The Original Queen of The Vic - Angie Watts (1985 - 1988)

The original Queen of the vic, Angie Watts was one of the finest characters to have emerged from the cess pit that has become EastEnders. Angela "Angie" Watts played superbly by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the show until 1988 when the actress decided to quit and the character was written out.

Angie was well known for her cheeky banter, her huge shaggy perm and turning to alcohol during her stormy marriage to cheating Den which ended when he handed her divorce papers on Christmas Day, in an episode watched by a record-breaking 30.1 million viewers. Despite being the loud and feisty lady of Walford, and having a close relationship with her beloved adopted daughter Sharon, she didn't have much real happiness during her time in Albert Square and alcoholism finally claimed her life in 2002 when she died of cirrhosis of the liver.

Alcoholic Angie shared a love/hate marriage to her womanising husband, Den Watts, and refused to let him go even during their rockiest times. They had been married since 18 February 1968 - exactly 17 years before the series began - and together they ran and lived in The Queen Victoria pub on Albert Square. Angie and Den doted on their spoilt, teenage, adopted daughter, Sharon, who carried on loving them despite her resentment of Den's affairs and Angie's binge drinking.

Angie was good at putting on a front for the punters, dressing to kill, screeching outrageously with the girls, but inside she was a mess. Despite all her bravado, all she really wanted was a happy marriage with Den, who she never stopped loving, despite the fact that he treated her like dirt.

Den and Angie started 1985 by celebrating their seventeenth wedding anniversary, but it soon became clear that their marriage was a sham. Behind the scenes of their great business partnership, there was not much of a relationship going on. Den had been carrying on with his posh mistress Jan Hammond for a while, a fact that Angie was all too aware of. Early in the year, Den even managed to wangle a holiday to Spain with Jan, under the pretext that he was checking out a possible time-share holiday home purchase. With Den gone, Angie did what she always did in times of trouble, she turned to alcohol to drown her sorrows. She also set about trying to seduce the men of Walford in a bid to get back at her philandering husband. Lofty Holloway, Simon Wicks and even Arthur Fowler all fell victim to Angie's not-so-subtle flirting, but her only successful conquest was local builder, Tony Carpenter. Tony fell for Angie, but she was only using him to get back at Den. The affair was conducted in secret but they were caught in a passionate clinch in the middle of The Vic by Sharon. Angie had to bribe her daughter to ensure her silence, and even informed her about Den's infidelity. Sharon was disgusted that both her parents were guilty of adultery. Upon Den's return from his holiday, Angie called off the affair, but it wasn't long before Sharon gave Den the impression that her mother had been up to no good. Den confronted Angie, and she admitted to the affair, but unfortunately for her, Den wasn't concerned about her infidelity, more about his reputation, which only sought to upset Angie even more.

Although Angie tried to stop drinking, her attempts always failed dismally and by the end of the year she'd even been arrested for drink driving when she crashed Den's car on the way home from a darts match. 1986 would prove to bring more trauma for Angie when Den's mistress, Jan, started to frequent The Vic. The physical arrival of Jan sent Angie's marriage into further decline as she was unable to contain her jealousy and anger. Angie became so depressed that she took a near lethal cocktail of booze and pills in an attempted suicide. By chance, Den returned home early following an argument with Jan, discovered Angie and rushed her to the hospital where she had her stomach pumped. Angie recovered, but was left shaken when she discovered how close to death she actually came. Upon recovering, Angie decided to play Den at his own game and so she began another affair with Andy O'Brien. Den was furious when he discovered them in bed together, but his rage was short-lived as he had more pressing things on his mind, such as the birth of his illegitimate daughter, Vicki Fowler. Angie's affair with Andy only lasted a month, ending when Andy got back with his ex-girlfriend Debbie Wilkins. Andy died in a road accident shortly afterwards.

