Ashes to Ashes

Philip Glenister (Actor) .. Gene Hunt

Born: February 10, 1963 in London

Best Known For: Playing gruff copper Gene Hunt in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

Early-life: Philip Haywood Glenister was born on February 10, 1963, in London. Showbusiness was in his blood from an early age, especially as his father, John, is a TV director and his elder brother Robert is an actor. He went to Hatch End Comprehensive School, worked as a film publicist, and later studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama for three years, before appearing in 1990 stage play Mad Forest.

Career: Glenister's first professional role was as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet at the Lyceum, Edinburgh. He went on to star in Jonathan Harvey's acclaimed play Beautiful Thing at the Bush Theatre in London. On TV, Glenister honed his craft in Minder, Love Hurts, True Love, The Perfect Blue and Sharpe. However, it was roles in Clocking Off, The Hunt, State of Play and Island at War that boosted his profile. On the big screen he has appeared in ID, Calendar Girls, Kingdom of Heaven and Bel Ami. Award-winning BBC drama Life on Mars and its follow-up Ashes to Ashes turned him into a cult hero. He has also starred in the film Tuesday, and on TV in Cranford, Demons, Big School and Mad Dogs. He hosts the series For the Love of Cars.

Quote: "The celebrity stuff really isn't me. I'm interested in the work: good writing, getting the part and the character right, pleasing the audience."

Trivia: In 2008, he published a book on 1970s and 80s culture called Things Ain't What They Used to Be.

Keeley Hawes (Actor) .. Alex Drake

Born: February 10, 1976 in Marylebone, London

Best Known For: Her roles in Spooks, Ashes to Ashes and Line of Duty.

Early-life: Clare Julia Hawes was born in Marylebone, London on February 10, 1976. She trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and also had ten years of elocution lessons. At 17, she left home and worked in a casino until being spotted by a modelling scout and signed up by Select.

Career: During the 1990s, Hawes starred in music videos for the likes of Suede and James before gaining roles in TV in Heartbeat, Karaoke and The Beggar Bride. She got her TV breakthrough when she appeared as Zoe Reynolds in spy drama Spooks from 2002 until 2004. Then she went on to appear as Rose in The Vicar of Dibley, as Jane in Death at a Funeral (2007) and as the voice of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider video game series, starting with Tomb Raider: Legend. She was cast as Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes, a spin-off of the series Life on Mars, in 2007 and the series lasted until 2009. Following this, she appeared in such TV series as Identity and Upstairs, Downstairs. In 2014, she joined the cast of Line of Duty as Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton and guest starred as Ms Delphox in Doctor Who. More recently, she has appeared in The Missing and The Durrells.

Quote: "I've nothing against stay-at-home mums, but I love going to work, I love what I do and I wouldn't want to start resenting my home life if I was staying home 365 days a year."

Trivia: She was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Leading Actress for her performance in Line of Duty.

Dean Andrews (Actor) .. Ray Carling

Born: August 06, 1963 in Rotherham

Best Known For: Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.

Early-life: Dean was born in Rotherham on August 6, 1963. His parents were publicans. He spent 20 years singing at holiday resorts and on cruise ships before his big break came when he successfully auditioned for a part in Ken Loach's The Navigators (2001), a film set in Sheffield.

Career: Andrews went on to pick up guest roles in the likes of Buried, Clocking Off, No Angels, Casualty, Wire in the Blood and Shameless before landing his dream part as Ray Carling in the critically acclaimed Life on Mars. He played Carling in two series of Life on Mars and three series of spin-off show Ashes to Ashes. Since then, Andrews has rarely been off TV screens. He has starred in Marchlands, The Case, Being Eileen, Vera and Last Tango in Halifax.

Quote: "I've been so lucky in my career as I was a late starter and I owe it all to film director Ken Loach."

Trivia: In 2013, he got to sing in his first stage play, Victoria Wood's That Day We Sang at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.

