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Manchester
Celebrities
Television, Film, Media & Broadcasting
(21)
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Shirley Stelfox
on DVD
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Shirley
Stelfox
(Birth
date unknown)
Born in Dukinfield and attended Lakes Road Secondary School for
Girls and distinguished herself early on by playing central characters
in school plays. She went on to play "Our Rose" in the
first season of BBC1's popular sitcom'Keeping Up Appearances',
but she was replaced in the second series (due to prior commitments)
by Mary Millar. Shirley was married to the late actor, Don Henderson.
A stalwart of British acting for many years, she also played the
part of Beth in 'Knights of God' (ITV 1987), and has been
a regular in several television soaps over the years, including
'Brookside' as Madge Richmond (1986-1987), Shirley Henderson
in 'Coronation Street' (1993-1994) and more recently as
Edna Birch in 'Emmerdale'. She also made an appearance
in 'Eastenders' as Jane Healey in 1999.
Other stage,
television and film performances have included:
- 'Carry
On at Your Convenience', 1971
- 'The
Chinese Detective', BBC, 1981-1982
- '1984'
with John Hurt in 1984
- 'Personal
Services' with Julie Walters, 1987
- BBC 'Inspector
Morse Series - Last Bus to Woodstock', 1991
- 'Age
of Treason', 1993
- Mrs Arbuthnot
in 'A Woman of No Importance' at Leicester Haymarket
in 1997.
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John
Inman
(Birth
date unknown)
Born
in Blackpool but raised in Preston, John Inman is probably best
remembered as the camp Mr Humphries in the long running classic
BBC series of "Are You Being Served?" and his
memorable catchphrase "I'm free!". His father
owned a barber shop on Fishergate in Preston.
Inman's first
professional appearance was at the age of 13 on Blackpool's celebrated
South Pier in a play called "Freda". He went on to make
his London West End debut in 1969 in the musical "Ann
Veronica" at the Cambridge Theatre, alongside Arthur
Lowe , followed by a role in "Salad Days"
and various bit roles and pantomimes. There followed seventeen
months at the famous Windmill Theatre after which he appeared
in "Charley's Aunt" at the Adelphi Theatre in
the Strand.
But it was
when he was asked to join the cast at Grace Brothers Department
Store in Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft's proposed new BBC Television
sitcom, "Are You Being Served?", that he first
came to the notice of a wider public. The show was an instant
success and ran for some 69 episodes between 1972 and 1985 - it
is still shown today in many countries throughout the world. It's
celebrated cast included Molly Sugden, Frank Thornton and Wendy
Richards amongst others and quickly attracted large viewing audiences.
The series was so popular that it was reshot in Boston with an
all American cast. It was also remade by Australian Television,
with a new cast, except for Inman who was asked to reprise his
original showstopping role of Mr Humphries.
Inman's new
found fame saw him later move on to other series, including the
sitcom "Take a Letter Please Mr Jones" with Rula
Lenska, in the farce "Bedside Manners", and regular
appearances in music hall roles on BBC TV's "The Good
Old Days" where he specialised in impersonation's of
Wigan's famous old comedian, Frank
Randle. He also appeared in "Odd Man Out"
in 1977, "Grace & Favour" in 1992 and "Revolver"
in 2004.
He was the
subject of "This Is Your Life", was named 'BBC
Television Personality of the Year' by the Variety Club of Great
Britain, and was also voted funniest man on television by the
readers of 'TV Times' magazine.
Nowadays,
Inman is more likely to be seen in his preferred live theatre
than on television, and is a regular figure in summer season shows
and Christmas pantomimes.
John Inman does a great deal of charity work, has been King Rat
of the Grand Order of Water Rats, and in the year 2002 was President
of the Heritage Foundation.
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Books &
DVDs of
David Starkey
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David
Starkey
(Born 1945)
Born
in Kendal in Cumbria on the 3rd of January 1945, Dr David Starkey
is a notable British academic, history teacher, writer, and broadcaster.
He was educated at Kendal Grammar School and read for a degree
at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge where he also obtained a PhD.
From 1970-1972
he was also a research fellow and later became a lecturer in history
at Fitzwilliam. Since 1998 he has been visiting fellow of the
College and has been a regular contributor to the national press.
He probably
came to a wider public notice as a regular panellist on the BBC
Radio 4 programme 'The Moral Maze' and it was during this
time that his demonstrative, often controversial and frequently
adversarial manner led the 'Daily Mail' to describe him
as "...the rudest man in Britain".
From 1995
to 1998 he was a presenter on Talk Radio and has been a
writer and presenter of history at the London School of Economics.