As the year moved on, Den decided that he wanted to leave Angie so he could settle down and marry Jan. He finally got round to telling Angie his intentions in October, after which Angie became distraught. Desperate to hold on to her husband, announced that she was terminally ill and only had six months to live. Upon hearing this, Den became wracked with guilt, so he begrudgingly decided to revise his plans and stay with Angie. He set about organising a second honeymoon for them in Venice. However their holiday was ruined, when Jan turned up, and upon seeing her and Den together Angie went straight back on the gin that she'd not long given up. On the way home from Venice on the Orient Express a drunk Angie told the barman all about her big lie. Unfortunately for Angie, Den heard every word and from that moment on he reverted to his original plan to leave her, although he decided to wait a while before letting Angie know that he know about her "secret". On Christmas Day that year, Den decided to get his revenge. Thinking that her marriage was safe, Angie was happier than ever, that was until Den informed her that he'd heard her conversation with the barman on the Orient Express and then served her divorce papers as a Christmas present (this episode pulled in the highest amount of viewers the show has ever seen since its 1985 arrival - 30 million). In response, Angie and Sharon packed their bags and walked out of the pub, choosing to take the route through the public area to cause Den the most embarrassment possible.

Angie began 1987 by securing herself a job as the manageress of The Vic's rival drinking establishment, The Dagmar. Owner, James Willmott-Brown, was only too happy to have Angie's expertise on board for his new, suave wine bar. Angie and Den continued to row constantly and in a bid for revenge, Angie vowed to take Den 'to the cleaners' for her divorce settlement. In retaliation Den installed his mistress, Jan, as the new land lady of The Vic, which only sought to infuriate Angie even more. However, Den and Jan's cohabitation eventually led to the end of their relationship, when Den decided that Jan was too posh for him and so by the summer of that year he had given her her marching orders.

The Vic was floundering without Angie, a fact that she seemed to delight over, and the sheer pleasure of watching Den suffer was all she needed to make her 'grin and bear' The Dagmar's yuppie clientele. However, behind her front, Angie was a wreck, drinking more heavily than ever and going on 'over the top' shopping sprees. By May of that year the divorce papers finally came through, but it seemed that neither Den nor Angie were coping without each other, and although they both professed to be pleased about the divorce, it was obvious to everyone else that they were far from happy. Seeing her parents' misery, Sharon decided to intervene by setting up a dinner date between them, which ended with them in bed together again. Angie and Den decided to keep their reconciliation quiet for a while, but by the end of the year, Angie finally lost her patience with The Dagmar clientele, and after slapping one of the customers in the face, she marched over to The Vic and offered to come back to work, but only as a business partner this time and not a wife.

Angie began 1988 with a health scare when she was rushed to hospital with kidney-failure; brought on by her excessive alcohol abuse. Upon her recovery Angie decided to take a well-earned holiday to Spain with her friends, Sonny and Ree. This led to Angie and Sonny falling in love and embarking on an affair. Sonny made arrangements for them to start a new life together, running a bar in Spain.

Angie returned to Walford (with her plans still secret) and tried to show interest in Den's plan to move the location of The Vic, but it was plain to see that her mind was elsewhere. Den soon 'cottoned on' that she was seeing someone else, and although he didn't care that she was with another man, he was concerned for the state of his business. Den visited a solicitor and returned with papers protecting himself and his business should Angie decide to leave him again. Angie did decide to leave in May of that year, still under a cloak of secrecy and only divulging her plan to leave on the night of her departure. Unfortunately for Angie, Den had already 'second guessed' her and when she attempted to leave he cruelly informed her that he'd sorted things so she wouldn't be able to get a penny out of him. After their final showdown Angie got into her taxicab and left Walford.

This was Angie's last appearance. Later that year, while Den was in prison, Sharon decided to join Angie in Spain and arrived unannounced, only to learn from Sonny that Angie had eft him and moved to the United States. It was subsequently revealed that she moved to Miami where she remarried in February 1991. Sharon joined Angie in 1995 after the breakdown of her marriage to Grant Mitchell.

