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John Ringham
John Henry Ringham (10 February 1928 – 20 October 2008) was an English actor who appeared on both television and stage. Among his roles was that of Norman Warrender in the 1980s sitcom '' Just Good Friends''. Early life Ringham was born in Cheltenham, where his father was a travelling book salesman. He was educated at the Cheltenham Grammar School for Boys (now called Pate's Grammar School). As a teenager he was a member of a drama group run by a retired professional actor. He was then called up for national service and served from 1946 until 1948 in Mandatory Palestine. After leaving the army Ringham spent four years as a member of a touring theatre company called ''The Compass Players'' based in Gloucestershire.Obituary in ''The Guardian'' Retrieved 9 September 2014 Career< ...
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Cheltenham
Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the most complete Regency era, Regency town in United Kingdom, Britain. It is directly northeast of Gloucester. The town hosts several cultural festivals, often featuring nationally and internationally famous contributors and attendees: the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, the Cheltenham Science Festival, the Cheltenham Music Festival, the Cheltenham International Film Festival, the Cheltenham Cricket Festival and the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival. In steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase horse racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Gold Cup is the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held every March. It is also home to a number of leading independent schools, including Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Ladies' Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taggart
''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 September 1983, before a full series was commissioned that ran from 2 July 1985 until 7 November 2010. The series revolved around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines were set in other parts of Greater Glasgow and in other areas of Scotland. The team operated out of the fictional John Street police station. Mark McManus, who played the title character Jim Taggart, died in 1994. However, the series continued under the same name. ''Taggart'' is one of the UK's longest-running television dramas. History The Scottish BAFTA-winning pilot episode "Killer", directed by Laurence Moody and broadcast in 1983, introduced the character Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart (played by M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When The Boat Comes In
''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 8 January 1976 and 21 April 1981. Across the whole series, events are set in the time period from 1919 to 1937. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a World War I, First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshield in the North East England, North East of England. The series dramatises the Interwar Britain, interwar political struggles of the 1920s and 1930s and explores the impact of national and international politics upon Ford and the people around him. Production The majority of episodes were written by creator James Mitchell (writer), James Mitchell, but in series 1 north-eastern writers Tom Hadaway, Sid Chaplin and Alex Glasgow contributed episodes, and in series 3 Jeremy Burnham and Colin Morris (playwright), Colin Morris shared writing duties with Mitchell. Mitchell also wrote three tie-in books to the TV show: ''When the Boat Com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Piglet Files
''The Piglet Files'' is a British sitcom produced by London Weekend Television (LWT). The show consists of three series, totalling 21 episodes, that were broadcast between 7 September 1990 and 10 May 1992. The programme follows the life of reluctant MI5 agent Peter "Piglet" Chapman as he tries to instruct his fellow agents on the finer points of spy gadgetry while keeping his wife Sarah in the dark about his new career. Plot In the early 1990s, during the intervening period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, MI5 combats the Soviet spies within the United Kingdom while facing their own agents' ineptitude, and the ridicule of the sheer fact that the Soviet Union is no longer a threat; but MI5 knows better, and indeed the Soviets are intent on making trouble. In an effort to alleviate their agents' incompetence, MI5 hires local university teacher Peter Chapman, convincing him by getting him sacked from the university, which leaves him no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Avengers (TV Series)
''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series that aired from 7 January 1961 to 21 April 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Ian Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish, and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series screened as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The first episode, "Hot Snow (The Avengers), Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. ''The Avengers'' was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV (TV network), ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Weekend became Thames T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Up Pompeii!
