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Children's Film Foundation
The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) is a non-profit organisation which makes films and other media for children in the United Kingdom. Originally it made films to be shown as part of children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 minutes long. Over time the organisation's role broadened and its name changed, first to the Children's Film and Television Foundation in the mid-80s and to the Children's Media Foundation in 2012. History The Children's Film Foundation was formed in 1951 following the Wheare report that criticised the suitability of American programming for Saturday morning pictures. Mary Field was appointed chief executive. The Foundation was initially funded by the Eady Levy (a tax on box office receipts), receiving 5% of the Levy and the initial budget was £60,000 per year. The Foundation made around six films a year, with most lasting less than an hour and shot in less than two weeks. From 1953, the Foundation releas ...
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London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ...
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Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher (born 31 January 1966) is an English film director and actor. He has appeared in Guy Ritchie's '' Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'', as well as in television shows such as the comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ... '' Hotel Babylon'' and the HBO series '' Band of Brothers'' and, earlier in his career, starred as Spike Thomson in the comedy drama '' Press Gang''. His earliest acting role was playing Baby Face in the 1976 film '' Bugsy Malone''. Fletcher made his directorial debut with '' Wild Bill'' (2011), and also directed '' Sunshine on Leith'' (2013) and '' Eddie the Eagle'' (2015). He replaced Bryan Singer as director of '' Bohemian Rhapsody'', a biopic about the band Queen, released in October 2018; due to DGA rules, he rece ...
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Matthew Wright (presenter)
Alexander Matthew Wright (born 8 July 1965) is an English television presenter and former tabloid journalist. He worked as a journalist for ''The Sun'' and was a showbusiness gossip columnist for the ''Daily Mirror'' before launching a television career. He hosted the Channel 5 topical debate show '' The Wright Stuff'' from 2000 to 2018. Wright also presents on radio station LBC and occasionally appears on '' This Morning'' to discuss current affairs. Early life and education Wright started his career at the age of 14, appearing in the Children's Film Foundation production ''Big Wheels and Sailor'' (1979). He was educated at the voluntary-aided Roman Catholic boys' school, The John Fisher School in Purley, Croydon, Surrey and was in the same class as the artist and sculptor Diarmuid Bryon O'Connor and DJ Gilles Peterson. When joining the school, he began as a grammar entrant, having passed the 11-plus, but the school only remained (officially) as a grammar school ...
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Jack Wild
Jack Wild (30 September 1952 – 1 March 2006) was an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as the Artful Dodger in the film ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16, becoming the fourth-youngest nominee in the category. He also received BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for the role. Wild also starred in the television series '' H.R. Pufnstuf'' (1969) and its film adaptation '' Pufnstuf'' (1970), as well as in the films ''Melody'' (1971) and '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991). Early life and education Wild was born into a working-class family in Royton, Lancashire, on 30 September 1952. In 1960, at the age of eight, with his parents and his elder brother Arthur, he moved to Hounslow, in Middlesex, where he got a job helping a milkman, which paid about five shillings. While playing football with his brother in the park, he was discovered by theatrical agent June Colli ...
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Carol White
Carole Joan White (1 April 1943 – 16 September 1991) was an English actress. White became famous for her performances in the television play ''Cathy Come Home'' (1966) and the films ''Poor Cow'' (1967) and '' I'll Never Forget What's 'isname'' (1967), and by the end of the 1960s was hailed as 'the next Julie Christie'. Alcoholism and drug abuse damaged her career, however, and from the early 1970s she worked infrequently. Early life and education White, the daughter of a scrap merchant, was born in Hammersmith, London on 1 April 1943. She attended the Corona Stage Academy. Career White played minor parts in films from 1949 until the late 1950s, when she began to play more substantial supporting roles in films such as '' Carry On Teacher'' (1959) and '' Never Let Go'' (1960), in which she played the girlfriend of Peter Sellers. She also acted the part of Evelyn May, a 'girl in the bar' and court witness in Sidney J. Furie's '' The Boys'' (1962). After marrying, s ...
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Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder (TV series), Minder'' and ''New Tricks'', singing the theme tunes of the latter two. Waterman's acting career spanned 60 years, starting with his childhood roles in film and theatre, and adult roles in film, television and West End theatre. He was known for the range of roles he played, including drama (''Up the Junction (film), Up the Junction''), horror (''Scars of Dracula''), adventure (''Colditz (1972 TV series), Colditz''), comedy (''Fair Exchange (TV series), Fair Exchange''), comedy-drama (''Minder''), musical (''Windy City (musical), Windy City'') and sport (''The World Cup: A Captain's Tale''). He appeared in 29 films, the last being released in 2020. Early life and education Waterman was born on 24 February 1948, as the youngest of nine children to Rose Juliana (née Saunders) an ...