In 2001 Sharon returned to Walford, and in April 2002, news reached London that years of heavy drinking had finally caught up with Angie and she had died from cirrhosis of the liver, at the age of 52. Despite having remarried, Angie had requested to be buried next to Den, which Sharon did for her when she returned her body to London in order to reunite her two 'dead' parents. Sharon's new club was re-named Angie's Den in her and Den's honour.

In fact, the body thought to be Den's was actually that of the mysterious Mr. Vinnicombe, the boss of The Firm - who had ordered Den's assassination. 14 years after Den's disappearance, it turned out that he had not died after all, and had faked his own death in order to get away from the gangsters who had been employed to kill him. However, Den eventually met his demise at the hands of second wife Chrissie in February 2005. A body found under the basement of the Queen Vic six months later was quickly identified as Den's, and buried in his 'original' grave next to Angie.

In February 2011 Anita Dobson said that she had no regrets being in EastEnders, as it propelled her to fame, and said she believed that people were drawn to Angie because she is a survivor and funny—qualities that drew Dobson herself to Angie. She said "[Angie] could be on the floor, drunk, weeping buckets, mascara everywhere, then drag herself up the next morning in that old blue dressing gown, tidy herself up and be in the bar that night telling jokes and looking a million dollars."

Joe 90: Episode 7 - Big Fish

"You are mad. Your son is mad. I am mad."

Joe 90 becomes one of the world's leading aquanauts and prevents
an international incident when a submarine breaks down in forbidden waters.

* * *

An advanced two-man submarine is damaged through a missile outlet fault which allows an inrush of water. The crew are rescued by helijet, but unfortunately the sub has drifted into forbidden waters and now lies in Porto Guavan territory. This threatens a tricky international situation unless the sub can be moved without discovery.

Joe 90 is therefore given the brain patterns of the world's leading aquanaut, and he and Professor McClaine visit Porto Guava, ostensibly on a fishing trip.

But they attract the suspicions of a boatman, from whom they hire his craft.

The Porto Guavan Coastal Control is also suspicious, and sail out to make inquiries just as Joe is under-water, trying to get into the stricken sub. To make matters worse, he is trapped. The authorities, believing that he must have been deliberately drowned, arrest the Professor and the boatman on suspicion of murder.

Joe, however, succeeds in freeing himself and also getting the sub safely away from the forbidden area before arriving at the jail to prove that he certainly hasn't been murdered and that there is no case against his father and the boatman!

Kung Fu - The Original Grasshopper (1972 - 1975)

For three seasons, David Carradine starred as a half-Chinese, half-Caucasian Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Kaine, on the ABC hit TV series Kung Fu (1972–1975) and was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for the role. The show, which took place in the Old West, helped to popularize the Martial Arts and Eastern Philosophy in the west and immortalized the character of Kwai Chang Caine, also referred to as "Grasshopper", in popular culture.

Although the choice of a Caucasian to play the role of Kwai Chang Caine stirred controversy, the show served as steady employment for several Asian-American actors in the U.S. In addition to Keye Luke and Philip Ahn, who held leading roles in the cast as Caine's Shaolin masters, Robert Ito, James Hong, Benson Fong, Richard Loo, and Victor Sen Young frequently appeared in the series. Kung Fu ended when Carradine quit to pursue a movie career, but he reprised the role of Kwai Chang Kaine in 1986 in Kung Fu: The Movie. Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, in his acting debut, portrayed his son.

Early in the 1990s, Carradine once again reprised the role of Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993–97) playing the grandson of the original character of the same name. Carradine starred in the programme and served as Executive Producer and Director. The programme offered him the opportunity to recreate the character for which he was most widely recognized. The show was canceled in 1997, after 4 seasons, and 88 episodes.

