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'Eric Sykes' started as a radio scriptwriter but he soon found he could perform as well as write. The slight handicap of being very hard of hearing doesn't interfere with his wonderful comic timing. The spectacles he wears have no lenses but contain a bone conducting hearing aid.

Genial Manchester-born comic actor Sam Kelly had a considerable gift for timing and observation. His special forte was playing decrepit, rheumy characters of more advanced years than his own actual age. Among the many endearing impressions he made on the small screen, he is probably best remembered as the illiterate crook 'Bunny' Warren in Porridge (1974) and as the inept German officer Hans Geering in 'Allo 'Allo! (1982), forever abbreviating the Nazi salute to a shout of "Tler!" (which to many ears sounded like 'klop' or 'club'). His other sitcom credits include Norman Elston in Now and Then (1983), the servant Nathaniel Grunge in the Georgian period romp Haggard (1990) and the chauffeur Sam Jones in On the Up (1990). Kelly's expressive features also splendidly suited a varied gallery of Dickensian characters: the timid Mr. Snagsby (Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House (1985); the undertaker Mr. Mould (Martin Chuzzlewit (1994); the kindly manservant Giles (Oliver Twist (1999); and the grocer Cudlipp (in John Sullivan's ITV adaptation Micawber (2001)).

By his own admission, Kelly might have been content running a village post office. He began his working life as a clerk in the Liverpool civil service before enrolling at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of twenty. He graduated in 1967 and then acted in regional repertory theatre for five years. In the course of his subsequent career, he made frequent appearances at London's West End, at the Old Vic and at the Royal Court in plays ranging from "The Odd Couple" and "HMS Pinafore" to "War and Peace". The stage was to remain his preferred medium, allowing him to occasionally branch out into serious roles (while regular television work necessarily paid the bills). His dramatic performance as a sorrowful bachelor facing retirement in "Grief" (2011) at the National Theatre was said to have been his best.

In 1977, Kelly co-founded the Croydon Warehouse Theatre, which operated until its closure due to financial and structural problems in 2012.

Angela Browne was infatuated with cinema from early childhood, imagining herself in the the part of the screen heroine during her frequent visits to the pictures. Aged thirteen, she left her Catholic convent school to study at the Cone-Ripman Drama Academy in London. After four years, she earned herself a scholarship to RADA. She then joined repertory companies in Worthing, York and Scarborough, eventually making her West End debut as an uninhibited Swedish girl in the 1959 comedy, "The Marriage Go-Round", alongside John Clements and Kay Hammond. She was serious enough about her newly acquired craft to study the films of Ingmar Bergman in order to appear as 'authentically Swedish' as possible. By 1960, after further theatrical success in both comedy and drama, Angela came to be regarded as one of the most promising up-and-coming actresses of the stage.

A vivacious blonde of uncommon and exquisite beauty, Angela inevitably attracted the attention of television producers. After a few early bit parts she co-starred with Patrick McGoohan as the titular "Girl in Pink Pajamas" in the The Girl in Pink Pajamas (1960) episode of the cult series, Danger Man (1960). She got on extremely well with McGoohan who proved very supportive on the set. Years later, Angela jumped at the chance -- when offered -- to appear with him again in the aptly-titled A Change of Mind (1967) episode of The Prisoner (1967). Her role as "No. 86", a mind-control specialist tasked with 'rehabilitating' "No. 6" (McGoohan) by means of a pre-frontal lobotomy, has become the one for which she is best-remembered. In a later interview, Angela confessed that she never quite understood the intricacies of the plot and simply 'got on with it' by following an old axiom she had learned from Noël Coward: "learn your lines and don't bump into the furniture".

Gainfully employed within Britain's ITV network, Angela had a recurring part in the crime series Ghost Squad (1961) and made appearances in The Saint (1962) and The Avengers (1961). She was also the obligatory romantic interest in the Norman Wisdom farce Press for Time (1966), a rare role in a feature film. Guesting on television -- which meant a less rigorous schedule than either films or the stage -- became, for several years, her preferred means of deriving a living from her profession. After her marriage to actor Francis Matthews (best known as the urbane lead of Paul Temple (1969)), Angela took a step back from performing to raise a family, in essence eschewing any further chance of stardom. By the early 1970s, she had eased into character roles, turning up at auditions in deliberately un-glamorous attire in order to snare more interesting assignments. While her screen appearances became fewer, she remained active on the stage in plays by Noël Coward, Henrik Ibsen and Alan Ayckbourn. She retired from acting altogether in 1990 and devoted her sadly few remaining years to her family and to charity work.

David Buck (17 October 1936 - 27 January 1989) was an English actor.

He starred in many television productions from 1959 until 1989. One of his earlier roles was that of Horatio Hornblower in an episode entitled "Hornblower" (1963), in the Alcoa Premiere TV series. He played Winston Smith in Theatre 625: The World of George Orwell: 1984 (1965), a remake of Nigel Kneale's adaptation of the novel. In the first two series of the ITV horror and supernatural anthology series Mystery and Imagination (1966-68) he played the series narrator Richard Beckett (from Sheridan Le Fanu's story "The Flying Dragon") whose character also became involved in some of the other stories adapted.[2] His film career included roles in Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963), The Sandwich Man (1966), the Hammer film The Mummy's Shroud (1967), Deadfall (1968) and Taste of Excitement (1970). He also had a role as Royal Air Force Squadron Leader David "Scotty" Scott in the film Mosquito Squadron (1969), with David McCallum, in which his character is shot down during a low-level bombing raid over Northern France in 1944 and assumed killed.