Marshall Lancaster (Actor) .. Chris Skelton

Montserrat Lombard (Actor) .. Shaz Granger

Born: August 01, 1982 in London

Best Known For: Playing WPC Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in Ashes to Ashes

Early-life: Born in 1982 in London (a year after Ashes to Ashes is set). She developed a passion for acting from an early age and first caught the public's eye in a credit card advert in which a large nosed boyfriend sneezed over her parents. She made her TV debut in BBC One drama Doctors in 2002.

Career: Montserrat went on to star in cult comedy Nathan Barley in 2005 and the Tamsin Greig comedy drama Love Soup, which is currently enjoying a second serving. Other hits include Carrie & Barry, No Angels, Saxondale, Roman's Empire and Hyperdrive. Has a brief appearance in the late Heath Ledger's final movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: "There's only five main characters and one of them is called Sally," she explains. "I play Sally's friend. It's just wonderful."

Quote: "If I could change one thing about myself it would be my shyness."

Trivia: She voiced the role of Mirania in the 2011-2012 game The Last Story for the Nintendo Wii.

Daniel Mays (Actor) .. Jim Keats

Born: March 31, 1978 in Epping, Essex

Best Known For: Playing Danny in Line of Duty.

Early-life: Daniel Alan Mays was born on March 31, 1978 in Epping, Essex to an electrician father and a bank cashier mother. He was brought up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. Daniel studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts before going on to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, which he graduated from in 2000.

Career: After graduating, Mays landed a number of small roles in such TV series as EastEnders, In Deep and The Bill as well as the film Pearl Harbor (2001). He starred in BBC drama Rehab in 2003. Mays then went on to land roles in such TV series as Top Buzzer, Funland, Plus One and Ashes to Ashes. He also had an appearance in an episode of Doctor Who. Mays had parts in such films as Atonement (2007), Made in Dagenham (2010) and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011). As well as TV and film, Mays has had work in theatre, including six plays at London's Royal Court Theatre. More recently, he has had roles in TV series Line of Duty and Born to Kill, as well as Rogue One (2016).

Quote: "I want to use my power as an actor to talk and comment about the world that we face now. That's the draw for me, the kind of projects I want to do."

Trivia: In 2017, he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Line of Duty.

Joseph Long (Actor) .. Luigi

Geff Francis (Actor) .. Viv James

Joe Absolom (Actor) .. Andy Smith

Born: December 16, 1978 in London

Best Known For: Playing Matthew Rose in EastEnders, and Al in Doc Martin.

Early-life: Born December 16, 1978, in London. He has an older brother, Dan, and younger sister, Cassie. After appearing in a school play as a runner bean at the age of 10, he took up acting professionally. His father sent photos of his three children to an agency just for fun, but Joe became hooked on treading the boards. His first TV appearance came in an advert for peanut butter. More commercials followed.

Career: Absolom made his drama debut in 1991's Antonia and Jane, and hasn't looked back since. He worked consistently throughout his teens - by the time he was 18, he had appeared on TV in the likes of The Bill, Silent Witness and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Touching Evil and Dangerfield followed, but he didn't become a famous face until he starred in EastEnders. He left in 2000 after three years in the soap. Since then he's starred in Extreme Ops, Stan the Man, Unconditional Love, Servants and PoW. He also has a regular role in ITV's comedy drama Doc Martin and featured alongside Kevin Costner and fellow ex-Walford resident Michael Greco in the Western series Hatfields and McCoys.

Quote: "Acting's not a career I contemplated. I thought I'd go to university and spend three years drunk, then try to start to live properly."

Trivia: In 2010, Absolom won a celebrity version of Total Wipeout, winning £10,000 for charity.

Henry Garrett (Actor) .. Steve Smith

Katie Lyons (Actor) .. Karen Smith

Charlie Wernham (Actor) .. Barney Wright

Robert Gwilym (Actor) .. Fire chief

Julie Rutterford (Writer)

Howard Burch (Producer)

Alrick Riley (Director)

Matthew Graham (Executive producer)

Ashley Pharoah (Executive producer)

10:25 pm - 11:40 pm, Thursday, December 25 on That's TV 2 (65)

About this Broadcast

Season 3, Episode 3

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