Davy Jones (1945 - 2012)

David Thomas "Davy" Jones (30 December 1945 – 29 February 2012) was an English singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of The Monkees. Davy Jones was born at 20 Leamington Street, Openshaw, Manchester, (now part of Greater Manchester) on 30 December 1945. At the age of 11, he began his acting career and appeared on the British television soap opera Coronation Street, which was produced at Granada Studios by Granada Television in Manchester. In 1961 Jones played Ena Sharpoles' grandson, Colin Lomaxt. He also appeared in the BBC police series However, after the death of his mother from emphysema when he was 14 years old, he left acting and trained as a jockey with Basil Foster.

Foster was approached by a friend who worked in a theatre in the West End of London during casting for the musical Oliver!. Foster replied, "I've got the kid." Jones was cast and appeared to great acclaim as the Artful Dodger. He played the role in London and then on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award. On 9 February 1964, he appeared with the Broadway cast of Oliver! on The Ed Sullivan Show, the same episode on which The Beatles made their first appearance. Jones said of that night, "I watched the Beatles from the side of the stage, I saw the girls going crazy, and I said to myself, this is it, I want a piece of that." Following his Ed Sullivan appearance, Ward Sylvester of Screen Gems (then the television division of Columbia Pictures) signed Jones to a contract. A pair of American television appearances followed, as Jones received screen time in episodes of Ben Casey and The Farmer's Daughter. He also recorded a single and album for Colpix Records, which charted but were not huge hits

From 1965 to 1971, Jones was a member of The Monkees, a pop-rock group formed expressly for a television show of the same name. With Screen Gems producing the series, Jones was shortlisted for auditions, as he was the only Monkee who was signed to a deal with the studio, but still had to meet producers Bob Rafelson's and Bert Schnieder's standards. Jones sang lead vocals on many of the Monkees' recordings, including "I Wanna Be Free" and "Daydream Believer". Jones met Laramy Smith in 1967, introduced by Eirik Wangberg (then a producer and co-owner of Sound Records), and they co-produced The Children, an Austin, Texas group Jones discovered while on tour with the Monkees. A single was released on Laramie Records entitled "Picture Me", which reached Billboard at number 2 with a bullet.

After the television series went off the air, The Monkees disbanded. However, Jones continued to perform solo, while later joining with fellow Monkee Micky Dolenz and songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart as a short-lived group called Dolenz, Boyce, Jones & Hart. He also toured throughout the years with other members as various incarnations of the Monkees.

In February 2011, Jones mentioned rumours of another Monkees reunion. "There's even talk of putting the Monkees back together again in the next year or so for a U.S. and UK tour," he told Disney's Backstage Pass newsletter. "You're always hearing all those great songs on the radio, in commercials, movies, almost everywhere." The tour came to fruition entitled, "An Evening with the Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour."

In 1978, he appeared with Micky Dolenz in Harry Nillson's play The Point at the Mermaid Theatre in London. Jones continued acting as he appeared in one episode of The Brady Bunch, two episodes of My Two Dads, an episode of Here Comes the Brides, and two episodes of Love, American Style. He also appeared and sang, in animated form, on an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies and in an episode of Hey Arnold!. Also, Jones made a cameo appearance as himself in the Sponge Bob Square Pants episode "Sponge Bob v The Big One" (his appearance was meant to be a pun on Davy Jones' Locker), a third-season episode of the sitcom Boy Meets World and the Brady Bunch spoof movie of The Brady Bunch Movie. In 1997 he guest-starred as himself on the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch and sang "Daydream Believer" to Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart).

In later years, Jones performed with his former bandmates in reunion tours and appeared in several productions of Oliver! as Fagin. He continued to race horses with some success in his native England, while residing in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. He owned and raced horses in the United States and served as a commercial spokesman for Colonial racetrack in Virginia. Jones maintained a residence in Indiantown as well.

