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Brian Finch
Brian Finch (25 July 1936 – 27 June 2007) was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. His longest relationship was with the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989. He also helped the development of '' All Creatures Great and Small'', ''The Tomorrow People'', and '' Heartbeat''. He contributed several episodes to the British detective programmes ''The Gentle Touch'', ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'', '' Bergerac'' and ''The Bill''. It was for his work as a writer on '' Goodnight Mr Tom'', a bittersweet drama starring John Thaw, for which he received a BAFTA. Early life and education Brian Finch was born in Standish, Lancashire, a descendant of Charles Dickens his father was a miner. He was educated at St. Joseph's School and then Thornleigh Salesian College. At 15 years old he was a cub reporter for the local evening newspaper Westhoughton Journal. Career His National Service was with the RAF at NATO's Fontain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standish, Greater Manchester
Standish is a small town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is on the A49 road between Chorley and Wigan, near Junction 27 of the M6 motorway. The population of the town was 13,278 in the 2011 census. Formed around a crossroads, the village has grown into a small town as urban expansion between Manchester and Liverpool extends outwards. St Wilfrid's Church is a Grade I listed parish church. History The name Standish is derived from the Old English ''stan'', meaning stone, and ''edisc'', a park or enclosure. It has been variously recorded as Stanedis in 1206, Stanediss in 1219, Standissh, Stanedich and Stanedissh in 1292 and Standisch in 1330. The adjoining village of Langtree was recorded as Langetre in 1206 and Longetre in 1330. A Roman road passed through the township. Standish and Langtree were part of the Penwortham barony in the 12th century, and between 1150 and 1164, Ric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goodnight Mister Tom (1998 Film)
''Goodnight Mister Tom'' is a 1998 film adaptation by Carlton Television of the novel of the same name by Michelle Magorian. The film was directed by Jack Gold, in his final film. The cast featured well-known British actors, including veteran actor John Thaw. Plot In September 1939, the United Kingdom declares war on Nazi Germany, and children are evacuated from London to the countryside for their safety. Tom Oakley, a lonely and bitter old man living in the countryside village of Little Weirwold, is forced to look after one of the evacuees, William "Willie" Beech. Tom has long since withdrawn from life after losing his wife and child to scarlet fever many years before, while Willie is a quiet young boy who comes from an abusive home and is apprehensive of Tom. Despite initial difficulties combined with his reluctance to care for Willie, Tom later takes pity on Willie after learning about his abusive upbringing and does his best to create a suitable home for Willie, such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Baldwin (Coronation Street)
Michael Vernon "Mike" Baldwin is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Johnny Briggs. He first appeared on 11 October 1976 and became one of the show's central characters until his final appearance on 7 April 2006. Before his debut on the series, Mike started off his career as a market stall holder until a few years later the character had evolved into a legitimate businessman who was running his own factory. Mike soon opened his namesake denim-maker business, ''Baldwin's Casuals'', in Weatherfield and moved there after ending his relationship with his common-law wife Anne Woodley. Quickly establishing himself as the street's most uncompromising employer, Mike was quick to threaten his machinists with the sack if they slacked and had additionally taking a dim view of workers getting above themselves. Since his first appearance, Mike was involved in several of the show's highly profiled events. This included a love triang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bet Lynch
Bet Lynch (also Gilroy) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Julie Goodyear, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on Monday 25 May 1966. Appearing over 25 years, Bet became a ''Coronation Street'' icon. Bet first appeared back in May 1966, but did not become a regular until four and half years later in December 1970. In October 1995, Goodyear made a permanent departure after on-screen Bet was unable to pay her debts and fled Weatherfield. She returned in June 2002 in what was intended to be a permanent return for the character. However, Goodyear quit after just two weeks in what was put down to the exhausting work schedule. The following year, Goodyear returned temporarily in a storyline that accommodated the return of Beverley Callard as Liz McDonald. She last appeared in November 2003. Fans have called for Julie Goodyear to return one last time to the cobbles for only one episode to see Bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deirdre Barlow
