Our Friends in the North - 1967 - 12:30 am Wednesday, June 24 on BBC Four

Christopher Eccleston (Actor) .. Nicky Hutchinson

Born: February 16, 1964 in Salford

Best Known For: Doctor Who.

Early-life: Christopher Eccleston was born on February 16, 1964, in Salford, Manchester, but raised in Eccles. His father worked in a factory, and he knew he didn't want to follow in his footsteps, preferring to dream of a career as a Manchester United footballer. However, he realised he was better at acting than soccer, so after studying at Salford Technical College, he enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career: Following his graduation in 1986, Eccleston spent several years without an acting job, making ends meet as a labourer. He eventually made his professional stage debut at the Bristol Old Vic, and gained plaudits for his first film, Let Him Have It. Major roles in Cracker, Shallow Grave and Our Friends in the North made him an instantly recognisable figure. He's since appeared in such projects as Jude, Hillsborough, Elizabeth, The Others, 24 Hour Party People, 28 Days Later, and The Second Coming. In 2005 he became the ninth official Doctor Who, but quit after one series to avoid being typecast. He's since appeared in Heroes, GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Lennon Naked, Accused, The Shadow Line, and HBO drama The Leftovers.

Quote: 'I don't want to be thought of as the Doctor to the exclusion of everything else I've done or may do.'

Trivia: He supports Manchester United and used to be a regular marathon runner.

Daniel Craig (Actor) .. Geordie `George" Peacock

Born: March 02, 1968 in Chester

Best Known For: Being James Bond.

Early-life: Daniel Wroughton Craig was born in Chester on March 2, 1968. His father is a former merchant seaman and pub landlord, his mother an art teacher. Daniel has an older sister, Lea, and knew from an early age he wanted to be an actor, but failed to get into drama school at 17. He spent time with the National Youth Theatre before being accepted by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career: Craig started out on stage, eventually making his film debut in 1992's The Power of One. TV series Our Friends in the North and TV movie The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders made him a star in 1996. The movies Elizabeth (1998), Love is the Devil (1998), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Road to Perdition (2002), The Mother (2003), Sylvia (2003), Enduring Love (2004), Layer Cake (2004) and Munich (2005) followed. He was controversially cast in a five-film deal as James Bond, but proved doubters wrong with an outstanding performance in Casino Royale (2006). He's since followed it up with Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012). He's also appeared in Cowboys & Aliens (2011), and the US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Quote: 'I always wanted to be an actor. I had the arrogance to believe I couldn't be anything else.'

Trivia: Skyfall made more than $1billion at the box office.

Mark Strong (Actor) .. Tosker `Terry" Cox

Born: August 05, 1963 in London

Best Known For: Being a prolific character actor.

Early-life: Born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London on August 5, 1963, Mark is the son of an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left home soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother. She had has name changed by deed poll when he was young. He studied in Munich with the intention of becoming a lawyer but after a year, he returned to London to study English and drama at Royal Holloway, University of London. He went on to develop his acting craft at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Career: Strong made his TV debut in a 1989 episode of After Henry and followed this up with a number of guest roles in the likes of The Bill, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect 3 and Kavanagh QC. In 1996, he had a starring role in acclaimed BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North. Since then he has appeared in dozens of TV shows and featured in a number of films, including Revolver (2005), Syriana (2005), RocknRolla (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Robin Hood (2010), Green Lantern (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), John Carter (2012) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). In 2013, Strong played a detective in short-lived AMC crime drama Low Winter Sun, reprising the lead role he played in the original 2006 British miniseries.

Quote: 'Because I had children relatively late - in my 40s rather than in my 20s - it wasn't anything I ever knew that I would do. It kind of happened to me: I met the right woman and we had children.'

Trivia: Away from acting, Strong is heavily in demand as a narrator.

Gina McKee (Actor) .. Mary Cox

Born: April 14, 1964 in Sunderland

Best Known For: Our Friends in the North.

Early-life: Born in Sunderland in 1964, she was raised in Easington, County Durham, by non-theatrical parents. Notoriously reticent at talking about her family, but she does admit to being a highly creative and imaginative child who loved to draw, write stories and act out plays. She became hooked on acting and, while not encouraged by her parents, they didn't stand in her way when she won a role on TV show Quest of Eagles before joining the National Youth Theatre.

Career: At 17, McKee auditioned but was turned down by drama school. At first, she thought she wouldn't make it in showbusiness, but continued auditioning anyway. She appeared on TV in such programmes as An Actor's Life for Me, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Inspector Morse, and The Lenny Henry Show. McKee also made a handful of movies, most notably Mike Leigh's Naked, before hitting the big time with miniseries Our Friends in the North in 1996, for which she won a Bafta. Since then, she's appeared in such acclaimed projects as Notting Hill, Croupier, The Forsyte Saga, The Lost Prince and The Borgias.

Quote: 'Some people can talk about their private lives to the media, and good luck to them. But I just don't feel comfortable. And I wouldn't be any good at it - showing people around my kitchen or whatever. I'd be pathetic in fact.'

Trivia: In 2002, McKee received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland.

Peter Jeffrey (Actor) .. Commissioner Colin Blamire

Michael Gunn (Actor) .. John Clark

Mark Drewry (Actor) .. Michael Frisch

Louise Salter (Actor) .. Julia Allen

Malcolm McDowell (Actor) .. Benny Barratt

Born: June 13, 1943 in Leeds

Best Known For: A Clockwork Orange.