In 2001, Jones released "Just Me", an album of his own songs, some written for the album and others originally on Monkees releases. In April 2006, Jones recorded the single "Your Personal Penguin", written by children's author Sandra Boynton, as a companion piece to her new board book of the same title. On 1 November 2007, the Boynton book and CD titled "Blue Moo" was released and Jones is featured in both the book and CD, singing "Your Personal Penguin". As a result of the collaboration, Jones became a close friend of Boynton. Also in 2007, Jones recorded the theme for a campy movie comedy called Sexina: Popstar PI.

In December 2008, Yahoo Music named Jones "Number 1 teen idol of all time". In 2009 Jones was rated second in a list of 10 best teen idols compiled by Fox News

In 2009, Jones released an album entitled "She" which is a collection of handpicked classics and standards from the 1940s through the 1970s. Also in 2009, Jones performed in the Flower Power Concert Series during Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office stated that Jones had complained of breathing difficulties on the morning of 29 February 2012, in, Indiantown, Florida and had been transported to Martin Memorial South Hospital in Stuart, where he was pronounced dead. Jones is survived by his widow, Jessica, and four daughters.

Sun Hill's Finest - The Legend That Was Bob Cryer

Bob Cryer was a legend and institution to us fans of the Bill and dear old Uncle Bob played by Eric Richard was probably the show's finest character. Sgt Bob Cryer joined the Metropolitan Police in 1970 (the 1990 episode Start With The Whistlesaw a party thrown to mark his 20 year service) and arrived at Sun Hill sometime in late 1983 / early 1984 (he isn't in the original pilot episode, although it is possible that he is actually the character of Sergeant Bob Wilding with a new surname), possibly as a result of a recent promotion to Sergeant. Until the series introduced the rank of Inspector, he was the second highest ranking uniform officer in the station in the series. He had previously seen some sort of army service, unfortunately most of it leaving him with unpleasant memories.


He is considered by most fans of The Bill to be an institution. From the fourth series of the show he was always the last character to be seen during the images on the main credits (in series 2 and 3 his picture was followed by a shot of DI Galloway), and the first three series tended to revolve around himself and/or Galloway, with the two men appearing in every episode of the three series and always being the first two names on the closing credits.

Cryer is a model officer. He cares passionately about his job and hates what he considers the "touchy-feely" approach of modern policing arguing that the role of the police is to "uphold and enforce the law".

His trademark calm served him well when dealing with the harder edged visitors to the cells at Sun Hill. For many years he was a uniform sergeant. In 1991 he was briefly promoted to Duty Sergeant (an upstairs job outside of uniform) but quickly found that he had no passion for it and that it was driving his former colleagues away from him, leading to him making the swift decision to return to uniform.

His experience in all things policing led to him being in many ways the archetypical uniform officer, firm but fair to criminal and civilian alike. He was considered to be the father figure of the sergeants on the relief and a lot of the younger officers would come to him for advice on matters both professional and personal. Along the way he still discovered that you can never know everything - such as the time he shot and killed a suspect despite the suspect's gun later turning out to be unloaded.

In his own private life he had a wife and two sons, one of whom was arrested and charged in relation to a driving offence which resulted in the death of the other occupant of the car. This led to an enforced sense of separation between him and his son, a topic which Cryer would still refuse to talk about when it was raised in later years.

As time drew on, many of Cryer's contemporaries such as Sergeant Tom Penny, Sergeant Alec Peters and even DI Burnside moved on to other jobs, or retired. He increasingly found himself as something of an anachronism, and became somewhat less indulging of what he saw as the stupid mistakes of newer officers.

One exception to this was PC Dale Smith. 'Smithy' had a similar background to Cryer, with both men having served in the army. Cryer developed something of a fatherly relationship with the younger officer, and was eventually the one who encouraged Smith to apply for the firearms squad. This came back to haunt him when, during a hostage situation, PC Smith accidentally shot his friend and mentor, which led to his forced retirement in 2001.

New young Superintendent Tom Chandler did not like Bob Cryer. Everything that Cryer stood for was everything that this new broom wished to sweep away, and Cryer's injuries acted as a catalyst for this move. Typically, Cryer went out of his way to console PC Smith, and held no recrimination in his heart for the young officer.

