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Dick Sharples
Dick Sharples (7 June 1927 – 19 October 2015) was a British TV scriptwriter of British sitcoms. He has also written novels, plays and drama series (for both television and radio). Life and career Dick Sharples was born in Manchester. He began his career as a cartoonist and a writer for a Manchester Advertising Agency. One of the agency's customers was comedian Al Read who ran a meat pie company called H. Read and Son. Sharples wrote the tagline "potatoes and meat, simply heat" for the company's fritters. A chance meeting with a local, jobbing printer called Archie Carmichael led to Sharples writing his first novel whilst still a teenager. ''The Man Who Rode By Night'' was a 40,000-word Western, and led to Sharples being paid 21 shillings for every thousand words. One of Sharples' first television writing credits was for the 1956 ATV series ''Joan and Leslie'', starring Harry Towb and Noel Dyson. Other early television work included writing episodes of soap opera ''Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form one of the United Kingdom's most populous conurbations, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which has a population of 2.87 million. The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort ('' castra'') of ''Mamucium'' or ''Mancunium'', established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to History of local government in Yorkshire, periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographic territory and cultural region. The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the Yorkshire Regiment, military, and also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration such as North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. Within the borders of the historic county of Yorkshire are large stretches of countryside, including the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and Peak District nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width
''Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width'' is a British television sitcom first broadcast in 1967 as a single play in the ''Armchair Theatre'' anthology series, later becoming a series of half-hour episodes, which ran until 1971. A total of 40 episodes were made; all but one of them are believed to have aired. It was originally made by ABC Weekend TV for the ITV network, with its production being continued by Thames Television. Plot The plots revolves around two tailors in business together. Manny Cohen, played by John Bluthal, is Jewish, and Patrick Kelly, played by Joe Lynch, is Irish Catholic. Above their shop works Lewtas (Bernard Spear) who is also Jewish and imports cloth. Two further prominent characters are Rabbi Levy ( Christopher Benjamin in the pilot – he reappeared in a later episode as Dr Shapiro – Cyril Shaps in series 1 to 4, David Nettheim and Jonathan Burn as Rabbi Stone in series 5) from the local synagogue, and Father Ryan ( Denis Carey in the pilot, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vlaamse Radio- En Televisieomroep
The VRT (), is the national public-service broadcaster for the Flemish Community of Belgium. History VRT is the successor to a succession of organisations. The Belgian National Institute of Radio Broadcasting was known as the Nationaal Instituut voor de Radio-omroep (NIR) in Flemish and the L'Institut National de Radiodiffusion (INR) in French, was founded in 1930 and existed until 1960. This became the Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT) in 1960 and the Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep Nederlandstalige Uitzendingen (BRTN) from 1991 to 1998. The NIR/INR and BRT (Radio-Télévision Belge, or RTB, in French) had each been single state-owned entities with separate Dutch- and French-language production departments. They were housed in Le Flagey, formerly known as the Maison de la Radio, from when the new building was completed in 1938 until 1974, when the building became too small. However, in 1977, as part of the ongoing state reform in Belgium broadcasting became r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. ''The Bill'' was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and among the longest running of any British television series at the time of its cancellation. The title originates from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police. Although highly acclaimed by fans and critics, the series attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008 was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis. The series has also faced more general criticism concerning its levels of violence, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot. ''The Bill'' won several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broadcast from 9:25 Monday morning to 5:15 Friday afternoon (7:00 Friday night until 1982) at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT). Formed as a joint company, it merged the television interests of British Electric Traction (trading as Associated-Rediffusion) owning 49%, and Associated British Picture Corporation—soon taken over by EMI—owning 51%. Like all ITV franchisees, it was a broadcaster, a producer and a commissioner of television programmes, making shows both for the local region it covered and, as one of the History of ITV#The Big Four and Big Five, "Big Five" ITV companies, for networking nationally across the ITV regions. After its loss of franchise i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Sims
Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran in ''Till Death Us Do Part'' (1967–1975), Madge Kettlewell in ''Sykes'' (1972–1978), Mrs Wembley, the cook with a liking for sherry, in '' On the Up'' (1990–1992), and Madge Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'' (1994–1998). Early life and education Sims was born on 9 May 1930, the only child of John Henry Sims (1888-1964), Station Master of Laindon railway station in Essex, and his wife Gladys Marie Sims, '' née'' Ladbrook (1896-1981). Sims's early interest in being an actress came from living at the railway station. She would often put on performances for waiting passengers. She decided that she wanted to pursue show business during her teens, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions locally. One o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angela Thorne
Angela Margaret Leslie Thorne (born 25 January 1939) is an English actress of stage, television and film who is best known for her roles in ''To the Manor Born'', as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's best friend Marjory Frobisher, and as Margaret Thatcher in '' Anyone for Denis?'' Early life Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, in 1939. The daughter of an Indian Army doctor father, William Herbert Alfred Thorne, and a teacher mother, Sylvia (Leslie), she spent the first five years of her life in India. BBC - ''Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)'', 16 August 2010 She was later a pupil at Farlington School in Horsham, West Sussex. She trained for the stage at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her marriage to television actor Peter Penry-Jones lasted from 22 September 1967 until his death in 2009. They had two sons, Laurence and Rupert, both actors. In the BBC programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' featuring son Rupert, broadcast in August 2010, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patsy Rowlands
Patricia Amy Rowlands (19 January 1931 – 22 January 2005) was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films series, as Betty Lewis in the ITV Thames sitcom '' Bless This House'', and as Alice Meredith in the Yorkshire Television sitcom '' Hallelujah!''. Early years She was born in Palmers Green, London and attended the Sacred Heart convent school at Whetstone. While attending, an elocution teacher spotted her potential and encouraged her to pursue a career in acting. She applied for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and won a scholarship aged fifteen. Early career Rowlands began her career in the chorus of '' Annie Get Your Gun'', followed by a summer season in Torquay. She then spent several years with the Players' Theatre in London, before making her West End debut in Sandy Wilson's musical '' Valmouth''. It was at this time she met her future husband, the composer Malcolm Sircom. They divorced in 1967. Other West End the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Hospital (British TV Series)
''General Hospital'' was a British daytime soap opera produced by ATV that ran on ITV from 1972 to 1979. It was not modelled after the American drama of the same name which is still airing today. Rather, it was an attempt to replicate the success of its predecessor, ''Emergency – Ward 10''. The original theme music was "Girl in the White Dress" by the Derek Scott Orchestra which was used until 1975, when it was replaced by Johnny Pearson's "Red Alert" for the 60-minute episodes. History In 1972, ITV started to broadcast programmes on weekday afternoons, triggering a new wave of productions to fill in the extended schedules. Among the first of these shows, which were aimed at giving advertisers access to housewives, were the long-running rural soap ''Emmerdale Farm'' ( YTV) and the twice-weekly medical drama ''General Hospital''. Set in a fictional Midlands town, the series followed the romantic and professional lives of its doctors and nurses. While the location and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for almost sixty years. In theatre, he was best known for originating the role of Sir in ''The Dresser''; in film, he was best known for his role as the showman Bytes in ''The Elephant Man'' (1980); and in television, he was best known for playing Sandy Thomas in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2005 to 2018. Early life Jones was born on 12 September 1927 in Dresden, a suburb of the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, the son of Ida Elizabeth (née Goodwin) and Charles Edward Jones. Charles was a porcelain thrower, Ida a clerk and pub pianist. He worked briefly at Creda, the consumer electrical goods vendors, in Longton before he joined the British Ceramic Research Association in Penkhull, where he worked for ten years. His girlfriend at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. A three-time winner of the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, she won for '' Talking Heads: A Cream Cracker Under the Settee'' (1988), '' Talking Heads: Waiting for the Telegram'' (1998) and '' Lost for Words'' (1999). Her film credits included ''The Love Match'' (1955), '' The Entertainer'' (1960), '' A Kind of Loving'' (1962) and ''The Nightcomers'' (1971). Early life and career Hird was born on 28 May 1911 in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe to James Henry Hird and Jane Mary (née Mayor). Her family background was largely theatrical: her mother had been an actress, while her father managed a number of entertainment venues in Morecambe, including the Royalty Theatre, where Hird made her first appearance, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