Later, he was a voice actor for the films The Lord of the Rings (1978), for which he provided the voice of Gimli, and The Dark Crystal (1982).

Buck died of cancer in 1989. At the time of his death, he was married to the actress Madeline Smith, who featured in the film version of Up Pompeii (1971) and numerous comedy programmes in the 1970s.

Derek Benfield was born on 11 March 1926 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Lifeforce (1985), Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1995) and Return to the Lost Planet (1955). He was married to Susan Lyall Grant. He died on 10 March 2009 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Rita Davies was born on 24 February 1933 in Hertfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Children of Men (2006) and The Best Offer (2013). She was married to Ian MacNaughton. She died on 19 January 2016 in Princess Alice Hospice, Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Heather Sears was born on 28 September 1935 in Whitechapel, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Story of Esther Costello (1957), Room at the Top (1958) and The Phantom of the Opera (1962). She was married to Anthony Masters. She died on 3 January 1994 in Hinchley Wood, Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Michael Balfour possessed a chubby, lived-in face which seemed to convey a perpetual state of bewilderment. The ubiquitous character actor tended to pop up in just about every second 50's or 60's British B-movie or television episode, which usually found him typecast as obtuse cabbies, wisecracking sidekicks or dumb thugs. When his screen career began to slow down in the late 70's, he went on tour with European circuses as a clown.

Balfour started his acting career on the repertory stage in 1936. Sometime in the mid-40's he decided to pass himself off as a former Detroit-born child actor in order to join the cast of a London production of "Born Yesterday". From then on, the American accent and leather bomber jacket became part of his screen personae. Indeed, he was so convincing, that some reference sources still cite him to this day as being American (he was actually born in Kent). In addition to being a performer, Balfour was also an accomplished painter and sculptor.

Edward Jewesbury was born on 6 August 1917 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Richard III (1995), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and Henry V (1989). He was married to Christine Roberts. He died on 31 March 2001 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Marjie Lawrence was born on 21 January 1932 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for All the Fun of the Fair (1979), The Rainbow (1988) and Dixon of Dock Green (1955). She was married to Howard Greene. She died on 16 June 2010 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Ben Aris was born on 16 March 1937 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Get Carter (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973) and Royal Flash (1975). He was married to Yemaiel Oved. He died on 4 September 2003 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Ann comes from a talented family with her sister Heather being a star actress in her own right and her father being a doctor. Ann made her television debut in 1956 and her film debut a year later. Her television work started in 1956 and includes appearances in such series as 'Emergency Ward 10','The Flying Doctor' and 'The Grove Family' while films include'The Bridge on the River Kwai', 'Crash Dive' and 'She Always Gets Their Man'.

Yolande Palfrey was born on 29 March 1957 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Crime and Punishment (1979), The Princess Academy (1987) and Love in a Cold Climate (1980). She was married to Richard Austin. She died on 9 April 2011 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

R.C. Sherriff was born on 6 June 1896 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Invisible Man (1933), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and The Night My Number Came Up (1955). He died on 13 November 1975 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Leslie Perrins was born on 7 October 1901 in Moseley, Birmingham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for St. Ives (1960), Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour (1931) and Nine Days a Queen (1936). He died on 13 December 1962 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Sarah Branch was born on 7 January 1938. She was an actress, known for Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), Secret Agent (1964) and Hell Is a City (1960). She was married to John Grant Lithiby. She died on 10 November 2007 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Freddy Marks was born on 10 September 1949 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Rainbow (1972), Rod, Jane and Freddy (1981) and Churchill's People (1974). He was married to Jane Tucker. He died on 20 May 2021 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Nick Finlayson is known for his work on Aliens (1986), GoldenEye (1995), The World Is Not Enough (1995), Die Another Day (2002), having completed ten 007 features, five of which he worked as the 'real' Q. He is known too for his work on Hannibal Rising (2007) and The Dark Knight (2008).

Michael Godley was born on 14 April 1925 in Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Avengers (1998), Gandhi (1982) and A Very British Coup (1988). He was married to Heather Couper. He died on 21 January 2024 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Michael Napier Brown was born on 17 March 1937 in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Julius Caesar (1963) and Ivanhoe (1970). He was married to Vilma Hollingbery. He died on 18 August 2016 in Princess Alice Hospice, Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Chris Greenham was born on 21 April 1923 in Oxfordshire, England, UK. Chris is known for The Guns of Navarone (1961), Superman (1978) and The Lion in Winter (1968). Chris died on 21 January 1989 in Esher, England, UK.

Derek Watkins was born on 2 March 1945 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He is known for Moonraker (1979), GoldenEye (1995) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). He was married to Wendy. He died on 22 March 2013 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Graham Thorpe was born on 1 August 1969 in Farnham, Surrey, England, UK. He was married to Amanda and Nicola. He died on 4 August 2024 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Adrienne Scott was born on 23 June 1933 in Lambeth, London, England, UK. She was an actress and producer, known for It Could Be You (1957), The Missing Scientists (1955) and Rock You Sinners (1957). She was married to Gordon Benson. She died on 6 September 2013 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.

Michael Holden was born on 10 November 1917 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, UK. Michael was a producer, known for Tom Jones (1963), Ferry Cross the Mersey (1964) and School for Unclaimed Girls (1969). Michael was married to Ann Sears. Michael died on 24 July 1992 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.