When Dale Smith came back to Sun Hill as a sergeant in 2003, there was more than a little bit of Bob Cryer's personality about him and the way he dealt with friends and foes alike. He had learned well from his mentor.

Cryer returned to Sun Hill for the memorial service of Inspector Andrew Monroe, and to attend the funeral of Sgt Boyden. He later came back to help his niece Roberta, who was the station's front desk officer, solve a crime. His last appearance was in a 2004 episode centering around DS Roach's funeral.

Bob Cryer we Salute you!

Radio Times - Doomwatch (1970)

This edition of Radio Times dates back to 1970 and on the cover the classic series, Doomwatch. Doomwatch was a British Science Fiction Television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC One between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist (played by John Paul), responsible for investigating and combating various ecological and technological dangers.

The series was followed by a film adaptation produced by Tigon British Film Productions and released in 1972, and a revival TV movie broadcast on Channel 5 in 1999.

The programme was created by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler, who had previously collaborated on scripts for Doctor Who, a programme on which Davis had been the story editor and Pedler the unofficial scientific adviser during the 1960s. Their interest in the problems of science changing and endangering human life had led them to create the popular alien race the Cybermen for that programme, and it was similar interests that led them to create Doomwatch, which explored all kinds of new and unusual threats to the human race, many bred out of the fear of real scientific concepts, with a "this could happen to us" fear by the public.

In the story, the actual name of the organisation was "Department for the Observation and Measurement of Scientific Work". Officially Doomwatch was an agency dedicated to preserving the world from dangers of unprincipled scientific research - "We were set up to investigate any scientific research, Public or Private, which could possibly be harmful to Man" - but the real intention was to form a body with little power meant to stifle protests and secure green votes. However the incorruptible Dr Spenser Quist and companions soon gave the agency some real power and people had to listen.

Quist had worked on the development of the atomic bomb and seen his wife die of radiation poisoning; Ridge was the secret agent type and Wren a conscientious researcher. Together they took science into people's living rooms, explaining about embryo research, subliminal messages, wonder drugs, dumping of toxic waste, noise pollution, nuclear weaponry, animal exploitation, etc.

There were other storylines such as genetic mutation creating a particularly large and vicious race of rats, and a virus that ate away at all types of plastics causing aeroplanes to fall out of the sky. There were also everyday stories like when Dr. Quist turned up at a meeting and was thought to be drunk but turned out to have severe jet lag. However, after Davis and Pedler left the show at the conclusion of the second series in 1971, it turned into a more conventional thriller drama, which the two creators openly criticised.

The first two series each consisted of thirteen episodes, and the third of twelve, of which one - titled Sex and Violence and intended to be shown as the fifth episode - was not transmitted. It has been suggested that this was because of objections to either its use of stock news footage of a public execution in Lagos, or its presentation of characters designed to be satirical analogues of Mary Whitehouse, Cliff Richard and Lord Longford. The execution footage has appeared on British television a number of times since the 1972, notably in a 1988 edition of Panorama about violence on television.

The programme was very popular and drew audiences of as high as 13.6 million at its peak for an episode called Invasion, filmed mostly in the village of Grassington in Yorkshire. The start of every series merited a cover feature on the BBC's Radio Times listings magazine, which even today is a prestigious feat for a programme. The show was also sold abroad, gaining some popularity when transmitted in Canada.

As was common at the time, the BBC wiped the Doomwatch master tapes soon after transmission, regarding them to be of little further use. Although some episodes have been returned from Canada or exist as telerecordings, many are still missing and will likely remain so, although all are being sought by the BBC Archive Treasure Hunt as a whole. However, a copy of the unbroadcast episode survives in the archives, one of only three from the final series to do so. Thanks to the Canadian returns series two is complete, but series one is missing five shows. Some of the existing episodes have had a limited release on VHS and DVD in the UK, and all - except Sex and Violence - were repeated on the satellite channel UK Gold during the 1990s, although that episode was erroneously scheduled.

