Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators - This Rough Magic - 5:25 pm Friday, February 13 on U&Drama +1

Mark Benton (Actor) .. Frank Hathaway

Born: November 16, 1965 in Guisborough

Best Known For: Northern Lights, and Waterloo Road.

Early-life: Born on 16 November, 1965, in Guisborough in the North East, Mark hoped to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, actor Michael Gunn. Always the class clown, he fell in love with the theatre and spent many years trying to make a career out of acting. He was in the same drama class at the Stockton-Billingham Tech as actress Elizabeth Carling. Some of his early acting experience came with the Middlesbrough Youth Theatre, with performances in plays such as Atmos Fear and Twist.

Career: Benton's big break came in the 1997 Mike Leigh film Career Girls. For the past decade he has barely been off our screens. He had a recurring role as Father McBride in the James Nesbitt series Murphy's Law. He has starred with Vic and Bob in their remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Catterick, and Monkey Trousers. He was comedy gold in Craig Cash's Early Doors and The Booze Cruise trilogy. His biggest role was alongside Robson Green in Christmas Lights, Northern Lights, City Lights and Clash of the Santas. He was also a regular on Waterloo Road and is the host of game show The Edge. In 2013, he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Quote: "I think sometimes you have to ask if you want to be an actor or do you want to be a celebrity? I was tempted to do Celebrity Mastermind but I couldn't think of a specialist subject."

Trivia: Benton is a die-hard supporter of Middlesbrough FC and has featured in the club's official season ticket advertising campaign.

Jo Joyner (Actor) .. Luella Shakespeare

Born: February 23, 1978 in Harlow, Essex

Best Known For: Playing Tanya Branning in EastEnders.

Early-life: Born Joanne Mary Joyner on May 24, 1978, in Essex. She has an older brother called Dan. The family later moved to Oxfordshire, where she grew up. She says she always wanted to act, and after finishing her A levels, enrolled in the Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating in 1999 with a BA. She then spent a couple of years in Manchester looking for work, eventually honing her craft on the stage.

Career: Joyner's big break came with the acclaimed drama Clocking Off. She went on to do a few other northern projects, including Fat Friends and Silent Witness, as well as the period miniseries North and South, before she bit the bullet and moved down to London. She then landed a role in nursing drama No Angels, and has been busy ever since. In 2005, Joyner played a Big Brother contestant in two episodes of Doctor Who, and also appeared in Spooks. She showed off her comedy skills in the sketch show Swinging (winning a Rose d'Or comedy award in the process), before landing the part of Tanya Branning in 2006. Despite her character taking a couple of prolonged breaks, she remains hugely popular with fans.

Quote: On whether she'd like to go to Hollywood: "I couldn't lose the weight and take the pressure of it all being about looks! I'd love to do it when I'm 50 or 60, like Julie Walters or Brenda Blethyn. Then it's more about what you do and being a good actor."

Trivia: Joyner has won two British Soap Awards.

Patrick Walshe McBride (Actor) .. Sebastian Brudenell

Amber Aga (Actor) .. DI Marlowe

Joey Batey (Actor) .. Callum Ballimore

Nick Moran (Actor) .. Steffan Shiplake

Born: December 23, 1968 in East End of London

Best Known For: Playing Eddy in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

Early-life: Nicholas Jonathan Moran was born in the East End of London on December 23, 1968. He grew up on the South Oxhey council estate near Watford and the Greater London boundary. His first hit film appearance was in Buddy's Song (1991), alongside Chesney Hawkes and Roger Daltrey.

Career: In the 1990s, Moran appeared in such films as The Future Lasts a Long Time (1996), Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and New Blood (1999). Since then, some of his biggest film credits have included The Musketeer (2001) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) and Part 2 (2011). He has also appeared on TV in Mr Selfridge, The Wrong Mans, DCI Banks and the film Babs (2017). Moran co-wrote the play Telstar and directed its 2009 film adaptation, before going on to co-write and direct biographical drama film The Kid (2010). He has also appeared in various stage productions, including West End performances of Look Back in Anger, The Countess and Twelve Angry Men.

Quote: "No one thinks they're irritating. Nobody thinks they're boring. So if you're playing a character like that, you have to play them as how they think of themselves."

Trivia: He practices karate in his spare time.

Hannah Hutch (Actor) .. Iris Swifton

Emma Noakes (Actor) .. Maggie Pross

Daniel Cerqueira (Actor) .. Lawrence Pross

Will Thorp (Actor) .. Anton Dukes

Ace Bhatti (Actor) .. Chester Patterson

Best Known For: Playing Yusef Khan in EastEnders.

Early-life: Ahsen Rafiq Bhatti was born on September 13, 1969 in Nottingham. He started his acting career at age 14, appearing in the children's series Dramarama. Ace trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career: In the 1990s, Bhatti's career started to take off. He got roles in such TV series as Family Pride, Band of Gold, Cardiac Arrest and Holding On. In 2002, he made an appearance in the film Bend It Like Beckham. The next year, he had the lead part in the TV dark comedy Grease Monkeys. He went on to appear in New Street Law, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and The Sarah Jane Adventures before landing the role of Yusef Khan in EastEnders in 2010. Bhatti departed from the soap opera in 2011 and, since then, he has made appearances in a number of TV series, including Black Work, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, DCI Banks and Three Girls.

Quote: "In my career, I've played quite a few dysfunctional people! But what I've learned is that you also have to find empathy in any character and there's reasons why people are a certain way."

Trivia: He used to be part of a lifeboat crew.

Ella Kelly (Producer)

Will Trotter (Executive producer)

Carolina Giammetta (Director)

Kit Lambert (Writer)

Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators: This Rough Magic

5:25 pm - 6:25 pm, Friday, February 13 on U&Drama +1 (60)

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This Rough Magic
Season 1, Episode 4

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