Minder - The Wrong Goodbye - 9:00 pm Monday, March 9 on That's TV 3

George Cole (Actor) .. Arthur Daley

Born: April 22, 1925 in London

Best Known For: Playing Arthur Daley in Minder.

Early-life: George Edward Cole was born in London on April 22, 1925. His mother, whom he never met, abandoned him at 10 days old, and he was adopted by the Cole family. George left school to be a butcher's boy, but won a part in a touring musical and opted for acting instead. At 15 he and his adoptive mother moved in with Alastair Sim's family after he appeared in a film with the thespian. They helped him lose his cockney accent, and he stayed with them until his first marriage at 27.

Career: Cole made his big-screen debut in 1941's Cottage to Let, but didn't achieve fame until he landed the part of Flash Harry in the classic St Trinian's films. He went on to have a successful career on stage, TV and in movies, often appearing opposite mentor Sim in such productions as Scrooge and The Green Man. TV credits include My Good Friend, Dad, An Independent Man, Blott on the Landscape and Minder, which ran for 15 years. In his later years, he appeared in Station Jim, Bodily Harm, Mary Reilly, A Class Apart, and Diamond Geezer. He died on August 6, 2015, after a long illness. He was 90.

Quote: 'I made my first film in 1940. I can't think much has changed apart from the equipment and cost.'

Trivia: In 2013, Cole published his autobiography, The World Was My Lobster.

Dennis Waterman (Actor) .. Terry McCann

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.

Glynn Edwards (Actor) .. Dave

Paul Eddington (Actor) .. Guy Wheeler

Born: June 18, 1927 in London

Best Known For: Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister and The Good Life.

Early-life: Born in London on June 18, 1927, Paul began his acting career with the Entertainments National Service Association during the Second World War. He went on to work for a repertory theatre company in Sheffield.

Career: Made his TV debut in 1956 in The Adventures of Robin Hood. A variety of stage, film and TV roles followed in the 1960s and 1970s. His big break came in his late forties when he landed the role of Jerry Leadbetter in The Good Life, and in the 1980s he cemented his position as a household name playing politician Jim Hacker in the acclaimed sitcoms Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. While making Yes, Prime Minister, Eddington was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer that eventually claimed his life. He continued to work and went on to appear in The Camomile Lawn in 1992. He died on November 4, 1995 at the age of 68.

Quote: 'A journalist once asked me what I would like my epitaph to be and I said I think I would like it to be 'He did very little harm'.'

Trivia: He was awarded a CBE in 1987.

Simon Cadell (Actor) .. William Pierce

Born: July 19, 1950 in London

Best Known For: Playing Jeffrey Fairbrother in Hi-de-Hi!

Early-life: Simon John Cadell was born in London on July 19, 1950. His father was a theatrical agent and his mother was the principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He had a brother, Patrick, and a sister, Selina. Simon made his first stage appearance in 1967 with the National Youth Theatre in a production of Zigger Zagger. He joined the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the same year and landed his first professional acting job in 1969.

Career: Cadell provided the voice of Blackberry in the animated film Watership Down (1978). He is best known for playing holiday camp manager Jeffrey Fairbrother in the hugely popular BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi! He went on to star in the miniseries Blott on the Landscape and the sitcoms Life Without George and Singles. In 1993, he received an Olivier award for playing two roles in an adaptation of Graham Greene's Travels with My Aunt. At one point, Cadell smoked 80 cigarettes a day. He died of lung cancer on March 6, 1996 at the age of 45.

Quote: On acting: 'You have to be indomitably tunnel-visioned to succeed.'

Trivia: Cadell narrated the children's TV series Bump.

Peter Childs (Actor) .. Rycott

Michael Povey (Actor) .. Jones

Mark Farmer (Actor) .. Justin

Iain Cuthbertson (Actor) .. Bernard McKenna

Francis Megahy (Director)

Minder: The Wrong Goodbye

9:00 pm - 10:05 pm, Monday, March 9 on That's TV 3 (71)

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The Wrong Goodbye
Season 7, Episode 6

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