Benidorm

Paul Bazely (Actor) .. Troy

Nicholas Burns (Actor) .. Martin Weedon

Jake Canuso (Actor) .. Mateo

Born: January 13, 1970 in Near Zurich

Best Known For: Playing barman Mateo in Benidorm.

Early-life: Born Carmine Canuso near Zurich on January 13, 1970 to Italian parents. By the age of 16, he was the youngest member of Zurich's leading contemporary dance company. He performed on the stage and in TV shows in Paris before spending a year in London training at the London Studio Centre. After finishing the course, he trained and performed in New York. He returned to Paris and got to work with Roman Polanski in a piece at the Opera de Bastille.

Career: After settling in London, Canuso danced on tour with a number of artists, including Take That, East 17, Elton John, the Spice Girls and Annie Lennox. He also performed on various TV shows such as the Les Dawson Show, the Royal Variety Performance and Top of the Pops. Canuso eventually made the move into acting and his TV credits include guest appearances in Hustle, Heartbeat, Casualty, Doctors, Shameless, The Hour and Bad Education. He is best known for playing barman Mateo in ITV sitcom Benidorm. On the big screen, he has appeared in Kinky Boots (2005), Journal of a Contract Killer (2008), City Rats (2009) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

Quote: On his Benidorm character: "I don't think there are many similarities between me and Mateo actually. We are quite far apart as people."

Trivia: He speaks six languages.

Abigail Cruttenden (Actor) .. Kate Weedon

Janine Duvitski (Actor) .. Jacqueline Stewart

Best Known For: Waiting for God, One Foot in the Grave and Benidorm.

Early-life: Born Christine Janine Drzewicki in Morecambe in June 1952 to an English mother and a Polish father. She moved to London to train as an actor at the East 15 Acting School. Her first TV credit was an episode of Z Cars in 1972. After finishing her training and despite being in her early 20s, she landed the role of a 13-year-old girl in the 1975 BBC play Diane. Her big break came in 1977 when Mike Leigh cast her in his stage play Abigail's Party. She went on to play the same role in an abridged TV version for the BBC.

Career: Duvitski has worked steadily on TV in a number of shows, popping up in the likes of Citizen Smith, Minder, Cowboys, The New Statesman, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War and Little Dorrit. Her face is better known to audiences as prudish assistant Jane in Waiting for God, Victor and Margaret's neighbour Pippa in One Foot in the Grave and swinger Jacqueline in Benidorm. She has also appeared on the big screen in Dracula (1979), Breaking Glass (1980) and The Madness of King George (1994).

Quote: "People really do seem to believe I'm a swinger!"

Trivia: Duvitski enjoys reading when she's not filming.

Hannah Hobley (Actor) .. Chantelle Garvey

Geoffrey Hutchings (Actor) .. Mel

Siobhan Finneran (Actor) .. Janice Garvey

Kenny Ireland (Actor) .. Donald Stewart

Born: August 07, 1945 in Paisley

Best Known For: Being an actor and theatre director.

Early-life: Kenny was born in Paisley in 1947. His first TV credit was an episode of crime drama Strangers in 1980. He went on to become a regular fixture on TV, popping up in the likes of C.A.T.S. Eyes, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Life Without George. He also starred on the big screen in Local Hero (1983).

Career: Ireland had a notable career in the theatre, spending 10 years as the director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company in Edinburgh. His stage directing credits included Guys & Dolls, Much Ado About Nothing, Of Mice and Men, Waiting for Godot and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Always in demand as a character actor, his TV credits included guest appearances in Drop the Dead Donkey, House of Cards, Taggart, Monarch of the Glen, Heartbeat, New Tricks and Midsomer Murders. He played swinger Donald Stewart in ITV comedy Benidorm between 2007 and 2014. He died on July 31, 2014 at the age of 68 following a long battle with cancer.

Quote: "Filming Benidorm is like a big holiday. All your friends want to come out and visit!"

Trivia: When he was not directing or acting, Ireland enjoyed playing backgammon.

Elsie Kelly (Actor) .. Oracle's mum

Steve Pemberton (Actor) .. Mick Garvey

Born: September 01, 1967 in Blackburn

Best Known For: The League of Gentlemen and Benidorm.