He appears frequently on television and radio, often invited on
such programmes as"Question Time" and "Newsnight".
Starkey has
maintained the status of respected academic throughout his various
media enterprises and has written several books, including "Rivals
in Power", "The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and
Politics", "English Court from the Wars of the Roses
to the Civil War", and "Elizabeth: Apprenticeship",
which has been rated the number one non-fiction best seller in
'The Times' newspaper.
Several television
series have been made on the basis of his books, including "Henry
VIII" and more recently, "Elizabeth I"
which was screened on Channel 4, with the distinction of having
achieved the highest ever rating for a history programme shown
on that channel. His previous series "King Henry VIII"
and "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" also achieved
exceptional audience ratings.
He is well
known throughout the United States because of his role on CBS,
communicating the recent sea changes in public opinion within
Britain to a wider audience. He was awarded the W H Smith Prize
for Biography (for "Elizabeth I") and was presented
with the Norton Medlicott Medal for Service to History by the
Historical Association.
He has been on the Commemorative Plaques Working Group for English
Heritage since 1993 and has been president of the Society for
Court Studies since 1996.
He has been
patron of the Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality (TORCHE) since
1994 and has been an honorary associate of the Rationalist Press
Association since 1995.
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Billy Bradshaw |
Buzz Hawkins
Local born
Buzz Hawkins is the voice behind the cult radio comedy show "The
Bradshaws". He has produced several television series
including "Comedians" (a series of 26 programmes)
and "Stuart's Hall Of Fame" on Granada Plus.
He also wrote many sketches, for the "Grumbleweeds".
His earliest Billy Bradshaw characterisation was in 1982 when
the character was first heard on the Gary Davis Show on Manchester's
Piccadilly Radio.
Buzz regularly takes his shows on tour around the UK, as well
as Spain and South Africa, where his live shows command packed
theatre audiences and he is in great demand as an after dinner
speaker, as well as his numerous concert and cabaret evenings.
He has been twice nominated for the Sony Best Use Of Comedy
On Radio Award.
His recent TV appearances have included Peter Kay's "Phoenix
Nights" and "That's Entertainment".
Buzz Hawkin's website (www.thebradshaws.biz)
has been twice awarded the Sony Visionary Design Award, most recently
in 2003, for its accessibility by visually impaired people.
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Freddy 'Parrot
Face' Davies |
Freddy
'Parrot Face' Davies
(Born 1937)
Brixton London born on the 21 July 1937, but long time Salford
resident, Freddy Davies was a well known comedian in the 1960s
and 1970s, both in live variety shows and television. A former
Butlin's redcoat whose family were already veteran entertainers,
Freddy was notable for blowing raspberries and his comic voice
with its distinctive lisp and his trilby pulled hard down over
his ears.
Later he went on to a successful career as a comedian along with
fellow comedian and personal friend Jim
Bowen on ocean cruise liners.
More recently he has made several notable television guest appearances
in more serious roles, including BBC1's "Casualty"
and in the 1995 mini TV Series "Band of Gold".
In 1993 he appeared in "Heartbeat", in 1995 "All
Quiet on the Preston Front", and in 1996 he appeared
the ‘Once in a Moonlit Junkyard’ episode of the
BBC's "Last of the Summer Wine". In 1997 he appeared
in an episode of "Hetty Wainthrop Investigates" with
Patricia Routledge, and in 1999 in the films "Igloo"
and in "Harbour Lights". He made an appearance
in a June 2005 episode of BBC Television's drama series, "Born
and Bred".
He was also seen as the old man in a portrait in the 2004 film
of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".
Freddy
relaxes by playing golf.
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Colin
Crompton
(Birth
date unknown)
Colin Crompton, a one-time Butlin's Redcoat and resident of Middleton,
first came to the public's attention with Granada Television's
1974 series of "The Comedians" which really launched
his television career. Later he appeared as the chairman in "The
Wheeltappers & Shunters Social Club" television series
along with Bernard Manning as
chairman of a fictitious working men's club in the north of England,
mirroring, no doubt, Manning's Embassy Club in Harpurhey. The
show ran on television from 1974-1976, and was so successful that
it also ran as a stage show at the London Palladium and at the
North Pier in Blackpool simultaneously. Crompton's now politically
incorrect and critical put-downs of Morecambe were a distinctive
trademark of his act - (" I went to Morecambe once - it was
shut!") - typical of his style.
Crompton published several jokes books in the Mini-Ha-Ha Joke
Books series, including "Best Jewish Jokes" and
"Best West Country Jokes" in 1970, and "Best
Office Jokes", and "Best After Dinner Jokes"
in 1973.
