Sarah Bullen

 

 Sarah Bullen: 

A member of a dynasty of prominent English equestrians - famous in show jumping and eventing circles - Sarah Bullen also had a brief but fascinating acting career, mostly during the 70s and 80s.   

The Bullens at home, Sarah at left.

In fact, she appears in many episodes of 'Space: 1999', sometimes as crew member Kate, but also often uncredited. This seems to have catapulted her into a number of roles, including the horsey drama 'International Velvet' (1978) with Tatum O'Neal and Christopher Plummer, for which she must have been a shoo-in.  The same year saw her in a couple of bigger parts, in the  spy dramas 'The XYY Man' with the great Don Henderson, and 'The Sandbaggers' with Roy Marsden.   

One of many 'Space:1999' appearances 

With Chris Jenkinston in 'The XYY Man' 

Publicity still as agent Jill Ferris in 'The Sandbaggers'

A sort of peak could have come with a starring role in the auction-room drama, 'The House Of Caradus', however, despite the impressive sounding title it turned out that drama in auction-rooms is thin on the ground, in Chester anyway, and the family wrangles were not sufficient to keep audiences tuning in.  Things taper off a little from here, with appearances in 'Dick Turpin', 'Solo', and 'A Perfect Spy' and a fleeting moment in 'The Fourth Protocol (1987).   

The wholesome face of '70s cigarette advertising

A charming presence through a period of excellent British TV, and well deserving of our salute.  

Bonus: Sarah Bullen was co-presenter of a PBS part-animated documentary based on David Macaulay's book 'Castle' which explores the design of medieval fortifications in a way which was apparently much admired by early Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts. You can see the whole thing here.

Sarah Bullen-imdb

Michael Deeks

 

Michael Deeks:   

An angelic jack-the-lad type of the '70s variety, Michael Deeks got a taste of the big time playing Swiftnick in the well-crafted and very popular teatime series 'Dick Turpin', an excellent comic foil and sidekick to Richard O'Sullivan in the lead role. Prior to that he had been seen in a few small roles in the early and mid-'70s, including 'The Tomorrow People', 'Within These Walls' and the original BBC version of the Borstal drama 'Scum', although not the film remake.  

Young highwayman Swiftnick meets his hero Dick Turpin
for the first time, under rather trying circumstances
 

With his mixture of wide-eyed innocence and puckish delinquency, Michael Deeks was cast in a variety of contemporary and period dramas, one of the more substantial of these was the intricate six-part Armchair Thriller story, 'The Circe Complex'. He plays prisoner Cat Devlin, persuaded to extract information from a fellow inmate, a canny jewel thief. He was also in a TV 'Hammer House Of Horror' and in the quite atmospheric TV play 'Tarry Dan Tarry Dan Spooky Old Man', which survives as a blurry YouTube video here.         

With an avuncular Arthur Daley (George Cole) in 'Minder' 

Perhaps inevitably, with the passing of these twinkly teenage years, he found himself as just one of many young male actors competing for jobs, and the plum roles dried up. A definite prune was the annoyingly silly (even for an '80s  kids' show) 'Galloping Galaxies' in which he appears as a dim robot amid the usual slapstick and feeble jokes. Rather better were roles in 'Juliet Bravo' and that episode of 'Minder' where Mel Smith plays an unscrupulous pop manager faking his star's death.   

Slightly channelling Dudley Sutton's Tinker Dill 
in the kids' show 'Bad Boyes' from the late '80s  

He's in one of those star-studded corporate training videos made by John Cleese's Video Arts Ltd, but sadly it's rather hard to see these unless you're a corporation. And an amusing episode of the always decent 'Strangers', dealing with modern day highwaymen. But, after a single episode of 'The Bill', it seems that he retired from acting and became landlord of a pub in the home counties for a time.

In any case, a salute is due. Cheers and your very good health.             

Michael Deeks-imdb

Bridget Brice

Bridget Brice:

A great choice for a role needing some glamour but with a confident, business-like edge, Ms Brice may be familiar as Cowley's secretary from 'The Professionals', or from some other cop shows of the '70s including 'Z-Cars' and 'The Sweeney'.  

Damsel in distress in 'Department S'

Further TV appearances include 'Department S' and three different characters in the long-running private detective series, 'Public Eye' starring Alfred Burke. In addition to those Euston Films secretary roles, she also appears in 'Doctor at Sea', 'Doctor in Charge', 'Howard's Way', 'Coronation Street', 'Man at the Top' with Kenneth Haigh, and was memorable as Sal Hawke, a criminal mistress-mind in 'Dick Turpin' with Richard O'Sullivan. She also has the distinction of playing the unlikely girlfriend, Pippa, in 'Sorry!', who finally rescues Ronnie Corbett's timid Timothy Lumsden from his manipulative mother.         

With Richard O'Sullivan in 'Dick Turpin'

Movie-wise you can catch her, uncredited, among the British talent in Mel Brooks' 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970), the ecologically apocalyptic 'No Blade of Grass' (1970), and forgotten caper movies 'Loophole' (1981) and 'Real Life' (1984), as well as a fleeting role in the movie version of 'George & Mildred' (1980). 

With a dashing Frank Langella in 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970)

Bridget Brice-imdb

Christopher Benjamin

Christopher Benjamin: 

† Dec 27 1934 – Jan 10 2025

Delighted to find that this instantly recognisable actor is still going strong with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was the link between 'Danger Man' and 'The Prisoner' playing the same character, Potter, and was a natural for 'The Avengers', 'The Saint' and 'Jason King' playing pompous, officious, charming and effete characters with equal brio and verve. Mix in an impressive high-brow and low-brow CV ranging from 'Rumpole' and 'Poldark' to 'When The Boat Comes In' and 'Dick Turpin' and you have a one-man history of British television. A stalwart.

In the opening episode of 'The Prisoner'

As Marmalade Atkins' much put-upon headmaster

He portrayed the memorable Henry Jago in the classic 'Doctor Who' story, 'The Talons Of Weng Chiang' in 1977, teaming up with the late Trevor Baxter's Professor Litefoot so successfully that the pair became spin-off characters 'Jago & Litefoot' with their own canon of adventures.  

In the 1966 'Avengers' episode 'How To Succeed... At Murder'

As Victorian actor-manager Henry Gordon Jago, a character so popular
with 'Dr Who' fans that he gained his own adventures: 'Jago & Litefoot'  

Christopher Benjamin - imdb profile