Gabrielle Glaister

 

Gabrielle Glaister:

"Well now, young ... Bob."

A running joke across the 'Blackadder' series was Edmund's perplexing attraction to strapping young lad Bob, played by the transparently female Gabrielle Glaister. A nod to the gender politics of the various eras in which it's set - and a nod to Shakespearean theatre and cross-dress plotting. Writer Ben Elton returns to this theme in 'Upstart Crow' when a judge, also played by Glaister, turns up as "Judge Robert". 

Before these meta comedy japes, Gabrielle Glaister would probably have been best known to British TV audiences as Patricia Farnham in the long running Liverpool-set soap, 'Brookside', a role she played for seven years. She was also a long-running character in 'Coronation Street', and appeared in 'Emmerdale' and the less well-remembered soap 'Family Affairs'.

A photo-opp for Channel 4's 'Brookside'
(Gabrielle Glaister, second left) 

Beyond 'Blackadder' her comedy roles have included 'All at Number 20', 'Get Well Soon', the aforementioned 'Upstart Crow' and Ben Elton's sketch vehicle, 'The Man from Auntie'. But it's in more straight drama programming that you're more likely to run across her, for example all the daytime TV staples: 'The Bill', 'London's Burning', 'Casualty', 'Doctors' and 'Peak Practice'.   

As Debs Brownlow in 'Coronation Street'

Gabrielle Glaister-imdb

Peter Martin

Peter Martin:
† Dec 1941 - April 19 2023

Distinctive, spud-nosed actor. Played the gaffer looking for building supplies in those 'They've got the Jewson lot!' TV ads from the '90s. Born in Accrington, he has cornered a small part of the market for playing Northerners of various sorts, from canny barmen and no-nonsense farmers to daft ha'porths and confused customers.

In fact, a run through his CV takes you on a whistle-stop tour of Northern comedy and drama since the late '70s. 

He's got a list.

Take for instance: 'The Liver Birds', 'A Bit Of A Do', 'The Gaffer', 'First/Last Of The Summer Wine', 'Dinnerladies' and various other Victoria Wood shows, plus 'The Royle Family', 'Rosie', 'In Loving Memory' and the 'Beiderbecke' trilogy.

Enjoying Christmas with 'The Royle Family'

To this, add a smattering of soaps and light dramas, to whit: 'Emmerdale', 'Coronation Street', 'Bergerac', Dalziel & Pascoe', 'Strangers', and so on...  


Peter Martin-imdb

Stephen Bent

Stephen Bent:

Yes, that one…

Apart from being the genius behind this classic single, he's a rarely-idle character actor with a stocky build, and often a droopy moustache, who has been spotted in an impressive  array of comedy and drama on our screens over the years. To give you an idea, he's been in 'Doctors' about once every couple of years, playing six different characters so far. 

As the car dealer only able to offer 'Blue Marigold' Toyah Willcox
£900 for her E-Type Jaguar in 'Tales of The Unexpected'

In the '70s he was typically cast as a long haired youth, in the likes of 'Follyfoot', 'The Lovers', 'Z Cars' and Jack Rosenthal's amateur football play 'Sunday Morning and Sweet FA', but as he filled out a little he became associated with a string of parts as workmen, uniformed plod, barmen, prison warders, petty criminals and shortlived boyfriends in shows including 'The Sweeney', 'The Professionals', 'Angels', 'Target' and 'The Liver Birds'. 

In 'City Slacker' (2012), wedged between Tom Conti and Christopher Ryan

In the '80s he seemed to be in almost everything: 'Minder', 'Bergerac', 'Lovejoy', 'Tales of the Unexpected', 'Juliet Bravo', 'Brush Strokes', and 'Casualty'.  Then there were the soaps of course, a fairly full set of 'Crossroads' (ATV were connected via the show 'New Faces' to the Bradley's record label who released 'I'm Going To Spain'), 'Coronation Street', 'EastEnders' and latterly 'Emmerdale' in which he played the seemingly ordinary chap who turns out to be a rapist, Derek Benrose. Since then, you can add 'Truckers', 'My Family', 'Wire In The Blood' and 'Life On Mars' among others.  

