One Foot in the Grave - The Dawn of Man - 8:50 pm Saturday, December 27 on U&Yesterday

Richard Wilson (Actor) .. Victor Meldrew

Born: July 09, 1937 in Greenock, Renfrewshire

Best Known For: His role as acerbic pensioner Victor Meldrew.

Early-life: Iain Richard Wilson was born on July 9, 1936, in Greenock, Renfrewshire. He has an older sister called Moira. His father worked in the shipyards and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Wilson claims to have been teased at school due to his slight frame. On leaving school, Wilson became a hospital laboratory technician, did National Service and eventually got into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) at the age of 27. After graduating, he concentrated largely on theatre work.

Career: Wilson has film credits, sitcoms and top dramas to his name. Only When I Laugh, Tutti Frutti and A Passage to India are among them, but it is probably for the character of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave that he will be best remembered. The series was written with him in mind by David Renwick, though Wilson turned it down at first, believing he was too young to play a retired man. Luckily, he changed his mind and a TV legend was born. Since then he's appeared in such projects as Born and Bred, Doctor Who, and he had a regular role in BBC hit Merlin. Away from the small screen, he continues to direct plays and was awarded an OBE in 1994.

Quote: "I do find it quite easy to get angry, especially after a hard day. In public, you have to try and rein in your temper because people try and goad you into it."

Trivia: He lent his voice to a character in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet.

Annette Crosbie (Actor) .. Margaret Meldrew

Born: February 12, 1934 in Gorebridge, near Edinburgh

Best Known For: Playing Victor Meldrew's wife in One Foot in the Grave.

Early-life: Born on February 12, 1934, in Gorebridge, outside Edinburgh. Her parents were strict Calvinists and did not believe in lavishing affection on their only child. She had little self-confidence and as a youngster her only friend was a Staffordshire bull terrier called Dougal. Her mother was a talented musician and wanted Crosbie to be a music teacher, but she became an actress against both her parents' wishes. "You'd have thought I'd announced I wanted to go on the streets," she remarks about their reaction to her career choice.

Career: After gaining experience with various repertory companies, Crosbie left Scotland at the age of 17 for a scholarship at the Bristol Old Vic theatre school. On graduating, she worked in London's West End. Her film debut came in 1959's The Bridal Path. She later had acclaimed TV roles in The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Edward the King. More recently she has starred in One Foot in the Grave, Doctor Finlay, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, Calendar Girls, Quite Ugly One Morning, New Tricks, Doctor Who and Little Dorrit.

Quote: "You don't really want to know about me. My dogs are far more interesting."

Trivia: Crosbie was awarded an OBE in 1998 and works tirelessly for animal rights.

Janine Duvitski (Actor) .. Pippa

Best Known For: Waiting for God, One Foot in the Grave and Benidorm.

Early-life: Born Christine Janine Drzewicki in Morecambe in June 1952 to an English mother and a Polish father. She moved to London to train as an actor at the East 15 Acting School. Her first TV credit was an episode of Z Cars in 1972. After finishing her training and despite being in her early 20s, she landed the role of a 13-year-old girl in the 1975 BBC play Diane. Her big break came in 1977 when Mike Leigh cast her in his stage play Abigail's Party. She went on to play the same role in an abridged TV version for the BBC.

Career: Duvitski has worked steadily on TV in a number of shows, popping up in the likes of Citizen Smith, Minder, Cowboys, The New Statesman, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War and Little Dorrit. Her face is better known to audiences as prudish assistant Jane in Waiting for God, Victor and Margaret's neighbour Pippa in One Foot in the Grave and swinger Jacqueline in Benidorm. She has also appeared on the big screen in Dracula (1979), Breaking Glass (1980) and The Madness of King George (1994).

Quote: "People really do seem to believe I'm a swinger!"

Trivia: Duvitski enjoys reading when she's not filming.

Angus Deayton (Actor) .. Patrick

Born: January 06, 1956 in Surrey

Best Known For: Have I Got News For You?

Early-life: Born Gordon Angus Deayton on January 6, 1956, the youngest son of an insurance firm manager and a cookery teacher. He was raised in Caterham, Surrey. He excelled at football at school and had a trial with Crystal Palace at age 12. He studied French and German at New College, Oxford, but a showbusiness career didn't seem to be on the cards until writer Richard Curtis asked him to stand in at the last minute after someone dropped out of an Edinburgh Festival revue.

Career: Success in Australia with spoof band the Hebegeebees prompted him to concentrate on comedy. He sold a sketch to The Dick Emery Show in 1978, and in 1983 made his TV debut in The Black Adder. Other small roles followed before his show Radio Active transferred to the small screen as KYTV in 1988. Two years later he became a household name thanks to sitcom One Foot in the Grave and his role as the host of current affairs comedy quiz Have I Got News For You. He left the quiz in 2002 following accusations about his private life. Deayton also appeared in the film Elizabeth, TV shows Mr Bean, Monkey Trousers, Nighty Night and Waterloo Road, and presented Hell's Kitchen, Bognor or Bust and Stick to What You Know.

Quote: "When one door closes, another one falls on top of you."

Trivia: In BBC Two's World's Most Dangerous Roads, Deayton drove with Mariella Frostrup along the east coast of Madagascar.

Nick Frost (Actor) .. Mr Gleeson

Born: March 28, 1972 in Romford

Best Known For: His work with old pal Simon Pegg.

Early-life: Nicholas John Frost was born in Romford on March 28th, 1972. He left school at the age of 15 and by his own admission "kicked around for a couple of years", before moving to Israel. He returned to the UK 16 months later, and got a temporary job as a waiter. Five years later, he met Simon Pegg, who eventually moved in as his flatmate. Nick used to make his chum laugh in the pub with the character Mike, which Pegg asked his friend to do on the new show he was writing, Spaced.

Career: Frost's starring role in Spaced led to other roles, most notably a one-off episode of Acorn Antiques. In 2002, Frost presented the show Danger! 50,000 Volts! as well as co-writing and starring in the radio comedy Sofa of Time. Two years later, Frost and Pegg teamed up for the smash "rom-zom-com" Shaun of the Dead (2004). Their next big-screen foray, Hot Fuzz (2007), went down equally well with audiences. The third film in their trilogy, The World's End, was released in 2013. Frost has also starred in TV comedies Hyperdrive and Mr Sloane, and the films Penelope (2006), Paul (2011), Attack the Block (2011) and Cuban Fury (2014).

Quote: "I'm a completely different person today because of Simon Pegg. I like to think he introduced me to culture, and I taught him how to make a good bong and the best way to shotgun a can of Special Brew."

Trivia: He voiced Thomson in The Adventures of Tintin (2011).

Owen Brenman (Actor) .. Nick Swainey

Geoffrey Perkins (Actor) .. Nigel

Christine Gernon (Director)

David Renwick (Writer)

One Foot in the Grave: The Dawn of Man

8:50 pm - 9:30 pm, Saturday, December 27 on U&Yesterday (27)

About this Broadcast

The Dawn of Man
Season 6, Episode 5

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