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Sally Thomsett
Sally Thomsett (born 3 April 1950) is an English actress who starred as Phyllis in the film '' The Railway Children'' (1970) and played Jo in the TV sitcom '' Man About the House'' (1973–1976). She also appeared as Janice in the film '' Straw Dogs'' (1971) and Nemo in '' Baxter!'' (1973). Early life Thomsett was born in Plumpton in 1950 to Maurice and Dorothy Thomsett (née Joy) and had three older brothers. She grew up in nearby Brighton and attended the Elm Grove Infants and Juniors School. One of her brothers offered her five shillings to audition for ''The Max Bygraves Summer Show''. After doing so successfully, she appeared in several pantomimes until she left secondary school to attend Phildene Stage School in London. Career Out of drama school, Thomsett made several films for the Children’s Film Foundation and appeared in many popular television series, including '' Theatre 625'', '' Dixon of Dock Green'', '' Nearest and Dearest'' and '' Z-Cars''. She also starred ...
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Pauline Quirke
Pauline Perpetua Sheen (née Quirke; born 8 July 1959) is a retired English actress. She began her career with roles on various television series, before fronting her own comedy sketch show, ''Pauline's Quirkes'', in 1976. She later starred as Vicky Smith on the BBC drama series '' Angels'' (1982–1983), and achieved fame with her portrayal of Sharon Theodopolopodous on the long-running sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1988–1999, 2014–2017), for which she won a British Comedy Award and was nominated on three occasions for a National Television Award. In 1997, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for her role in the BBC miniseries '' The Sculptress''. Between 2010 and 2012, Quirke played Hazel Rhodes on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Quirke's film appearances include ''The Elephant Man'' (1980), ''Little Dorrit'' (1987), and '' Getting It Right'' (1989). Other television credits include '' Shine on Harvey Moon'' (1984–1985, 1995), '' Maisie Raine'' ( ...
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Linda Robson
Linda Patricia Mary Robson Dunford (' Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020), and her appearances as a weekly panellist on the ITV series '' Loose Women'' (2012–2018, 2020–present). As a founder student of Anna Scher's Theatre School, Robson had a significant number of appearances on screen as a child actor. In 2020, Robson took an extended hiatus from Loose Women after suffering with a serious bout of "OCD", she returned to the show as a guest in 2020 then a full-time panellist the following week. Early life Linda Patricia Mary Robson was born on 13 March 1958 in Islington, North London to an English father and an Irish mother. She has two sisters. She was educated at Ecclesbourne Primary School, where Anna Scher started her Theatre School in 1968 with Robson and Pauline Quirke being amongst the founding students. Later she a ...
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Richard O'Sullivan
Richard O'Sullivan (born 7 May 1944) is an English comedy actor. He is known for his role as Robin Tripp in the TV sitcoms ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and '' Robin's Nest'' (1977–1981) and as the title character in the period adventure series ''Dick Turpin'' (1979–1982). He also starred in '' Doctor at Large'' (1971), '' Doctor in Charge'' (1972–1973), '' Alcock and Gander'' (1972), ''Me and My Girl'' (1984–1988) and '' Trouble In Mind'' (1991). Early life O'Sullivan was born in 1944 to John and Ellen O'Sullivan (née Fleming) in Chiswick, where he grew up with his younger brother. His early education was at St John the Evangelist's RC Primary School in Brentford, Middlesex. After a family holiday in Ireland as a boy, he returned with a strong Irish accent and was sent to the Corona Theatre School to soften it. He appeared in his first film at the age of eight. Career as child actor O'Sullivan's first film appearance was as an extra playing one of the childre ...
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Gary Kemp
Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the new wave band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music for all 23 of Spandau Ballet's hit singles, including "To Cut a Long Story Short", "True", "Gold", " Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)", "Through the Barricades" and " Only When You Leave". Spandau Ballet became one of the biggest British bands of the 1980s, generating over 25 million record sales worldwide. In 2012, Kemp was an Ivor Novello Award winner for Outstanding Song Collection. His brother Martin Kemp plays bass guitar in the band and is also an actor. Since 2018, Kemp has also toured the US and Europe with the psychedelic rock group Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets. Early life Gary James Kemp was on born 16 October 1959, to parents Eileen and Frank Kemp in St Bartholomew's Hospital,''Martin Kemp, True: the Autobiography of M ...
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Frazer Hines
Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing in more episodes than any other companion. He was a regular in the series alongside Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor between 1966 and 1969, and made guest appearances in "The Five Doctors" (1983) and ''The Two Doctors'' (1985). He also played Joe Sugden in ''Emmerdale, Emmerdale Farm'' between 1972 and 1994. Early life and career Hines was born in Horsforth, a north-west suburb of Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the third son of Bill and Molly Hines. His mother was Scottish and came from Port Glasgow. Shortly after Hines was born, the family moved to Harrogate where his mother ran a boarding house. As a child, Hines went to the Western Board Primary School and then Norwood College. Through his parents attending a local amateur ...
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