Benidorm

Perry Benson (Actor) .. Clive

Born: October 12, 1961 in London

Best Known For: You Rang, M'Lord?, Oh, Doctor Beeching! and Benidorm.

Early-life: Perry was born in London on October 12, 1961. Perry was seen in the film Scum in 1979 and a year later, he starred in the TV series Going Out. Roles in the 1980s included guest appearances in The Black Adder, The Young Ones, Prospects, Filthy Rich & Catflap, Hi-de-Hi!, and The Bill. During this period, he also starred on the big screen in Sid and Nancy (1986).

Career: Benson became more widely known after playing Henry Livingstone in the BBC sitcom You Rang, M'Lord. He went on to star in Oh, Doctor Beeching!, Operation Good Guys, Top Buzzer, Rose and Maloney, My Family, Parents of the Band, and Reggie Perrin. His film credits include Love, Honour and Obey (2000), Alien Autopsy (2006), This is England (2006), Somers Town (2008), Outside Bet (2011) and Get Santa (2014). He also starred in the mini-series This is England '86. More recently, he has been playing Clive Dyke in ITV sitcom Benidorm.

Quote: 'I'm no Brad Pitt when I get my kit off, but people don't seem to mind too much.'

Trivia: Benson admits to being a tech geek - he is a qualified computer network engineer.

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.

Janine Duvitski (Actor) .. Jacqueline

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.

Siobhan Finneran (Actor) .. Janice

Adam Gillen (Actor) .. Liam

Tim Healy (Actor) .. Les/Lesley

Born: January 29, 1952 in Newcastle upon Tyne

Best Known For: Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Early-life: Timothy Malcolm Healy was born on January 29, 1952, in Newcastle upon Tyne. Before becoming an actor, he served an apprenticeship as a welder at the Caterpillar Tractor Co and spent three years as a paratrooper in the British Army. He started his showbusiness career in 1972 as a stand-up comedian.

Career: After a number of minor roles on TV, his big break came in 1983 when he landed the part of Dennis Patterson in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. The hugely popular comedy drama returned for a second series in 1986 and further new episodes were broadcast in 2002 and 2004. Healy has been an ever-present face on British TV since the success of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and he has appeared in a number of shows, including Boys from the Bush, Common As Muck, The Grand, Catterick and Coronation Street. Healy has also had an accomplished stage career. He was a founder member of Live Theatre in Newcastle in the 1970s and he has played everything from Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk to Sir Toby Belch in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for his role as the dad in the West End version of Billy Elliot. He played transvestite Les/Lesley in the third series of ITV sitcom Benidorm and became a regular in series four.

Quote: 'I love the freedom that a bike gives you, the open road. Plus, when I´ve got my helmet on, nobody knows who I am.'

Sherrie Hewson (Actor) .. Joyce

Born: September 17, 1950 in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire

Best Known For: Coronation Street and Loose Women.

Early-life: Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson was born in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, on September 17, 1950. Her father was a singer and her mother was a model. From the age of six, Sherrie began touring theatres in revues. She went on to graduate from Rada. Early TV appearances included roles in The Moonstone, Love for Lydia, Z Cars, Minder, Juliet Bravo and The Gentle Touch.

Career: Hewson's talent for comedy led to her working in various Russ Abbot TV shows for more than 10 years. Other comedy credits include All at Number 20, In Loving Memory, Never the Twain, Home to Roost and Barbara. In 1993, she was cast in Coronation Street as accident-prone supermarket assistant Maureen Naylor. She stayed with the show until 1997 and made a brief return in 2006. Another soap beckoned in 2001 when she began playing receptionist Virginia Raven in the short-lived revival of Crossroads. In 2004, she joined the cast of her third soap opera, Emmerdale. She remained on the Yorkshire-based show for two years. Since 2003, Hewson has been a regular panellist on Loose Women. More recently, she has been playing hotel manager Joyce Temple-Savage in ITV sitcom Benidorm. In August 2015, she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Quote: 'Benidorm isn't really the place to find romance,' she says. 'It's either couples or stag dos, or blokes getting drunk and going to the girlie bars.'

Trivia: In 2011, Hewson published her autobiography, Behind the Laughter.

Tony Maudsley (Actor) .. Kenneth

Born: January 30, 1968 in Kirkby, Merseyside

Best Known For: Playing hairdresser Kenneth in Benidorm.

