Diana (British TV Series)
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Diana (British TV Series)
: ''For the American TV series starring Diana Rigg, see Diana (American TV series)''. ''Diana'' is a British television drama series first broadcast by the BBC in 1984. It was adapted by Andrew Davies from two R. F. Delderfield novels. It follows the intersecting but very different lives of Jan Leigh ( Kevin McNally), a poor but studious young country lad and Diana Gayelorde-Sutton ( Jenny Seagrove), the equally single minded daughter of a rich landowner, from the 1920s through to post-war Britain. The early story revolves around the class mismatch between the pair; the besotted Jan attempts to elevate his status through hard work and the more aloof Diana attempts to keep her affections in check and pursue her own goals. The story is mainly told from Jan's POV, as Diana comes unexpectedly (and disruptively) back into his life at various points, then departs as unpredictably as she came. A recurrent theme (depicted memorably in the show's animated opening credits sequence) is ...
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Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies (; born 20 September 1936) is a Welsh screenwriter and novelist, best known for his television adaptations of '' To Serve Them All My Days'', '' House of Cards'', ''Middlemarch'', ''Pride and Prejudice'', ''Bleak House'', '' War & Peace'', and his original serial ''A Very Peculiar Practice''. He was made a BAFTA Fellow in 2002. Education and early career Davies was born in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, Wales. He attended Whitchurch Grammar School in Cardiff and then University College, London, where he received a BA in English in 1957. He took a teaching position at St Clement Danes Grammar School in London, where he was on the teaching staff from 1958 to 1961. He held a similar post at Woodberry Down Comprehensive School in Hackney, London from 1961 to 1963. Following that, he was a lecturer in English at Coventry College of Education (which later merged with the University of Warwick to become the Faculty of Educational Studies and later the Warwick Institute ...
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Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Adam Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English film director, screenwriter, and actor. He directed the comedy films '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', '' My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He also co-created and co-wrote the political-satirical television series '' Yes Minister''. Early life Lynn was born in Bath, Somerset, the son of physician Robin Lynn and sculptor Ruth Helen (née Eban), whose first cousin on her mother's side was the neurologist Oliver Sacks. Another cousin, Caroline Sacks, married Nicholas Samuel, 5th Viscount Bearsted. Lynn was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, between 1954 and 1961, after which he studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge. (His maternal uncle, Israeli statesman Abba Eban, had also studied at Cambridge in the 1930s.) There he participated in the Cambridge University Footlights Club revue '' Cambridge Circus'' (appearing with the revue in 1964 on Broadway and on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''). Career Acting Lynn's fir ...
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1984 British Television Series Endings
Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). * January 9 – Van Halen releases their sixth studio album ''1984'' (''MCMLXXXIV''), which debuts at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and will go to sell over 10 million copies in the United States. * January 10 ** The United States and the Vatican (Holy See) restore full diplomatic relations. ** The Victoria Agreement is signed, institutionalising the Indian Ocean Commission. *January 24 – Steve Jobs launches the Macintosh personal computer in the United States. *January 27 – American singer Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire during the making of the Pepsi commercial. February * February 3 ** John Buster and the research team at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center announce history's first embryo trans ...
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Television Shows Written By Andrew Davies
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. The medium is capable of more than "radio broadcasting", which refers to an audio signal sent to radio receivers. Television became available in crude experimental forms in the 1920s, but only after several years of further development was the new technology marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white television broadcasting became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion.Diggs-Brown, Barbara (2011''Strategic Public Relations: Audience Focused Practice''p. 48 In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was intro ...
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1984 British Television Series Debuts
Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). * January 9 – Van Halen releases their sixth studio album ''1984 (Van Halen album), 1984'' (''MCMLXXXIV''), which debuts at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and will go to sell over 10 million copies in the United States. * January 10 ** The United States and the Vatican City, Vatican (Holy See) restore full diplomatic relations. ** The Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria Agreement is signed, institutionalising the Indian Ocean Commission. *January 24 – Steve Jobs launches the Macintosh 128K, Macintosh personal computer in the United States. *January 27 – American singer Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire during the making of the Pepsi commercial. February * February 3 ** John Buster and the research ...
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BBC Television Dramas
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,200 are in public-sector broadcasting. The BBC was established under a royal charter, and operates under an agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, iPlayer. The fee is set by the British government, agreed by Parliament, and is used to fund the BBC's radio, ...