''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series set in ancient Pompeii and broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991 and a film adaptation was released in 1971. Background ''Up Pompeii!'' first appeared in the '' Comedy Playhouse'' series, after Michael Mills and Tom Sloan from BBC Comedy and Light Entertainment visited the ruins of Pompeii. Since Mills had recently seen Frankie Howerd in the stage musical ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' he casually remarked to Sloan that he half expected Howerd to suddenly appear round the corner. Sloan had replied 'Why not?', and the idea took root. Talbot Rothwell was invited to write a script and the designer Sally Hulke visited Pompeii with a sketch book and camera to ensure realism and authenticity. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catweazle
''Catweazle'' is a British children's fantasy television series, starring Geoffrey Bayldon in the title role, and created by Richard Carpenter for London Weekend Television. The first series, produced and directed in 1969 by Quentin Lawrence, was screened in the UK on ITV in 1970. The second series, produced and directed in 1970 by David Reid and David Lane, was shown in 1971. Both series had thirteen episodes, most written by Carpenter, who also published a book for each series based on the scripts. Origins A former actor, Richard Carpenter had decided to switch to screenwriting in the 1960s. While driving home from his brother-in-law's farm, Carpenter became lost in the countryside. While consulting a map, Carpenter noticed the name "Catweazle" scratched into an old stone gatepost. The name stuck with Carpenter and he decided to use it. Carpenter was inspired to create TV show about a wizard after seeing a picture of a "wizardly old man" in the bottom left corner of the H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Are You Being Served?
''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television director, director. Michael Knowles (actor), Michael Knowles and John Chapman (screenwriter), John Chapman also wrote certain episodes. Produced by the BBC, the series starred Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith (actor), Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett and Arthur English. Set in London, the show follows the misadventures and mishaps of the staff and their regular rotating series of customers at the retail ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments in the flagship department store of a fictional chain called Grace Brothers. The series was broadcast on the BBC for ten series, totalling sixty-nine episodes between 8 September 1972 and 1 April 1985, including five C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dad's Army
''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a Dad's Army (1971 film), feature film released in 1971, a Dad's Army (stage show), stage show and a Dad's Army#Radio series, radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally. The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title ''Dad's Army''), medical reasons, or by being in Reserved occupation, professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in ''Dad's Army'' are over military age and the series stars seve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dixon Of Dock Green
''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 to 1976. The central character, George Dixon, first appeared in the film ''The Blue Lamp'' (1950). Dixon is a mature and sympathetic police constable, who was played by Jack Warner (actor), Jack Warner in all of the 432 episodes. Dixon is the supposed embodiment of a typical "bobby" who would be familiar with the area in which he patrolled and its residents and often lived there himself. The series contrasted with later programmes such as ''Z-Cars'', which more realistically reflected a more aggressive policing culture. It retained a faithful following throughout its run and was voted second-most popular programme on British television in 1961. Character and name origins The character of Police Constable George Dixon was based on an old- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Creatures Great And Small (1978 TV Series)
''All Creatures Great and Small'' is a British television series made by the BBC and based on the books of the British veterinary surgeon Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot. Set in the Yorkshire Dales and beginning in the mid-1930s, it stars Christopher Timothy as Herriot, Robert Hardy as Siegfried Farnon (based on Donald Sinclair), the proprietor of the Skeldale House surgery, and Peter Davison as Siegfried's "little brother", Tristan (based on Brian Sinclair). Herriot's wife, Helen (based on Joan Wight), was initially played by Carol Drinkwater and in the later series by Lynda Bellingham. The series had two runs: the original (1978 to 1980, based directly on Herriot's books) was for three series; the second (1988 to 1990, filmed with original scripts but generally regarded as a continuation of the 1978 series) for four. The supporting cast, both recurring and one-offs, numbers over 600, most of whom appear as farmers or clients of the surgery. The series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minder (TV Series)
''Minder'' is a British comedy-drama series about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV for ten series between 29 October 1979 and 10 March 1994. The series was revived by Channel 5 in 2009 but was discontinued after only six episodes. It was nominated three times for Best Drama Series or Serial at the British Academy Television Awards. Plot The first seven series starred Dennis Waterman as Terry McCann, an honest and likeable former boxer turned bodyguard (''minder'' in Cockney parlance), and George Cole as Arthur Daley, an ageing chancer and petty schemer, importer/exporter, wholesaler, used-car salesman and purveyor of anything else from which there was money to be made, legally or not. The series is principally set in working class west London (specifically Shepherd's Bush, Ladbroke Grove, Fulham and Acton), and was largely responsible for introduc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
