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Wyvern Theatre (Swindon)
The Wyvern Theatre in central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, opened in 1971. It is managed on behalf of Swindon Borough Council by Trafalgar Entertainment. The auditorium has 635 seats, all designed to be within 70 feet of the stage. History The theatre was built in 1968–71 by Casson, Conder and Partner as part of Swindon Civic Centre. It is named after the mythical wyvern which was once the emblem of the kings of Wessex. The building was opened on 7 September 1971 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The first performance was by a Ukrainian dance company. On 3 September 2006, it closed temporarily after the discovery of traces of asbestos in the venue's offices and roof void during a routine inspection. It remained closed until September 2007 and the opportunity was taken to refurbish the venue, bringing new decor, bars, cafés, disabled entrances and new seating at a total cost of £1.3 million. In March 2020, the venue closed again temporarily due to the COVID-19 p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon unitary authority area had a population of 233,410 as of 2021. Located in South West England, the town lies between Bristol, 35 miles (56 kilometres) to its west, and Reading, Berkshire, Reading, equidistant to its east. Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Suindune'', it was a small market town until the mid-19th century, when it was selected as the principal site for the Great Western Railway's repair and maintenance Swindon Works, works, leading to a marked increase in its population. The new town constructed for the railway workers produced forward-looking amenities such as the UK’s first lending library and a ‘cradle-to-grave' health care centre that was later used as a blueprint for the National Health Service, NHS. After the W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew O'Connor (actor)
Andrew Mark O'Connor (born 23 March 1963 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire) is an English actor, comedian, magician, television presenter and executive producer. Television career Although he enjoyed a short stint as a child actor, appearing as Tom Brill in the BBC mini-series ''The Canal Children'' in 1976, he made his mark as a children's magician, and won the Magic Circle's ''Young Magician of the Year'' prize in 1981. After appearing in a number of variety shows on television, he was invited to join the cast of London Weekend Television's '' Copy Cats'', a showcase featuring impressionists such as Bobby Davro and Gary Wilmot, in 1985. A second series, without Wilmot, followed in 1986. O'Connor received a writing credit for each series. His own children's show, ''Andrew O'Connor's Joke Machine'' soon followed, in which he told jokes and performed magic tricks and invited children to do the same. In 1986, he began appearing in ITV's popular Saturday morning children's series, ''No. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Baker
Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' from 1984 to 1986. Baker's tenure as the Doctor proved to be a controversial era for the series, which included a hiatus in production and his subsequent replacement on the orders of BBC executive Michael Grade. Early life Colin Baker was born in Waterloo, London, England. He moved north to Rochdale with his family when he was three years old. He was educated at St Bede's College, Manchester, where he passed A' Levels in French, Latin and Greek. Particularly strong in Latin and Greek, Baker achieved 2 A grades. He studied law at a London college and subsequently trained to become a solicitor. At the age of 23, Baker enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Career Early work in television Baker's numer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernie Clifton
Bernie Clifton (born Bernard M. Quinn, 30 April 1936) is a British comedian and entertainer, known for his work with his orange ostrich puppet costume Oswald the Ostrich. Early life Clifton was born on 30 April 1936 in St Helens, Lancashire, where he also grew up. He left grammar school without any qualifications at 15 and became an apprentice plumber. At the age of 21, he was called up for national service and became a radar mechanic at the Bomber Command Bombing School (BCBS) at RAF Lindholme. He has been based in South Yorkshire ever since. Career Clifton's first performing job was as a singer with a dance band, but he was fired after a month. His first television performance was on the light-entertainment show '' The Good Old Days'', where he was inspired by Les Dawson. He performed in the 1979 Royal Variety Performance. He subsequently appeared on several further occasions, including the 2016 show. He made regular appearances on '' Crackerjack!''. During the 1980s, he app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timmy Mallett
Timothy Luke Mallett (born 18 October 1955) is an English TV presenter, broadcaster, and artist. He is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses, loud shirts, and giant pink foam mallet, known as "Mallett's Mallet", as well as his "utterly brilliant!" and "blaaah!" catchphrases. Career Radio Mallett was born in Marple, Cheshire. His media career started while he was a student at the University of Warwick where he worked on the student radio station, Radio Warwick. After graduating with a degree in History he started working at BBC Radio Oxford. He later moved to Centre Radio (now Leicester Sound) as the station's launch presenter. He also presented on Radio Luxembourg and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio. The programme he hosted at Piccadilly was ''Timmy on the Tranny'', a weekday evening show that ran from 8.00pm–11.00pm and took its name from Mallett's lunchtime and later afternoon shows on Radio Oxford. Among Mallett's team of helpers were Chris Evans (known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Cricket