As the creepy Derek in 'Emmerdale' 

He was in a few feature films, 'McVicar' (1980), the Vinnie Jones prison football nonsense 'Mean Machine' (2001), 'Ali G In Da House' (2002),  'Les Miserables' (2012), and City Slacker (2012), and he appeared in that supremely odd TV series 'Kinvig' with that other character actor somewhat in the same vein, Tony Haygarth.  

But mainly, this:
'I'm Going To Spain'


Stephen Bent-imdb

Bernard Wrigley

Bernard Wrigley:
 Curly headed, mustachioed folk-singer-turned-actor with a rather hectoring delivery and heavy Bolton accent, who must surely have influenced both Bobby Ball and Simon Farnaby. He's appeared on 'Coronation Street' in no less than six different and unconnected roles between 1976 and 1999, which must surely mean that he is the go-to guy for shorthand Lancashire walk-ons.  

Which isn't to say he doesn't have some serious clout with some of the country's best playwrights and directors. He appeared in the Stephen Frears TV productions of Alan Bennett's 'Me I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf' and 'Afternoon Off', he was the teacher in Alan Clarke's 'Rita Sue and Bob Too' (1987), and he has been a semi-regular for Victoria Wood's ensemble pieces 'Wood and Walters' and 'Dinnerladies'.   

As Mr Trickett in 'Me I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf'

In 'Brassed Off' (1996)

He was also good as the hard-of-hearing receptionist who had to cope with sales-wanker Gareth Cheeseman in 'Coogan's Run' (pictured, top), and as Dodgy Eric in 'Phoenix Nights' who supplied the club with the unfortunate Bucking Bronco and obscene bouncy castle. 


Big-screen duties have included 'A Private Function' (1984), the aforementioned 'Rita Sue and Bob Too' (1987) and the heartwarming brass band movie 'Brassed Off' (1996). One interesting-sounding film I've not seen is the very-low-budget 'Tanner' (2007) a private detective drama which apparently features Frank Williams (the vicar from 'Dad's Army') as a ruthless gangster. Here's the trailer: click here. Looks like it was shot on a phone.

He's got his own YouTube channel with a nice selection of clips. Check it out here.       


Bernard Wrigley - imdb

Paul Darrow

Paul Darrow: 

† May 2 1941 – Jun 3 2019

Sullen and intense-looking actor whose perma-scowl was a defining feature of the clunky BBC cult space opera, 'Blakes 7' between 1978 and 1981. He played Avon, whose cynical self-interest, dubious loyalties, and kiss/kill relationship with the show's arch-baddie, slinky Federation commander Servalan, drove most of the key storylines.
  

With his old adversary Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) in 'Blakes 7'

Before 'Blakes 7', Darrow had appeared in a few roles in middling popular dramas ranging from 'Emergency Ward 10' and 'Coronation Street' to 'The Saint' and the gripping Nazi-fest 'Manhunt'. A big break was playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1975 BBC series; The Legend of Robin Hood', in which he got to exercise his sinister glare to good effect. He was in 'Doctor Who', before and after 'Blakes 7', and made a convincingly devious Mr Carker in the BBC's 'Dombey & Son' in 1983.

'The Legend of Robin Hood'

Darrow never got much film work. In fact, from imdb it looks as though he only hit the big screen a couple of times, playing doctors in both 'The Raging Moon' (1971) and 'Die Another Day (2002).

Since the '80s, you may have caught his regular appearances in 'Law & Order: UK' or his part as roguish middle-aged biker Eddie Fox in 'Emmerdale', but increasingly he has found a niche in the world of video game voiceovers. I've never heard of any of them and won't list them here, but I hope we see more of Paul Darrow on our TV and cinema screens in future.



In the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery 'Murder Must Advertise'

Telling Malcolm McDowell the bad news in 'The Raging Moon (1971)

Paul Darrow - imdb

John Woodvine

John Woodvine: 

† July 21 1929 - October 6 2025  

Craggy and dignified actor whose long association with the RSC and RADA hasn't translated into stardom or luvvie status. Instead he's been rather wasted in many mediocre TV shows including 'Peak Practice', 'Emmerdale' and 'The Bill', and small parts in films like 'The Devils' and 'Young Winston'. He does boast nice '60s full-house of 'Danger Man', 'The Saint', 'The Baron', 'The Avengers' and 'The Champions'.

John Woodvine - imdb profile