

Quote: "I'm like most women, I have good bits and bad bits, but I'm pretty happy with the package. Life's too short to worry about having fat upper arms."

Trivia: She began presenting a Saturday night show on BBC Radio 2 in 2012.

Sarah Moyle (Actor) .. Kimberley

Jamie Chapman (Actor) .. Brains

Andrew Buckley (Actor) .. Gobbler

Gerard Kelly (Actor) .. Bunny

Adam James (Actor) .. Tre Cooper

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.

Nicola Redmond (Actor) .. Journalist

Steve Brody (Actor) .. Estate agent

Ben Willbond (Actor) .. Film director

Frog Stone (Actor) .. First AD

Susy Kane (Actor) .. Amy

Toby Foster (Actor) .. Northern comic

Claudia Sermbezis (Actor) .. Wren

Lolita Chakrabarti (Actor) .. Matire D

Born: June 01, 1969 in Kingston upon Hull

Best Known For: Playing WPC Jamilla Blake in The Bill.

Early-life: Born on June 1, 1969 in Kingston upon Hull and raised in Birmingham. Lolita trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1990. She appeared in the TV film A Masculine Ending in 1992.

Career: From 1993 to 1999, Chakrabarti played WPC Jamilla Blake in TV crime drama The Bill. She has since appeared in such TV series as Fortysomething, The Casual Vacancy, Holby City, Silent Witness, My Mad Fat Diary, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands and Born to Kill. She is also a writer and producer. Her play Red Velvet had a sold out run in London before being transferred to Off-Broadway and later performed at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End as part of Kenneth Branagh's season in 2016. Chakrabarti also runs Lesata Production with Rosa Maggiora and they produced the short film Of Mary (2011).

Quote: "I consider myself an actor mainly and the writing fits around that."

Trivia: For Red Velvet, she won the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2012 Evening Standard Awards.

Stuart McQuarrie (Actor) .. Store manager

Scott Baker (Actor) .. Paparazzi

Kerry Godliman (Actor) .. Floor manager

Jason Barnett (Actor) .. Doorman

Fergus Craig (Actor) .. Runner

Dan Tetsell (Actor) .. Extra

Karl Pilkington (Actor) .. Fan

Born: September 23, 1972 in Trafford, Greater Manchester

Best Known For: Being Ricky Gervais's best mate.

Early-life: Karl Pilkington was born on 23 September, 1972, in Trafford, Greater Manchester. He was not much of an academic at school and spent most of his spare time riding his bike and talking with his pet magpie. A music lover, he worked for a time making audio tapes, then stumbled into radio producing, and got a job at Xfm, where he produced a show for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

Career: His dry, world-weary contributions to Xfm were so popular with listeners that he, Gervas and Merhcant started recording podcasts and audiobooks, which smashed download records. His musings turned him into a household name and after a few minor TV projects, he became an international star with travel show An Idiot Abroad. His old podcast rambles were turned into cartoon form on the Ricky Gervais Show and he made his acting debut in Derek on Channel 4.

Quote: "I've always thought blind people must be really good listeners."

Trivia: Pilkington has provided voiceovers for a number of TV adverts.

Liam Barham (Actor) .. Child

Charlie Hanson (Producer)

Extras: Extras 2007 Xmas Special

10:30 pm - 11:50 pm, Saturday, December 20 on BBC Three HD (107)

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Extras 2007 Xmas Special
Season 1, Episode 1

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