Early-life: Born Malcolm John Taylor on June 13, 1943, in Horsforth, Leeds. He moved to Liverpool when he was three and also spent time in Bridlington, where his parents owned a pub; his father also spent time in the RAF. He has two sisters - one is the mother of Primeval and 24 actor Alexander Siddig. Malcolm attended Cannock House boarding school in Kent, where he first decided to become an actor. He later studied at the London Academy of Music and Art, then made ends meet as a waiter and salesman before landing acting roles.

Career: After changing his name to McDowell (his mother's maiden name) to avoid clashing with another actor called Malcolm Taylor, he started out in the theatre, before making his TV debut in Crossroads. His first film was 1967's Poor Cow, but his scenes were cut from the completed movie. McDowell's breakthrough was If... in 1968. Directed by Lindsay Anderson, it was followed by two more movies featuring McDowell's character of Mick Travis - O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital. He's also since appeared in such cult hits as A Clockwork Orange, Caligula, Blue Thunder and Star Trek: Generations. Other projects include Our Friends in the North, Gangster No. 1, Hidalgo, Franklin & Bash, The Mentalist and the remakes of Halloween and its sequel.

Quote: 'The best thing I did was abuse myself when younger - I dabbled in everything, cocaine, booze, women - because now I don't have to do it anymore.'

Trivia: He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Donald Sumpter (Actor) .. Commander Harold Chapple

David Schofield (Actor) .. DI John Salway

Danny Webb (Actor) .. Det Sgt Ron Conrad

Andrew Grainger (Actor) .. DC Fred Black

Mark Pegg (Actor) .. DC Tony Weir

Leon Lissek (Actor) .. Walensky

Alun Armstrong (Actor) .. Austin Donohue

Born: July 17, 1946 in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, Co Durham

Best Known For: New Tricks.

Early-life: Alun Armstrong was born in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, Co Durham, on July 17, 1946. His father was from Cumberland and his mother was from Co Durham. He attended Consett Grammar School before going to Newcastle University. Unhappy in academia, he took a job as a gravedigger, where a colleague managed to get him an interview for a behind-the-scenes job with a theatre company. That in turn led to acting work.

Career: Armstrong's screen debut came in the classic Michael Caine gangster movie Get Carter in 1971. Other early roles included parts in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Softly, Softly and The Sweeney. His many other TV roles include Austin Donaghue in Our Friends in the North, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Jefferson in In the Red, and George Mole in Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years, alongside Alison Steadman. Film credits include The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Krull (1983), American Friends (1991), Patriot Games (1992) and Braveheart (1995). He has won countless accolades for his classic stage roles. He is currently best known for playing the role of Brian Lane in popular BBC series New Tricks, a part he played for 10 series.

Quote: 'I'm more concerned about losing my marbles than losing parts - especially when it comes to learning lines!'

Trivia: Armstrong originated the role of Thénardier in the London production of Les Misérables and won an Olivier Award for playing the title role in Sweeney Todd.

Anne Orwin (Actor) .. Mrs Weightman

Geoffrey Hutchings (Actor) .. John Edwards

Rod Culbertson (Actor) .. Bede Connor

David Bradley (Actor) .. Eddie Wells

Harriet Keevil (Actor) .. Helen Windsor

Frank Couchman (Actor) .. Patrick Soulsby

Julian Fellowes (Actor) .. Claud Seabrook

Born: August 17, 1949 in Cairo

Best Known For: Winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2002 for Gosford Park and creating Downton Abbey.

Early-life: Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes was born in Cairo on August 17, 1949. He is the youngest son of Peregrine Fellowes (a diplomat) and his first wife, Olwen. Peregrine purchased the title of Lord of the Manor of Tattershall from the previous Lord of the Manor, making Julian the fourth person to hold it. Julian was educated at Ampleforth College; Magdalene College, Cambridge, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career: He completed his training in repertory theatre before making his West End acting début in A Touch of Spring by Sam Taylor at the Comedy Theatre. He has also played the Criterion, the Gielgud, the Vaudeville and the National Theatre. As an actor, he is probably best known for his portrayal of the incorrigible Lord Kilwillie in the popular series Monarch of the Glen. Other acting credits include Our Friends in The North, and Sharpe, alongside plenty of cinema hits. As a TV writer, he is responsible for creating scripts for Little Lord Fauntleroy, which won an International Emmy, and Bafta-nominated The Prince and the Pauper, which he also produced. Since his Oscar success with Gosford Park, he has written a novel called Snobs, and penned the scripts for West End musical Mary Poppins, the films Vanity Fair and Young Victoria, and the TV sensation Downton Abbey. He took up a seat in the House of Lords in 2011.

Quote: 'The wonderful thing about King Oscar is he makes all things possible, although a lot of the time you do keep thinking, 'Moi?'.'

Trivia: Married Emma Joy Kitchener, lady-in-waiting to Princess Michael of Kent, in 1990. He proposed 20 minutes after meeting her. They have one son.

Peter Flannery (Writer)

Simon Cellan Jones (Director)

Pedr James (Director)

Stuart Urban (Director)

Charles Pattinson (Producer)

Our Friends in the North: 1967

12:30 am - 01:40 am, Wednesday, June 24 on BBC Four (9)

About this Broadcast

1967
Season 1, Episode 3

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