New Tricks - The Girl Who Lived - 11:00 pm Wednesday, December 31 on U&Drama +1

Alun Armstrong (Actor) .. Brian Lane

Born: July 17, 1946 in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, Co Durham

Best Known For: New Tricks.

Early-life: Alun Armstrong was born in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, Co Durham, on July 17, 1946. His father was from Cumberland and his mother was from Co Durham. He attended Consett Grammar School before going to Newcastle University. Unhappy in academia, he took a job as a gravedigger, where a colleague managed to get him an interview for a behind-the-scenes job with a theatre company. That in turn led to acting work.

Career: Armstrong's screen debut came in the classic Michael Caine gangster movie Get Carter in 1971. Other early roles included parts in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Softly, Softly and The Sweeney. His many other TV roles include Austin Donaghue in Our Friends in the North, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Jefferson in In the Red, and George Mole in Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years, alongside Alison Steadman. Film credits include The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Krull (1983), American Friends (1991), Patriot Games (1992) and Braveheart (1995). He has won countless accolades for his classic stage roles. He is currently best known for playing the role of Brian Lane in popular BBC series New Tricks, a part he played for 10 series.

Quote: "I'm more concerned about losing my marbles than losing parts - especially when it comes to learning lines!"

Trivia: Armstrong originated the role of Thénardier in the London production of Les Misérables and won an Olivier Award for playing the title role in Sweeney Todd.

Amanda Redman (Actor) .. Sandra Pullman

Born: August 12, 1957 in Brighton

Best Known For: At Home with the Braithwaites and New Tricks.

Early-life: Amanda Jacqueline Redman was born in Brighton on August 12, 1957, the eldest of two children. She poured a saucepan of boiling soup over her torso and left arm when she was 18 months old and needed regular skin grafts until she was five. She studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She was shattered after her father died suddenly when she was 20.

Career: Redman first attracted attention in 1981 with her steamy film debut in Richard's Things. Roles proved sporadic in that decade, but her career took off in 1991 when she played Roberta in Spender, and Sally in The Men's Room. Bigger roles followed, such as Dr Joanna Stevens in Dangerfield in 1995. She hit the headlines in 1998, first with Close Relations which featured a ménage à trois, then as Diana Dors for glossy drama The Blonde Bombshell. Her small-screen success was consolidated with roles as a teacher in Hope and Glory and as lottery winner Alison in At Home with the Braithwaites - but she has also appeared in the films Sexy Beast (2000) and Mike Bassett: England Manager (2005). She starred in popular BBC drama New Tricks between 2003 and 2013. More recently, she starred in TV movie Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This.

Quote: "If you're seen as a strong woman, men think you don't need protecting. Yet, underneath it all, I'm quite vulnerable."

Trivia: Redman received an MBE in 2012.

Dennis Waterman (Actor) .. Gerry Standing

Born: February 24, 1948 in Clapham

Best Known For: The Sweeney, Minder, and New Tricks.

Early-life: Born February 24, 1948, in Clapham, south London, the youngest of nine children, the son of a British Rail ticket collector. As a child he attended the Corona Theatre School and began his professional career with a role in Snowball, a 1960 Children's Film Foundation production. The same year he made Night Train to Inverness, and was asked to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. Playing William in a TV series based on the Just William books made him a star. He then tried to break into Hollywood.

Career: At 16, Waterman returned to Britain and concentrated on stage work until an acclaimed performance in 1968's Up the Junction led to more film roles. Low-budget movies (such as Scars of Dracula) and TV shows (including Colditz) followed until, in 1974, he co-starred with John Thaw in Regan, the pilot episode of iconic series The Sweeney, which became a major TV hit. A 10-year stint in comedy drama Minder followed. Other projects include TV shows On the Up, Stay Lucky, and Circles of Deceit. He's also worked on the stage, most notably in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell, and My Fair Lady. As Gerry Standing, in BBC drama New Tricks, he has introduced himself to a new generation of fans.

Quote: "If I am not such a hell-raiser any more, it isn't because I've given up. It's just that my energy levels have fallen. I haven't stopped looking at women. I'm not blind."

Trivia: He has made several records, including, famously, the theme tunes of several of his TV shows.

Denis Lawson (Actor) .. Steve McAndrew

Born: September 27, 1947 in Perthshire, Scotland

Best Known For: Being Ewan McGregor's uncle.

Early-life: Denis Stamper Lawson was born on September 27, 1947, in Perthshire, Scotland. His sister, Carol, is the mother of actor Ewan McGregor. Their parents hailed from Glasgow, but moved to Crieff to escape the poverty-stricken city. They later owned a watchmaker and jeweller's store. He remains very close to his family, and inspired Ewan to become an actor. Lawson left Crieff in the early 1970s to pursue his career in London.

Career: Lawson's first big success was in West End musical Pal Joey. He also appeared in such memorable TV productions as The Merchant of Venice, Rock Follies and The Man in the Iron Mask. He had a small role in the original Star Wars trilogy, was in the acclaimed Local Hero in 1983, and took the lead in sitcom The Kit Curran Radio Show. He has rarely been out of work since, whether it's on stage, film or TV. Among his other projects are The Ambassador, Bob Martin, Hornblower, Holby City, Bleak House, Robin Hood, Enid, Just William, Marchlands and New Tricks. He's also a director and has worked with his nephew on the theatre production Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs, and short film Solid Geometry.

Quote: "The Star Wars films were one of the least important jobs I've ever done."

Trivia: He voiced a character in the video game Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.

Anthony Calf (Actor) .. DAC Robert Strickland

Sean McGinley (Actor) .. Ken Wright

Best Known For: Playing MacClannough in Braveheart.

Early-life: Born in 1956 in County Donegal, Ireland, where his father was working as a customs officer. Sean graduated from University College Galway and was also a member of the Druid Theatre Company from 1977 to 1989.

Career: McGinley's earliest on screen roles include appearances in the films The Field (1990), Fools of Fortune (1990) and Who Bombed Birmingham (1990). He then had a handful of guest roles in TV series before landing the role of MacClannough in Braveheart (1995). He then went on to appear in such TV series as Safe and Sound, DDU, Midsommer Murders and Waking the Dead, as well as the films Gangs of New York (2002), Freeze Frame (2004) and Man About Dog (2004). He played Snagsby in period drama series Bleak House in 2005 and Malachy in Canadian comedy-drama Republic of Doyle from 2010 until 2014. More recently, he played Terry in TV thriller Paula.

Quote: "An actor's life can be precarious at times, whether you are doing theatre, TV or film, and you sometimes might wish you were in a job with a pension."

Trivia: He has two daughters, who are called Roisin and Mairead.

Daniel Ryan (Actor) .. Barry Flint

Michelle Duncan (Actor) .. Georgia Wright

Radhika Aggarwal (Actor) .. Samira Patel

Danielle Calvert (Actor) .. Hayley Ward

David Kennedy (Actor) .. Rick Roddy

Letty Butler (Actor) .. Sophie Thomas

Joanna Griffith (Actor) .. Catherine

Seren White (Actor) .. Catherine's daughter

Matthew Evans (Director)

Tom Mullens (Producer)

Roy Mitchell (Writer)

New Tricks: The Girl Who Lived

11:00 pm - 12:20 am, Wednesday, December 31 on U&Drama +1 (60)

About this Broadcast

The Girl Who Lived
Season 9, Episode 4

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