Diane Fletcher

 

Diane Fletcher:

Diane Fletcher's first feature film was Roman Polanski's 'Macbeth' (1970), in which she appears in the brief but pivotal role of Lady Macduff. By that time she had already been in an episode of 'Boy Meets Girl' (great theme tune), and perhaps more importantly, played Lady Blakeney in 'The Elusive Pimpernel', and Queen Isabella in the BBC's production of 'Edward II' with a young Ian McKellen. Which all suggests that she came out of RADA in '66 already invested with much of the imperious manner that became something of a hallmark of later roles.     

Fairly Secret Army

She was fantastic as Nancy in 'Fairly Secret Army' as the surprising love interest of Geoffrey Palmer's hapless reactionary, as well as being seen in 'Inspector Morse', 'Agatha Christie's Poirot', 'Within These Walls', 'Midsomer Murders' and appearing in 'Coronation Street' as Derek's first wife, much to the consternation of Mavis. To these we might add 'The Irish RM', 'The Borgias' and the Robert Hardy-starring 'Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'

With Jonathan Pryce in 'Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore'
a quality, but rather laugh-free, effort by John Fortune 

One of her other defining roles was as the wife of cunning Tory politician Francis Urquhart in Michael Dobbs 'House of Cards' and its two sequels 'To Play the King' and 'The Final Cut'. 

In the Poirot episode 'Death On The Links'

In the BBC televised theatrical performance of
'The Tragedy of  Macbeth' screened in 2023 

And in a rather nice bit of synchronicity harking back to Polanski's movie, she also features in the refreshingly staged 2023 BBC production of 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' as one of the wyrd sisters.    

Diane Fletcher- imdb

David Wood

 

David Wood:

David Wood's innocent schoolboy looks, deployed so notably in Lindsay Anderson's remarkable 'If..' (1968), have stayed with him for his whole career. Which certainly isn't to say that he has been typecast, with an amazingly broad range of roles under his belt that show him hopping nimbly from outright menace to disarming sweetness with apparent ease.
  

With Malcolm McDowell in 'If..' (1968)

 In fact, it's in the field of children's drama and literature that he has made his most lasting impression: writing his own play for children, 'The Gingerbread Man', which he later adapted for television, and adapting a number of classic children's books for the stage. He proved a gifted storyteller on the much-loved BBC institution 'Jackanory' for  many years, and can be seen in episodes of schools programmes such as 'Watch' and 'Seeing & Doing' as well as tots' shows like 'Playaway'. He's also in the well-made children's serial, 'Huntingtower' from the late '70s.

Alongside Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham and
Jan Francis for 'Jackanory's' take on 'The Hobbit'.

While all this wholesome fare very much suited the David Wood who would later come to be dubbed Britain's Children's Dramatist, the darker side of '70s television drama also proved to be in search of his talents. He can be seen in the the Wednesday Play 'Mad Jack' about Siegfried Sassoon and the horrors of the trenches, in the feverish adventures of the Pre-Raphaelites in 'The Love School', and he's in episodes of those cult-favourite collections of the uncanny: 'Out Of The Unknown' and 'Menace'.  

 

With Ann Morrish and Patrick Troughton in
the 'Out Of The Unknown' episode 'The Chopper'

 On the movie front, David Wood crops up in a few interesting titles, starting with the aforementioned 'If..' (1968), and including the psychological portmanteau horror 'Tales That Witness Madness' (1973) with Donald Pleasance, Robert Powell and Joan Collins. He's reunited with Malcolm McDowell in the 'Journey's End' adaptation, 'Aces High' (1976), and plays one of the baddies in 'North Sea Hijack' (1980) pitted against a bearded Roger Moore, throwing the kitchen sink at escaping his Bond persona with more bizarre quirks than he can realistically manage to pull off.          

 'Tales That Witness Madness' (1973)

In the First World War flying movie, 'Aces High' (1976)

There's a smattering of period dramas, including Turgenev's 'Fathers And Sons' and Goldoni's 'The Venetian Twins' from the BBC, and the ambitious but slightly awkward 'Disraeli' with Ian McShane. He's in some old sepia-toned TV favourites such as 'Danger UXB', 'Enemy At The Door', and 'When The Boat Comes In'. A memorable moment for me is his tap-dancing martial arts duel with Purdey in 'The New Avengers', one of the few times when the series approached the surreal heights of its '60s ancestor.

