Sheila Fearn

Sheila Fearn: 

A little bit of glamour now, of the wholesome British sort. The lovely Sheila Fearn, who managed to embody both confident sexiness and a down-to-earth mix of good humour and common sense. This impression probably stems largely from two of her best-known roles; as Terry Collier's sister Audrey in 'The Likely Lads' and as the witty and unaffected Anne Fourmile in 'George & Mildred'.

Other golden-era TV appearances include 'The Avengers', 'Z-Cars', 'Adam Adamant Lives', and even an episode of ' The Beverly Hilbillies' where they come to live in an English castle (it's one of the colour series from 1967, I don't know if it ever aired in the UK). She never seemed to hit the big time on the cinema screen, but her few minor roles are in some interesting films, such as 'Billy Liar' (1963), 'Catch Us If You Can' (1965), and an unusually unsympathetic turn as Kevin's mother in 'Time Bandits' (1981) alongside stalwart David Daker. In later years she showed up as Timothy's would-be girlfriend in the depressing Ronnie Corbett TV comedy 'Sorry!' (see also Roy Holder), but faded from sight in the '80s.

At one point, her Wikipedia entry contained a suggestion that her career was brought to an abrupt halt by injury in a serious accident, much as her 'George & Mildred' co-star Norman Eshley's was, although hers was described as a (rather unlikely-sounding) mountaineering fall. This may have been some sort of unedited wiki-mischief, as currently it just says that she retired from acting in 1988.  

Either way, I hope she is in good health these days, and hopefully there might be more acting work in Sheila Fearn's future.            

'The Likely Lads'

'The Avengers' - Murdersville  

'Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'

'George and Mildred'

Sheila Fearn - imdb

Norman Eshley

Norman Eshley: 

For some, this tall, uncomfortable-looking actor will always be Jeffrey Fourmile, the priggish, long-suffering neighbour of 'George & Mildred' (although, confusingly, he had already played Robin Tripp's brother in 'Man About The House' before the 'G&M' spin-off), but he also appeared in a number of hard cop roles in 'The Sweeney' and 'The Professionals', as well as having an impressively varied TV career including 'Secret Army', 'I, Claudius', 'Cadfael', 'Minder' (as a vicar), and 'One Foot In The Grave'. He sustained head injuries in a serious car accident in 1993 which apparently wrecked his ability to memorise parts for the stage, and has sadly had only infrequent TV roles since. I wish him well.

See also: Sheila Fearn, Brian Murphy

Norman Eshley - imdb profile

David Daker

David Daker: 

Stolid bloodhound type with a classic comb-over, he has played convicts, dads, lorry-drivers, coppers (eg Constable Culshaw in 'Z-Cars'), teachers, heavies, and various nervous, shifty types. Films include a role as the disinterested dad in Terry Gilliam's 'Time Bandits' (1981),  and 'Stardust' (1974), 'The Black Windmill' (1974) and 'Britannia Hospital' (1982). 

On TV he has been seen in 'Dick Turpin', 'Minder', 'Boon', 'UFO', 'Juliet Bravo', and the last resort of the British character actor, 'Holby City'. An old dependable.

And let's not forget his appearance as medieval warrior Irongron, the first human to encounter a Sontaran in Dr Who.

David Daker - imdb profile