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Gertan Klauber
George Gertan Klauber (5 March 1932 – 1 August 2008) was a Czech-born British actor, known for playing various character parts in films and television programmes, particularly the ''Carry On'' comedies. Early life Of Sudeten German and Jewish descent, Klauber was born in Czechoslovakia in 1932, and moved to the United Kingdom prior to the outbreak of World War II. He studied drama at the Birmingham School of Acting (now the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire). Career Theatre Klauber appeared on stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. He acted in Peter Hall's 1957 West End production of Tennessee Williams' ''Camino Real'', and played opposite Glenda Jackson in ''All Kinds of Men''. He played the Tartar opposite Nicol Williamson and Prunella Scales in the RSC's 1962 production of ''The Lower Depths''. Television He appeared in numerous television productions, often playing minor villains, including episodes of '' The Saint'', '' The Profe ...
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Michael Melia
Michael Melia (born 25 July 1945 (in a preview of an episode of '' In Suspicious Circumstances'' where Melia plays Freddie Mills, the actor comments that the boxer died on his birthday)) is a British actor best known for his work on television. He appeared as Queen Vic landlord Eddie Royle in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' between 1990 and 1991. He lives in Hampton Wick, Surrey with his wife, Celia. They have two children, Tom and Charlotte, who have both appeared as extras in the ''EastEnders'' market square. Early life Melia was born in Berkshire and attended St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, the oldest Roman Catholic college in England. Before taking up acting he was a teacher. At one stage he ran a bar in Spain and thought about applying for a pub tenancy in England. However, the idea was vetoed by his wife, former actress turned teacher Celia Melia. Career He began acting in television in the early 1970s, usually playing heavies or policemen, though he spent four yea ...
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Gillian Raine
Gillian Mary Lorraine (28 December 1926Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - entry for Rossiter - accessed 4 July 2011 – 19 June 2018), known professionally as Gillian Raine, was a British actress and singer. She was married to actor Leonard Rossiter from 1972 until his death in 1984; they had one daughter, Camilla (b. 1972). Raine appeared in repertory theatre, TV drama and film productions. Her theatre works included ''Hedda Gabler'' (as Juliana Tesman), 2005, at The Duke of York's Theatre, Richard Eyre's production of ''La Grande Magia'' for the National Theatre, Mike Bradwell's ''Mackerel Sky'' at the Bush Theatre and Bill Bryden’s production of '' A Month in the Country'' at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and in the West End at the Albery Theatre. Film work included '' Darling'' and '' A Night to Remember'' and on television '' Kiss Me Kate'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and '' Under the Hammer''. She met Rossiter when they were both appearing in th ...
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Moray Watson
Moray Robin Philip Adrian Watson (25 June 1928 – 2 May 2017) was an English actor from Sunningdale, Berkshire. Life Watson was born in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to Gerard Arthur Watson (1901–1940), a ship broker, who was killed during World War II at Anzegem in Belgium as a Captain in the Royal Sussex Regiment, and Jean, née McFarlane. His two elder brothers - the younger being J. N. P. Watson (1927-2008), author, hunting correspondent for '' Country Life'' magazine and formerly polo correspondent for ''The Times'' - were Majors in the British Army. He was educated at Eton College. He met his future wife Pam, daughter of silent film star Percy Marmont, at The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. They went on to marry in 1955 and had two children, Emma in 1957 and Robin in 1959, both of whom went into the theatre world. Career Watson made his first appearance on stage while still a student at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art at a matinee performance in memor ...
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Fulton Mackay
William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom ''Porridge''. Early life Mackay was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He was brought up in Clydebank by a widowed aunt after the death of his mother from diabetes. His father was employed by the NAAFI. On leaving school, Mackay trained as a quantity surveyor and later volunteered for the Royal Air Force in 1941, but was not accepted because of a perforated eardrum. He then enlisted with the Black Watch and he served for five years during the Second World War, which included three years spent in India. Career Theatre work After being demobbed, Mackay began training as an actor at RADA. His first work was with the Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow, where he performed in nine seasons between 1949 and 1958. He also worked at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh before gaining notice at the Arts The ...
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Kevin McNally
Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He began his acting career in the BBC TV adaptation of ''I, Claudius'' (1976), but is best known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise. Early life and education McNally was born in Bristol. McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, attending Redhill Junior School in Hay Mills and Mapledene Junior School (now Mapledene Primary School) in Sheldon. He went to Central Grammar School for Boys on Gressel Lane in Tile Cross. Career McNally's first professional acting work, at age 16, was at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1973 he received a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where, in 1975, he won the Best Actor Bancroft Gold Medal. In 1976, he appeared in BBC's '' I, Claudius'' and, in 1977, was a regular in the second series of ''Poldark'' playing Drake Carne, younger brother of Demelza Poldark. From 1991 to 1994, he wrote nine epi ...
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