In the ATV historical drama 'Disraeli' in which he portrayed
Lord Derby. Here with Ian McShane in the title role.

 His last listed performing role was in the star-studded TV movie 'Longitude' in 2000, but David Wood is still seemingly busy with his work in children's drama, adapting Roald Dahl and other writers for the stage, publishing plays and books, and lecturing school drama classes. An engaging actor and a dedicated educator, deserving of this little salute and more.   

David Wood-imdb

Spencer Banks

Spencer Banks:  

Very much in demand in his youth during the '70s, when he took the role of Simon in the mind-expanding young-person's drama 'Timeslip', Spencer Banks also appeared in the folk-horror 'Penda's Fen', a 'Play For Today' from 1974 which now rubs shoulders with 'The Wicker Man' (1973) and 'Children Of The Stones' as a classic of the genre. With his shock of red hair and expressive, sometimes awkward, features and manner, he was a natural for the role of the loner or outsider. 

In the witness box in an episode of 'Crown Court' 

With Spud, played by Mike Grady, in 'Tightrope'

Beyond these, he can also be seen in good quality fare from throughout that decade including 'Tightrope', 'Lord Peter Wimsey' with Ian Carmichael, 'Village Hall', 'Churchill's People', Dennis Potter's 'Pennies from Heaven', 'The Georgian House' and 'Minder'. In addition, he had a short spell in the popular (with older ladies) teatime soap opera 'Crossroads' which was probably a biggish deal at the time. 

In yet another children's time-travel mystery
serial, this time HTV's 'The Georgian House'

By the early '80s and beyond, pickings seem to have got a little slimmer, though he pops up as a copper in 'Shine On Harvey Moon'. There are a few decade-apart roles including 'Doctors' on TV and the straight to DVD 'Amityville Playhouse' (2015). Whether he was just too much a face of the '70s, or his moment simply passed, it seems he retired from seriously pursuing an acting career. Nowadays he is a much sought-after guest at cult TV conventions, but I can't help but hope that some interesting part is still in his future timeline.

Bonus content:
For a full-on '70s time capsule, I point you to this splendidly mundane oddity:
'Living At Thamesmead' (1974)
      

Spencer Banks-imdb

Sharon Duce

Sharon Duce: 

An acclaimed stage actress, but best known to TV audiences for a string of roles in series through the 1980s including 'Big Deal', 'The Hard Word', 'Funny Man' and 'Coming Home' starred with Duggie Brown in both 'The Hard Word' in 1983 and Shelagh Delaney's  'The House That Jack Built'. Earlier work saw her establishing a precedent of attractive, but serious young women characters - a doubtless uphill struggle in the aftermath of the dolly-bird era. She played a WPC in 'Z Cars', and was Terry's old flame in the memorable 'Minder' episode where he thinks he has a long-lost son.     

As Lu in Shelagh Delaney's 1977 drama series 'The House That Jack Built'

As Jan Oliver in 'Big Deal' 

The 1990s and 2000s saw her appear in the most popular primetime fodder of the day: 'Peak Practice', 'Boon', 'Holby City' etc, and crime dramas such as 'Dalziel & Pascoe' and  'Wycliffe'.   

Enjoying Christmas with the 'Royle Family' in 2000. 

More recently there have been forays into the world of soaps, with featured roles in 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale', and of course the ever-present 'Midsomer Murders' and the likes of 'Casualty', 'London's Burning', 'The Bill' and 'Doctors'.     

As the self-reliant Hermione Hepworth in 'In Loving Memory'

Television comedy has included 'In Loving Memory', 'Singles' and the much loved 'Royle Family At Christmas', while sporadic feature film appearances were in 'Outland' (1981), 'Funny Man' (1981), 'Rogue Trader' (1999) and Conviction' (2004).  
    
Sharon Duce - imdb