Early-life: Tony was born in Kirkby, Merseyside, on January 30, 1968. He trained to be an actor at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. His first acting role was in the 1998 TV movie A Life for a Life.

Career: Maudsley made his film debut in Plunkett & Macleane (1999). His other film credits include Sleepy Hollow (1999), Honest (2000) and Born Romantic (2000). He is largely known for small parts on TV. These have included roles in the likes of Coronation Street, Queer as Folk, Where the Heart Is, Peak Practice, Rose and Maloney, and Doc Martin. He has had recurring roles on In a Land of Plenty, Eyes Down, The Royal and The Job Lot. He is perhaps best known for playing hairdresser Kenneth in Benidorm and Grawp in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).

Quote: On filming Benidorm: 'It was like being on holiday. It's friendly, there's so much to do.'

Trivia: He won a Royal Television Society Best Newcomer award for his role in A Life for a Life.

Steve Pemberton (Actor) .. Mick

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.

Oliver Stokes (Actor) .. Michael

Danny Walters (Actor) .. Tiger

Born: June 01, 1993 in Harlow

Best Known For: Playing Tiger Dyke in Benidorm.

Early-life: Danny was born in Harlow on June 1, 1993. He spent a year training at the London School of Musical Theatre.

Career: Walters made his TV debut in an episode of BBC3 combat drama Our World War in 2014. In the same year he became a regular on the ITV sitcom Benidorm, playing Tiger Dyke.

Quote: On landing his role in Benidorm: 'I went from being a young wannabe actor to being surrounded by amazing talent.'

Trivia: He enjoys juggling and playing poker.

Amanda Barrie (Actor) .. Psychic Sue

Born: September 14, 1935 in Ashton-Under-Lyne, near Manchester

Best Known For: Playing Alma in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born Shirley Anne Broadbent on September 14, 1935, in Ashton-Under-Lyne, near Manchester. She was named after Shirley Temple by her showbiz-mad parents and made her stage debut as a Christmas tree fairy at her grandfather's local theatre. At the age of three, she began singing and taking ballet lessons, but was expelled from school for playing truant to attend extra lessons. She studied drama at Cone-Ripman School and moved to London at 13 to become a chorus girl, following her parents' divorce.

Career: Barrie's TV debut was as a hostess on Double Your Money in 1955. She changed her name in 1958 and appeared in West End shows such as Private Lives, Hobson's Choice and Any Wednesday. Various TV and movie roles followed, including Danger Man, The Morecambe And Wise Show, Carry On Cabby (1963), Carry On Cleo (1964) and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975). She concentrated on theatre until Coronation Street made her a household name. Her character, Alma, was supposed to be in the show for a fortnight, but she became a regular in 1989 until being killed off in 2000. She then went on to appear in Doctors and Bad Girls. In 2004, she was a contestant on the first series of Hell's Kitchen, where she had several heated arguments with chef Gordon Ramsay.

Quote: 'I always say you can't play emotional things unless you are emotional, and you can't play a sense of humour scene unless you have a sense of humour. You have to be as honest as possible.'

Trivia: Barrie has appeared in a number of pantomimes.

Alan David (Actor) .. Glynn

Leslie Jordan (Actor) .. Buck A Roo

Born: April 29, 1955 in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Best Known For: Playing Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace.

Early-life: Leslie Allen Jordan was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on April 29, 1955. After training with acting coach Carolyn Barry in the 1980s, Leslie started appearing in a number of commercials. In 1986, he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on The Fall Guy.

Career: Jordan would go on to be best known for his TV work. His credits include guest appearances on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Dharma & Greg, Caroline in the City, Nash Bridges, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and American Horror Story: Coven. He is best known for a recurring role as Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy. In the summer of 2014, he entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Quote: 'In my line of work, you're always thinking about what's next, but then you reach your fifties and you realise that you've just got to live for today.'

Trivia: He has toured with his autobiographical one-man show, My Trip Down the Pink Carpet.

Harriet Webb (Actor) .. Tracey

David Avila (Actor) .. Airport official

Derren Litten (Writer)

David Sant (Director)

Lucy Armitage (Producer)

Ben Cavey (Executive producer)

Sophie Clarke-Jervoise (Executive producer)

12:00 am - 12:55 am, Sunday, March 15 on That's TV (56)

About this Broadcast

Season 7, Episode 2

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