Last of the Summer Wine - The Rights of Man (Except for Howard)

Brian Murphy (Actor) .. Alvin

Born: September 25, 1933 in Isle of Wight

Best Known For: Playing George Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.

Early-life: Brian was born on the Isle of Wight on September 25, 1933. During his national service at RAF Northwood, he met future actor Richard Briers. On leaving the RAF, Brian and Richard performed in productions by the Dramatic Society at what is now London South Bank University. Brian was also a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, with Yootha Joyce. During the 1960s and the early 1970s, Brian made guest appearances in a number of TV shows, including The Avengers, Z Cars, Sez Les, Callan, and Dixon of Dock Green.

Career: Murphy's big break came in 1974 when he began playing George Roper alongside Joyce in the sitcom Man About the House. Joyce played his long-suffering wife Mildred. The popularity of Murphy and Joyce's characters led to them starring in their own spin-off sitcom George and Mildred. The hugely popular series ran on ITV for five series until 1979 and ended after Joyce died in 1980. Murphy and Joyce also starred in a stage version of George and Mildred and a spin-off movie. Murphy went on to star in The Incredible Mr Tanner, L for Lester, Lame Ducks, One Foot in the Grave, the Booze Cruise TV movies, Last of the Summer Wine, and The Cafe.

Quote: 'I was just coming up to 40 when Man About the House fell into my lap and turned everything around.'

Trivia: Murphy and his wife, actress Linda Regan, have talked about their careers in An Audience with Linda Regan and Brian Murphy.

Barbara Young (Actor) .. Stella

Frank Thornton (Actor) .. Truly

Born: January 15, 1921 in London

Best Known For: Are You Being Served? and Last of the Summer Wine.

Early-life: Frank Thornton Ball was born in London on January 15, 1921 to Rosina and William. Frank wanted to act from an early age but his father encouraged him to have a more stable job, so he began working in insurance after leaving school. He took evening classes at the London School of Dramatic Art and after two years, he was invited to become a day student. During the Second World War, Frank was evacuated with the drama school and his first job was touring with four plays in Ireland. He joined the RAF as an airman and ended the war as an officer. After leaving the RAF in 1947, Frank joined a repertory company. He made his film debut in Radio Cab Murder (1954).

Career: Thornton went on to become a familiar face on TV, specialising in comedy. He made guest appearances in Hancock, Sykes, The Goodies, Love Thy Neighbour and Steptoe and Son. He is best known for playing Captain Peacock in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? He reprised his role for the spin-off series Grace & Favour. In 1997, he joined the cast of Last of the Summer Wine as Herbert 'Truly' Truelove, a role he played until 2010. He also appeared in Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001). Thornton died peacefully in his sleep on March 16, 2013. He was 92.

Quote: From Are You Being Served?: 'Mr Humphries, are you free?'

Trivia: Thornton was nominated of an Olivier Award for his performance in the musical Me and My Girl.

Peter Sallis (Actor) .. Clegg

Born: February 01, 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex

Best Known For: Playing Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine and providing the voice of Wallace in Wallace & Gromit.

Early-life: Peter Sallis was born on February 1, 1921, in Twickenham, Middlesex. His first job was as a bank clerk and he held no desire to be an actor until he became an RAF instructor during the Second World War. One of his pupils, Peter Bridge, asked him to play the leading part in Noel Coward's Hay Fever at the YMCA. Peter never looked back and eventually maked his TV debut in a 1947 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Career: Roles in films such as Doctor in Love, The Mouse on the Moon, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Charlie Bubbles followed. BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine made him a household name. He featured in all 295 episodes as Norman Clegg between 1973 and 2010. He also played his character's father in short-lived prequel First of the Summer Wine. He was also the voice of Wallace of Wallace & Gromit fame in the acclaimed A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and A Matter of Loaf and Death. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for services to drama. He died on June 2, 2017 at the age of 96.

