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

Lucian Msamati (Actor) .. Tobias Ndbele

Estella Daniels (Actor) .. Tsitsi

Simon Kunz (Actor) .. Anders de Villiers

Charlie Roe (Actor) .. Pathologist

Gabriel Fleary (Actor) .. South African man

Ashley Pharoah (Writer)

David Drury (Director)

Howard Burch (Producer)

Matthew Graham (Executive producer)

10:30 pm - 11:25 pm, Monday, December 29 on That's TV 2 (65)

About this Broadcast

Season 3, Episode 7

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