Drop the Dead Donkey - A Clash of Interests - 03:30 am Thursday, February 5 on Rewind TV

Neil Pearson (Actor) .. Dave Charnley

Born: April 27, 1959 in London

Best Known For: Drop the Dead Donkey and Between the Lines.

Early-life: Neil Joshua Pearson was born on April 27th, 1959, in London. He has a sister and a brother. His parents split when he was five, and he was raised by his mother. While attending Woolverstone Hall, an experimental boarding school, Neil was bitten by the acting bug, and he went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first TV appearance came in 1982, and two years later he was sharing the stage with Leonard Rossiter in Joe Orton's drama Loot, where he struck up an acquaintance with the powers that be behind Hat Trick Productions.

Career: Pearson worked with Hat Trick's Jimmy Mulville in comedy series Chelmsford 123 and That's Love, before landing the role of Dave Charnley in the hit comedy Drop the Dead Donkey. Pearson capitalised on his success with the 1992 crime drama Between the Lines. Since then, he has cemented his reputation as a respected actor, with roles in a variety of projects including 1998 drama Rhodes, 2003 sitcom Trevor's World of Sport and A Lump in My Throat, which aired the same year. More recently, Pearson has appeared in All the Small Things.

Quote: "It's important that you get the little things right, otherwise no one will believe you on the big things."

Trivia: Away from TV, he wrote a book about Manchester-born publisher Jack Kahan, and is an avid poker player.

Stephen Tompkinson (Actor) .. Damien Day

Born: October 15, 1965 in Stockton-On-Tees, Cleveland

Best Known For: Roles in a number of hit shows.

Early-life: Born in Stockton-On-Tees, Cleveland, on October 15, 1965. He was raised a Catholic and considered becoming a priest. He later moved to St Anne's-on-Sea in Lancashire when his bank clerk father was promoted to manager. His mother was a primary school teacher. His grandfather encouraged him to become an actor and, after making his first stage appearance in The Crucible while in the sixth-form, he attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Career: Tompkinson has rarely been out of work since thanks to radio, stage, TV and film roles. Early parts came in The Manageress, Casualty and Treacle, before he got his first big role playing ruthless reporter Damien Day in acclaimed sitcom Drop The Dead Donkey in 1990. All Quiet on the Preston Front, Chancer and Minder followed, before Brassed Off and Ballykissangel made him a star in 1996. Hollywood agents came knocking, but Tompkinson preferred to stay in the UK to star in Grafters, Mr Charity, Ted and Alice, In Deep, Staying Up and Lucky Jim. He's also had roles in New Tricks, Marian, Again, Prime Suspect: The Final Act, Wild at Heart and Truckers. The drama DCI Banks has become a regular fixture in the schedules.

Quote: "I keep getting these posh people to play when really I'm a nice northern bloke adored by my Grandma."

Trivia: A huge cricket fan, he has stated that if he weren't an actor, he'd be a commentator.

Haydn Gwynne (Actor) .. Alex Pates

Born: January 01, 1957 in Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex

Best Known For: Drop the Dead Donkey.

Early-life: Haydn was born in Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, on January 1, 1957. She played county level tennis before going on to study sociology at the University of Nottingham. She then taught English as a foreign language for five years in Italy at the University of Rome La Sapienza. She became an actress in her mid-twenties. Her first major TV role came in the 1989 BBC miniseries Nice Work.

Career: Gwynne is arguably best known for her role as Alex Pates in Channel 4 sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey, a part she played for two series. She later became a regular in Peak Practice and Mersey Beat. Her other TV credits include Rome, Lewis, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Sherlock, New Tricks, Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise and Ripper Street. She has also performed in a number of Royal Shakespeare Company productions.

Quote: "Age is a huge issue for actresses. The problem starts when you can no longer get away with 39."

Trivia: Gwynne is fluent in French and Italian.

David Swift (Actor) .. Henry Davenport

Jeff Rawle (Actor) .. George Dent

Robert Duncan (Actor) .. Gus Hedges

Victoria Wicks (Actor) .. Sally Smedley

Liddy Oldroyd (Director)

Andy Hamilton (Writer)

Born: May 28, 1954 in London

Best Known For: His writing partnership with Guy Jenkin, and his appearances on radio and TV panel shows.

Early-life: Andrew Neil Hamilton was born in London on May 28, 1954. He went on to study English at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society.

Career: Hamilton is best known for his writing partnership with Guy Jenkin. They have worked together on the TV shows The Kit Curran Radio Show, Drop the Dead Donkey, Outnumbered and Ballot Monkeys, and the film What We Did on Our Holiday (2014). Hamilton has also contributed content to Not the Nine O'Clock News, Who Dares Wins, Alas Smith & Jones, The Two Ronnies and Scotch & Wry, and created Trevor's World of Sport. Hamilton has also appeared regularly on Radio 4 programmes Week Ending, The News Quiz, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and Old Harry's Game, which he also created. He also regularly appears on QI and Have I Got News for You.

Quote: "Even in the darkest crisis, what you often remember is the moment of absurd comedy that broke through it."

Trivia: Hamilton is the voice of Dr Elephant, the dentist in children's show Peppa Pig.

Guy Jenkin (Writer)

Drop the Dead Donkey: A Clash of Interests

03:30 am - 04:00 am, Thursday, February 5 on Rewind TV (81)

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A Clash of Interests
Season 1, Episode 3

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