New Tricks - The English Defence - 11:00 pm Wednesday, July 1 on U&Drama +1

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.

Nicholas Lyndhurst (Actor) .. Danny Griffin

Born: April 21, 1961 in Emsworth, Hampshire

Best Known For: Playing Del Boy's gangly brother Rodney Trotter.

Early-life: Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst was born on April 21, 1961, in Emsworth, Hampshire. He was raised by his single mum Liz, but has described his father Joe as a 'gentle man, very funny, very charming'. Nicholas subsequently had little contact with Joe after turning 17. At the age of eight he decided he wanted to be an actor, and at 10 he began training while boarding at the Corona Stage Academy. Appearances in adverts paid for his studies.

Career: Lyndhurst made his TV debut in an adaptation of Heidi in 1974. He followed this with roles in The Prince and the Pauper, and The Tomorrow People. In 1978, Lyndhurst began his transition into more grown-up roles by playing Ronnie Barker's son in Porridge spin-off Going Straight, and classic sitcom Butterflies, but it was Only Fools And Horses that made him a household name when it began in 1981. Since then, he's also starred in The Two of Us, The Piglet Files, David Copperfield, Gulliver's Travels, Goodnight Sweetheart, After You've Gone and Only Fools prequel Rock & Chips. He is now a regular in New Tricks.

Quote: 'The idea of achieving fame and fortune didn't cross my mind and I find it terrifying that being famous is the sole objective of so many young people today.'

Trivia: He enjoys underwater diving.

Tamzin Outhwaite (Actor) .. DCI Sasha Miller

Born: November 05, 1970 in Ilford, Essex

Best Known For: Playing Mel in EastEnders.

Early-life: Tamzin Outhwaite was born on November 5, 1970, in Ilford, Essex. Her mother is Italian. She discovered her love of performing at a young age and would put on plays with her two younger brothers. She became involved with local amateur dramatics in her teens and admits that her schoolwork suffered, although she always did well in drama. After taking her O-levels at 16, Outhwaite signed up for a three-year acting course at the London Studio Centre, where she was voted Most Outstanding All-Rounder.

Career: Outhwaite took small parts in various West End productions and also appeared on TV in The Bill and Men Behaving Badly. Her big break came in 1997, when dramatist Alan Ayckbourn spotted her in the chorus of a musical and offered her the lead role in his play Absent Friends. She then played the part of Melanie Healy in EastEnders for three years. Since leaving Walford, she has starred in the dramas Red Cap and Final Demand, and won rave reviews for her performance as a single mum in the improvised drama Out of Control. Other work includes an appearance in Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me, Doctor Who and Marple. She has also appeared on the stage in revivals of Boeing Boeing and Sweet Charity, and is the lead actress in New Tricks.

Quote: 'Fame's scary sometimes. I'm just thankful I'd had eight years as a jobbing actress before it happened to me. I'd have worried about my sanity if I'd been 19 or 20.'

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.

Anthony Calf (Actor) .. DAC Robert Strickland

Julie Graham (Actor) .. Tricia McAndrew

Born: July 24, 1965 in Irvine, North Ayrshire

Best Known For: At Home with the Braithwaites.

Early-life: Born July 24, 1965 in Irvine, North Ayrshire. Her father, John, a singer, left when she was a child. At the age of eight, writer/broadcaster David Webster became her stepfather. Her mother, Betty Gillin, who was also an actress, died of lung cancer, aged 50, when her daughter was 18. Julie made her TV debut in a 1986 episode of Taggart. It was the role of Alison McGrellis in Casualty in 1988 that helped boost her profile.

Career: Graham also starred in the TV series Harry and Life Support. However, she became a household name in comedy drama At Home with the Braithwaites. In 2003 she starred in Kay Mellor's steamy series Between the Sheets, and the same year appeared with Martin Clunes in the drama William and Mary (they were reunited years later when she made a guest appearance in Doc Martin). Her film credits include Silent Scream, Nuns on the Run, The Near Room, Preaching to the Perverted, Bedrooms and Hallways and Some Voices. She's also appeared in a revamp of cult 1970s series Survivors, The Bill, and was the best thing about short-lived BBC archaeological drama Bonekickers. More recently, Graham has enjoyed success with a starring role in ITV's period crime drama The Bletchley Circle and the BBC's Shetland.

Quote: 'Yes I've taken my clothes off and, yes, I've played saucy roles. But for god's sake it's not what I've built my career on. I try to find roles that are a little bit outside the box.'

Trivia: She is a patron of children's hospice Chestnut Tree House.

Ian Hogg (Actor) .. Robbie McAndrew

Nicholas Woodeson (Actor) .. Viktor Proust

Mariah Gale (Actor) .. Kelli Rogers

Finlay Robertson (Actor) .. Jeremy Powell

Leanne Best (Actor) .. Zoe Baines

Best Known For: Playing Jane Cobden in Ripper Street.

Early-life: Born in Liverpool in 1980. Leanne studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts before moving to London. Here, she worked as a waitress and a shop assistant before making her TV debut in Casualty in 2004.

Career: Best has appeared in such TV series as Doctors, Shetland, New Tricks, Line of Duty, Fortitude, Ripper Street and Cold Feet. She played the titular role in The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014), as well as Min Sakul in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Rose Deeks in TV film Babs (2017). She has made a number of stage appearances, particularly in Liverpool, in such plays as Macbeth, A Streetcar Named Desire and Educating Rita.

Quote: 'It was never a novel idea to me that women were strong, capable and grounded. You know, sometimes the goddess strews flowers and sometimes she has a flaming torch.'

Trivia: She trained as an athlete during her teen years and ran competitively for England at 16.

Anthony Barclay (Actor) .. Carlos Alvarez

Fox Jackson-Keen (Actor) .. Spencer Rogers

Gertrude Thoma (Actor) .. Agnes Bradley

Marston Bloom (Writer)

Tom Mullens (Producer)

Brian Grant (Director)

Richard Burrell (Executive producer)

New Tricks: The English Defence

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

About this Broadcast

The English Defence
Season 11, Episode 8

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