Last of the Summer Wine - Gnome and Away - 7:40 pm Monday, February 16 on U&Drama +1

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.

Robert Fyfe (Actor) .. Howard

Jean Fergusson (Actor) .. Marina

Juliette Kaplan (Actor) .. Pearl

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.

Keith Clifford (Actor) .. Billy Hardcastle

Kathy Staff (Actor) .. Nora Batty

Born: July 12, 1928 in Cheshire

Best Known For: Playing Nora Batty in Last of the Summer Wine.

Early-life: Born Minnie Higginbottom in Cheshire on July 12, 1928. She took an office job with the National Gas & Oil Engine Company in Ashton-under-Lyne and this gave her the opportunity to perform in the firm's amateur acting group. She started acting professionally in 1949 in repertory companies in Scotland and Wales.

Career: After marrying schoolteacher John Staff in 1951, she had two children and took a break from acting for 10 years. Fellow actor Gerald Harper, a friend from her rep days, persuaded her to return and she became an extra in TV. She appeared in a number of small roles until her big break came in 1973 when she was cast in the pilot episode of Last of the Summer Wine. Over 35 years, she appeared in 29 series of the long-running sitcom playing a broom-wielding, humourless battleaxe. During her time on Summer Wine, she also appeared in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Crossroads. She had a recurring role as Mrs Blewett in Open All Hours. She starred in a revived version of Crossroads in 2001 but left after a year due to the soap's racy storylines. She died on December 13, 2008, at the age of 80.

Quote: "I enjoyed myself as Nora Batty because I enjoyed the comedy."

Trivia: Nora Batty was synonymous with wrinkled stockings.

Jane Freeman (Actor) .. Ivy

Thora Hird (Actor) .. Edie

Born: May 28, 1911 in Morecambe

Best Known For: Being one of Britain's finest character actresses.

Early-life: Born in Morecambe on May 28, 1911, Thora made her stage debut at the age of two months in a play directed by her father, who was the stage manager at the Royalty Theatre in Morecambe. When she was old enough, Thora joined the Royalty's theatre company, although during the day she worked as a cashier at a local grocery store, a job she held for 10 years. After appearing in more than 500 plays, George Formby saw her in a performance in 1941 and recommended her to Michael Balcon at Ealing Film Studios.

Career: Hird made her film debut in The Black Sheep of Whitehall in 1942 with Will Hay and a string of small roles followed. She had a memorable role as a sharp-tongued mother in A Kind of Loving (1962). Her biggest roles were on TV in sitcoms, including Meet the Wife, In Loving Memory, Hallelujah! and for nearly 20 years in Last of the Summer Wine. Her most acclaimed performances came later in life in straight roles. She won Bafta Best Actress awards for two of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues and the drama Lost for Words. Away from acting, she hosted the religious programme Praise Be! for many years. She died on March 15, 2003 at the age of 91.

Quote: As Mrs Rothwell in the film A Kind of Loving: "You filthy pig! You filthy disgusting pig!"

Trivia: She was made a Dame in 1993.

Jean Alexander (Actor) .. Auntie Wainwright

Mike Grady (Actor) .. Barry

Stephen Lewis (Actor) .. Smiler

Sarah Thomas (Actor) .. Glenda

Gordon Wharmby (Actor) .. Wesley

Danny O Dea (Actor) .. Eli

Dora Bryan (Actor) .. Roz

Tom Owen (Actor) .. Tom

Roy Clarke (Writer)

Alan JW Bell (Director)

Last of the Summer Wine: Gnome and Away

7:40 pm - 8:20 pm, Monday, February 16 on U&Drama +1 (60)

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Gnome and Away
Season 22, Episode 6

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