James Mulgrew (born 17 October 1945), known professionally as Jimmy Cricket, is an Irish comedian. He first came to prominence as a comedian in the 1970s and has had his own shows on television and radio. Early life and career Cricket was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and left school at 16. He spent the next two years working in a betting shop, before spending the summer of 1966 working as a Red Coat in Butlins Holiday camp at Mosney, County Meath, Republic of Ireland. He spent the following two summers at the Butlins Holiday Camp in Clacton, Essex. By the early 1970s he was living in Manchester. From 1972 he worked at the Pontins holiday camps in Southport and Morecambe. He returned to Clacton-on-Sea in 2006 to star in the eight-week summer show, ''Summer Special'' at the West Cliff Theatre. Jimmy has toured in the UK with other artists such as The Osmonds, Brotherhood of Man, Gerry and the Pacemakers. He has also toured in comedy themed shows with Can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Hibbard
Brian Hibbard (26 November 1946 – 17 June 2012) was a Welsh actor and singer from Ebbw Vale, Wales, best remembered as the lead vocalist in the original The Flying Pickets. Early life and career Hibbard was born into a working class family in Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, and had a socialist upbringing. He was educated at Ebbw Vale Grammar School. After various jobs including teacher, steel worker, barman and chimney sweep, he formed The Flying Pickets with a group of other actors who had practised a cappella singing while travelling by coach to their appearances. Following the group's success in the early 1980s, Hibbard went on to pursue a career as a television actor, appearing in ''Coronation Street'' as garage mechanic Doug Murray, in ''Emmerdale'' as Bobby-John Downes, and as Johnny Mac in the Welsh language soap ''Pobol y Cwm'' as well as the youth drama ''Pam Fi, Duw?''. In 1995 he played Jason in an episode of the fifth series of Heartbeat. He was in the 1997 film ''Twin T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugo Myatt
Hugo Myatt (born 1945) is a British actor, presenter and theatre director, best known for his role as the dungeon master Treguard in the children's game show ''Knightmare''. ''Knightmare'' Myatt played the role of Treguard of Dunshelm, the Dungeon Master, dungeon master and presenter of the Children's ITV game series ''Knightmare'' throughout all eight series, between 1987 and 1994. Myatt met Tim Child, the creator of ''Knightmare'', while Child was working as line producer on Anglia Television's regional news programme ''About Anglia'' with his wife, presenter Christine Webber. Child believed that Myatt was ideal for a dungeon master role, and arranged to make a Pilot episode, pilot, ''Dungeon Doom''. A few months after the first pilot a second pilot was made, which was renamed ''Knightmare''. The second pilot was successful and a series was commissioned. Myatt's Treguard became the only character to appear throughout all 112 episodes that were made over ''Knightmare's'' eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Bannister
Trevor Gordon Bannister (14 August 193414 April 2011) was an English actor best known for having played the womanising junior salesman Mr Lucas in the sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1979, and for his role as Toby Mulberry Smith in the long-running sitcom ''Last of the Summer Wine'', from 2003 until it ended its run in 2010. Career In 1960, Bannister appeared on stage at the Cambridge Theatre in London in ''Billy Liar'', which starred Albert Finney. He starred as Darkie Pilbeam, a wartime spiv, in the 1968 television series '' The War of Darkie Pilbeam;'' from 1969 to 1970, he appeared as "Heavy Breathing" in Jack Rosenthal's sitcom, ''The Dustbinmen''. Shortly afterwards, he was asked to play Mr. Lucas in a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot called ''Are You Being Served?'' and took the part in the series. It was originally intended as a vehicle for him as the average man caught up in the store full of odd characters and baroque customs and, for the first four series, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as ''Game for a Laugh'', ''You Bet!'' and ''Stars in Their Eyes''. In the 2000s he returned to acting, appearing in several West End productions, while also acting in some television roles. Early life Kelly was born in Urmston, Lancashire. As a child, he lived on Primrose Avenue in the town and became interested in acting when at the Urmston Musical Theatre, most notably playing the role of Louis in a production of ''The King and I'' in 1963. He continues to be President of the theatre group. After 1961, Kelly went to Urmston Grammar School. He trained as an actor at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre (now Manchester School of Theatre, part of Manchester Metropolitan University) and joined a theatre group which included Julie Walters and Pete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Gee
Bobby G (also known as Bobby Gee) (born Robert Alan Gubby, 23 August 1953) is a member of pop group Bucks Fizz, best known for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and for achieving three UK number one hits with "Making Your Mind Up" (1981), " The Land of Make Believe" (1981) and "My Camera Never Lies" (1982). Early career G was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. After leaving school at 14, he began working in a number of trades, the most significant of these being in construction. In his late teens he set up his own building business, based on the knowledge he had gained from his father, who was also a builder. For much of the 1970s he worked in building and plumbing. By the end of the decade, both businesses had failed, leaving him with heavy debts as well as having chalked up two marriages – both of which ended in divorce In 1979, G decided to embark on a career in music and began touring pubs and clubs as a solo singer/guitarist. In 1980, G auditioned for a role in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