Quote: 'I don't eat it, because of the cholesterol effect. I've never eaten much in the way of cheese ever. However, I don't mind pretending that I like it.'

Trivia: When Sallis was first asked by Nick Park to voice Wallace for a student film, he donatated his £50 fee to charity.

Juliette Kaplan (Actor) .. Pearl

June Whitfield (Actor) .. Nelly

Born: November 11, 1925 in London

Best Known For: Terry and June, and Absolutely Fabulous.

Early-life: Born June Rosemary Whitfield in Streatham, London, on November 11, 1925. Her mother had hoped to become an actress, but was forbidden to do so by her father. Instead, she appeared in amateur dramatics and encouraged June to enter showbusiness by enrolling her in dance classes at the age of three. Her father was a company director. After the Second World War she moved to Huddersfield with her parents and trained to be a secretary before attending RADA, after which she landed her first professional role on the London stage.

Career: Whitfield became one of BBC Radio's most beloved stars - 22 million people regularly tuned in to her show Take It From Here during the 1950s - but is probably best known for her TV appearances, and has starred alongside Frankie Howerd, Peter Sellers and Tony Hancock. Among her many comedy programmes during the first half of her career were Steptoe and Son, Hancock's Half Hour and The Benny Hill Show. Her long professional relationship with Terry Scott resulted in such series as Happy Ever After and Terry and June. She has also appeared in several Carry On films. Since then Whitfield has won acclaim in Absolutely Fabulous, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Jude and Mirrorball.

Quote: 'I was never a great beauty. I think I amused more than I aroused. But at least that meant I didn't feel the pressures that many glamorous actresses do when they reach a certain age. Playing mums and grans never bothered me.'

Trivia: She was awarded an OBE in 1985, and a CBE in 1998.

Russ Abbot (Actor) .. Hobbo

Robert Fyfe (Actor) .. Howard

Jean Alexander (Actor) .. Aunty Wainwright

Tom Owen (Actor) .. Tom

Burt Kwouk (Actor) .. Entwistle

Josephine Tewson (Actor) .. Miss Davenport

Jean Fergusson (Actor) .. Marina

Trevor Bannister (Actor) .. Toby

Born: August 14, 1934 in Durrington, Wiltshire

Best Known For: Playing menswear assistant Mr Lucas in the sitcom Are You Being Served?

Early-life: Trevor Gordon Bannister was born in Durrington, Wiltshire, on August 14, 1934. After leaving school at the age of 15, he joined a repertory theatre company in Folkstone and went on to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. After two years' national service in the army, he gained further repertory experience in Torquay, Bath, Bedford, Worthing, Wolverhampton, York and Birmingham. In 1960, he made his West End debut as Arthur Crabtree in Billy Liar.

Career: Bannister's breakthrough on TV came in the 1968 drama The War of Darkie Pilbeam, a trilogy about a 1940s spiv, written by Coronation Street creator Tony Warren. Playing menswear assistant Mr Lucas in popular BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? made Bannister a household name. In his later career, he played a recurring character in Last of the Summer Wine. Bannister died on April 14, 2011, at the age of 76, after suffering a heart attack at his allotment in Thames Ditton, Surrey.

Quote: On Are You Being Served? 'The joy of that particular show was the fact that most of us had known each other before we came to do it.'

Trivia: Bannister was a regular pantomime dame on stage, taking 34 roles in 35 years.

Christopher Beeny (Actor) .. Morton

Mike Grady (Actor) .. Barry

Ken Kitson (Actor) .. PC Cooper

Louis Emerick (Actor) .. PC Walsh

Jane Freeman (Actor) .. Ivy

Sarah Thomas (Actor) .. Glenda

Alan JW Bell (Producer)

Roy Clarke (Writer)

Last of the Summer Wine: The Rights of Man (Except for Howard)

7:00 pm - 7:40 pm, Friday, March 27 on U&Drama +1 (60)

About this Broadcast

The Rights of Man (Except for Howard)
Season 31, Episode 3

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