Early-life: Steve James Pemberton was born on September 1, 1967, in Blackburn, Lancashire. He first realised he wanted to be an actor while still at school, and his first role was playing Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank at the Chorley Little Theatre - although he admits he was the only boy who auditioned. Following his A levels, he gained a Theatre Arts degree from Bretton Hall College in Yorkshire, where he met Reece Shearsmith and Mark Gatiss who, along with Jeremy Dyson, became The League of Gentlemen.

Career: Pemberton began his professional career on stage, but suffered a setback when he had a heart attack at the age of 25 while working in Germany. He went on to feature in Ken Russell's Alice in RussiaLand in 1995, but it was The League of Gentleman that was his first major success, first on radio, then on TV and film. He also appeared in the remake of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Gormenghast, Shameless, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Blackpool. The latter co-starred David Tennant, and the duo were reunited in 2008 for a two-part Doctor Who adventure. Other projects include the Woody Allen film Match Point, Lassie, Psychoville, and Benidorm.

Quote: On his favourite League of Gentlemen character: "I miss Pauline from the job centre the most. It was scary when I put on the costume and the wig and the lips. It was like being possessed."

Sheila Reid (Actor) .. Madge

Born: December 21, 1937 in Glasgow

Best Known For: Playing the perma-tanned Madge Harvey in Benidorm.

Early-life: Sheila was born in Glasgow on December 21, 1937. She made her TV debut as an assistant librarian in a 1960 edition of Armchair Theatre. During the 1960s she starred in two National Theatre productions directed by Laurence Olivier, The Crucible and Three Sisters.

Career: During a long and distinguished acting career, Reid has balanced roles on the stage with guest appearances in a wide variety of TV shows, including The Sweeney, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, All Creatures Great and Small, Taggart, Midsomer Murders, The Bill, Casualty and Doctor Who. She has also starred on the big screen in Brazil (1985), Felicia's Journey (1999) and The Winter Guest (1997). Fame came to her late in life thanks to her role as mobility scooter-driving chain-smoker Madge Harvey in the hugely popular ITV sitcom Benidorm.

Quote: On her success in Benidorm: "It is constantly surprising to me but it's very nice to be appreciated and it has been huge fun to play Madge."

Trivia: While her character in Benidorm is always puffing on a cigarette, Reid is a non-smoking vegetarian who practises yoga every day.

Crissy Rock (Actor) .. Janey York

Hugh Sachs (Actor) .. Gavin

Oliver Stokes (Actor) .. Michael Garvey

Johnny Vegas (Actor) .. The Oracle

Born: September 11, 1971 in St Helens, Lancashire

Best Known For: His hoarse voice.

Early-life: Born Michael Joseph Pennington in St Helens, Lancashire, on September 11, 1971, he's the youngest of four children. As a child, he wanted to be a priest, and joined a seminary at the age of 11, but left after four terms. He then attended an all-boys grammar school before studying art and ceramics at Middlesex University. Following his graduation, he worked in a bar and went through periods of being unemployed before trying comedy, performing as the character of failed potter and disillusioned entertainer Johnny Vegas.

Career: Vegas's big break came in 1997 when he was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival. He made his TV debut in the one-off Johnny Vegas TV Show the following year. In 2001, he landed a role in the Paul Whitehouse sitcom Happiness, which won him the Best Newcomer trophies at the Royal Television Society and British Comedy Awards, although it was arguably his appearance in a series of cult adverts with a sock monkey for ITV Digital that made him a household name. Since then, he's been a regular panellist on Shooting Stars, acted in series Tipping the Velvet, Bleak House, Dead Man Weds, Ideal, Massive, Benidorm, Still Open All Hours and presented his own show, 18 Stone of Idiot. He was also in Johnny Depp film The Libertine and The Harry Hill Movie.

Quote: "This is a good job that gives us a good life, you can't expect to turn that off when it suits you."

Trivia: Vegas released an autobiography, Becoming Johnny Vegas, in 2013.

Geoffrey Perkins (Producer)

Derren Litten (Writer)

Sandy Johnson (Director)

Sophie Clarke-Jervoise (Executive producer)

12:25 am - 12:50 am, Tuesday, February 10 on That's TV (56)

About this Broadcast

Season 2, Episode 2

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