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Books &
DVDs of
Sue Johnston
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Sue Johnston
(Born 1943)
Sue
Johnstone was born in Warrington in Lancashire on 7th December
1943. Best known for her roles as Sheila Grant in Channel 4's
"Brookside" and Barbara Royle in "The
Royle Family" (1998-2000), she is one of Britain's best-loved
and respected television actresses.
She trained
at the Webber Douglas Academy and has starred in many TV favourites
including "Goodbye Cruel World", "Inspector
Morse" and "A Touch of Frost".
In 1997 she appeared in the film "Crime Traveller".
She has also
acted in many other film and television roles including "Waking
the Dead", "Brassed Off", "Score", "Luv",
"Duck Patrol" and "My Uncle Silas",
as well as a guest appearance as Mrs Chadwick in "Coronation
Street" in 1982.
In midsummer
2005 she completed a pilot with Lynda Bellingham and Bill Patterson
called "Happy Together" for Carlton TV. This
same year she also played in the long-running television series
of "Waking the Dead".
She received
the Honorary Fellowship of Liverpool John Moore's University in
July 2004.
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Tracie Bennett
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Tracie
Bennett
(Born 1961)
Born Tracey Anne Bennett on 17 June 1961 in Leigh, Lancashire
(now in Wigan Metropolitan Borough). Tracie trained at the Italia
Conti Academy and made her television debut was in the children's
series "Going Out" before joining "Coronation
Street" in 1982 as Sharon Gaskell. After a long absence
she made a return to 'the Street' in 1999.
Meantime she had been playing a variety of television roles, including
"Black Silk", "Unnatural Causes", "The
Rector of Stiffkey", "Knock Knock", "Relative
Strangers", "Boon", "The Refuge", "The
Ritz", "The Bretts", "All Creatures Great
and Small", "The Bill", "Casualty" and
"Brush Stokes". She also appeared in the 1989
hit film of "Shirley Valentine" alongside Pauline
Collins and Bernard Hill.
Amongst her many stage roles are included "Carousel"
(at the Royal Exchange Theatre), "She Stoops To Conquer","Grease",
"Chicago" and "Educating Rita".
In 1995 she was awarded the Lawrence Olivier Award as best supporting
actress in "She Loves Me". She was also named
as the MEN best actor and awarded an Audie award for her narration
of "Bridget Jones Diary" books. Tracie was winner
of the TV show "Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes"
as Judy Garland in 2000. In 2003 she was critically acclaimed
for her role in "High Society" in London's West
End, and for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2004..
Most recently she appeared in "Sex, Chips and Rock 'n'
Roll" at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester for
which she was nominated for a TMA Theatre Award as Best Supporting
Actress in a Musical. Tracie is single and lives in London.
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Daniel
Craig
(Born 1968)
Daniel
Craig was born in Chester on 2nd March 1968, but grew up in Liverpool
before he moved to London in 1984 at the age of 16 to train at
the National Youth Theatre. Later, he graduated from the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama in the early 1990s, alongside fellow
students included Ewan McGregor and Joseph Fiennes.
He made his
film debut with "The Power of One" in 1992, and
made early TV appearances in that same year in "Boon"
and in the Channel 4 political satire "Drop The Dead
Donkey" in 1993.
His TV performance
in "Our Friends in the North" heralded many powerful
television roles for Craig and the big screen. From a hit man's
psychotic son in "Road to Perdition" to a famous
poet in "Sylvia", and lead roles in Steven Spielberg's
"Vengeance" (2006) and the BBC's "Archangel".
Craig's other BBC credits have included "The Ice House"
in 1997 and "The Trench" in 1999.
He starred
in Roger Michell's 2003 film, "The Mother" and
performed along with Bill Nighy in Michell's 2004 thriller, "Enduring
Love". He played English poet laureate Ted Hughes to
Gwenyth Paltrow's Sylvia Plath in "Sylvia" in
2003. His other movie credits include "Layer Cake"
in 2004, and alongside Angelina Jolie in "Lara Croft:
Tomb Raider" in 2001. The BBC 4 adaptation of "Copenhagen"
in 2002 saw him play German physicist Werner Heisenberg.
He was nominated
for a 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor
for his performance in "A Number" at the Royal
Court Theatre Downstairs. At the Variety Club Show Business Awards
in 2004 he won the award for 'Outstanding Performance in a Film'.
In October
2006 Craig became the latest incarnation of James Bond in the
remake of Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale".
Daniel Craig
lives with his partner in London and has a daughter by an earlier
marriage.
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