Deirdre Anne Barlow (also Hunt, Langton and Rachid) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Anne Kirkbride. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 November 1972. Her final appearance was on 8 October 2014. Kirkbride decided to take an extended break from the soap in autumn 2014 and last appeared on-screen on 8 October 2014. She died in January 2015 before she could return to work. The character of Deirdre was killed off and given a farewell storyline, with her funeral taking place on 13 July 2015. An official book focusing on the character's history was released as a tribute for fans of the show in October 2015. Storylines Aged eighteen, Deirdre goes on a date with Jimmy Frazer ( John Barrie), but when she is introduced to his business partner Alan Howard (Alan Browning), she quickly loses interest and flirts with Alan instead. Elsie Tanner ( Pat Phoenix) finds them in the pub where they are d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978. The series differed sharply from earlier police procedurals. With its less-usual Northern England setting, it injected a new element of harsh realism into the image of the police, which some found unwelcome. ''Z-Cars'' ran for 801 episodes, of which fewer than half have survived. Regular stars included: Stratford Johns (Detective Inspector Barlow), Frank Windsor (Det. Sgt. Watt), James Ellis (Bert Lynch) and Brian Blessed ("Fancy" Smith). Barlow and Watt were later spun into a separate series '' Softly, Softly''. Origin of the title The title comes from the radio call signs allocated by Lancashire Constabulary. Lancashire police divisions were lettered from north to the south: "A" Divisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Norton (Irish Actor)
Jim Norton (born 4 January 1938) is an Irish stage, film and television character actor, known for his work in the theatre, most notably in Conor McPherson's '' The Seafarer'', and on television as Bishop Brennan in the sitcom ''Father Ted''. Early life Jim Norton was born on 4 January 1938 in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Synge Street CBS. From an early age he wanted to be an actor, and regularly attended performances at the Abbey Theatre. His mother, Frances, played the violin and his father, Eugene, was a baritone singer. Eugene worked as a bakery manager. Jim had one sibling, the late acting teacher Betty Ann Norton. Career Norton has been acting for over forty years in theatre, television, and film, and frequently plays clergymen, most notably Bishop Brennan in the sitcom ''Father Ted'', as well as roles in ''The Sweeney'' (1975), ''Peak Practice'' (1993), ''Sunset Heights'' (1997), ''A Love Divided'' (1999), ''Rebus: Black and Blue'' (2000), ''Mad About Mambo'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wednesday Play
''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction (and occasionally stage plays) also featured. The series gained a reputation for presenting contemporary social dramas, and for bringing issues to the attention of a mass audience that would not otherwise have been discussed on screen. Some of British television drama's most influential, and controversial, plays were shown in this slot, including ''Up the Junction'' and '' Cathy Come Home''. The earliest television plays of Dennis Potter were featured in this slot. History Origins and early seasons The series was suggested to the BBC's Head of Drama, Sydney Newman, by the corporation's director of television Kenneth Adam after his cancellation of the two previous series of single plays.Oliver Wake"Wednesday Play, The (1964-70)" BFI Scre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top Of The Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984. Dusty Springfield's " I Only Want to Be with You" was the first song featured on ''TOTP'', while the Rolling Stones were the first band to perform, with " I Wanna Be Your Man". Snow Patrol were the last act to play live on the weekly show when they performed their single " Chasing Cars". Special editions were broadcast on Christmas Day (and us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TV Times
''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which became Time Inc. UK in 2014. Prior to 28 February 1991, it was the only source of seven-day listings for ITV and later, Channel 4 (includes S4C in Wales). The magazine was first published in 1955, but did not circulate nationally until 1968 as some (usually smaller) regional stations opted to produce their own listings publications. Until the market was deregulated, its nearest rival was ''Radio Times'' – owned then by the BBC and at the time the only source of weekly BBC television and radio schedules. However the two magazines were very different in character, and viewers wanting the full listings for the coming week were required to purchase both publications. It also used the branding for several broadcast spin-offs on ITV, oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester Evening News
The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 2019. The newspaper is owned by Reach plc (formerly Trinity Mirror), /sup> one of Britain's largest newspaper publishing groups. Since adopting a 'digital-first' strategy in 2014, the ''MEN'' has experienced significant online growth, despite its average print daily circulation for the first half of 2021 falling to 22,107. In the 2018 British Regional Press Awards, it was named Newspaper of the Year and Website of the Year. History Formation and ''The Guardian'' ownership The ''Manchester Evening News'' was first published on 10 October 1868 by Mitchell Henry as part of his parliamentary election campaign, its first issue four pages long and costing a halfpenny. The newspaper was run from a small office on Brown Street, with approximatel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement'' of Fontainebleau. The commune has the largest land area in the Île-de-France region; it is the only one to cover a larger area than Paris itself. The commune is closest to Seine-et-Marne Prefecture, Melun. Fontainebleau, together with the neighbouring commune of Avon and three other smaller communes, form an urban area of 36,724 inhabitants (2018). This urban area is a satellite of Paris. Fontainebleau is renowned for the large and scenic forest of Fontainebleau, a favourite weekend getaway for Parisians, as well as for the historic Château de Fontainebleau, which once belonged to the kings of France. It is also the home of INSEAD, one of the world's most elite business schools. Inhabitants of Fontainebleau are sometimes calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