Pedler and Davis re-used the plot of the first episode of the series, The Plastic Eaters, for their 1971 novel Mutant 59: The Plastic Eater, although this was not officially a Doomwatch novel and did not contain the characters from the series. The book also re-used the Radio Times cover photograph of a melted plastic aeroplane in a briefcase.

"Hello Playmates" - Remembering Arthur Askey (1900 - 1982)

Arthur Bowden Askey CBE (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was a prominent English Comedian and Actor. Askey's humour owed much to the playfulness of the characters he portrayed, his improvising, and his use of catchphrases, as parodied by the Arthur Atkinson character in The Fast Show. His catchphrases included "Hello playmates!", "I thank you all" (pronounced "Ay-Thang-Yaw'll"), and "Before your very eyes".
Arthur Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey (d.1958), secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden (d.1949), of Knutsford, Cheshire. Six months after his birth the family moved to 90 Rosslyn Street, Liverpool. Askey was educated at St. Michael's Council School (1905–11) and the Liverpool Institute for Boys (1911–16), where he was known for winning an egg and spoon race at a school sports day. He was very small at 5' 2" (1.58 m), with a breezy, smiling personality, and wore distinctive horn-rimmed glasses.

He served in the armed forces in World War 1 and performed in army entertainments. After working as a clerk for Liverpool Corporation, Education Department, he was in a touring concert party and the music halls, but he rose to stardom in 1938 through his role in the first regular radio comedy series, Band Wagon on the BBC. Band Waggon began as a variety show, but had been unsuccessful until Askey and his partner, Richard Murdoch, took on a larger role in the writing.

In the early 1930s, Askey appeared on an early form of BBC television — the spinning disc invented by John Logie Baird that scanned vertically and had only thirty lines. Askey had to be heavily made up for his face to be recognisable at such low resolution. When television became electronic, with 405 horizontal lines, Askey was a regular performer in variety shows. During World War 2, Askey starred in several Gainsborough Picture comedy films, including Band Waggon (1940), based on the radio show; Cahrley's (Big - Hearted Aunt) (1940); The Ghost Train (1941); I Thank you 1941); Back Room Boy (1942); King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942); Miss London Ltd. (1943) and Bees in Paradise (1944); as well as the popular West End Musical, Follow the Girls. When television arrived, he made the transition well. His first TV series was Before Your Very Eyes! (1952), named after his catchphrase. In 1957, writers Sid Colin and Talbot Rothwell revived the Band Waggon format for Living it Up, a series that reunited Askey and Murdoch after 18 years. He also made many stage appearances as a Pantomime Dame.

He continued to appear frequently on television in the 1970s, notably as a panellist on the ITV talent show New Faces, where his usually sympathetic comments would offset the harsher judgments of fellow judges Tony Hatch and Mickie Most. He also appeared on the comedy panel game Joker's Wild.

Arthur's last film was Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse (1978), starring Debbie Ash. Soon afterwards, he was forced to give up performing, and had both legs amputated owing to circulatory problems. Anthea, his daughter by his marriage to Elizabeth May Swash (m. 1925, d. 1974), was also an actress and often starred with him. For many years, he was an active member of the Savage Club (a London Gentleman's Club).

His recording career included "The Bee Song", The Thing-Ummy Bob and his theme tune, "Big-Hearted Arthur", (which was also his nickname). During the 1950s and 1960s, he appeared in many sitcoms, including Love and Kisses Arthur's Treasured Volumes and The Arthur Askey Show. However, in 1940, a song he intended to record, "It's Really Nice to See you Mr Hess" (after Hitler's deputy fled to Scotland), was banned by the War Office. A collection of Askey's wartime recordings appear on the CD album Band Waggon/Big Hearted Arthur Goes To War. Private Eye magazine in the 1970s regularly made the comment that he and the Queen Mother had "never been seen in the same room together" — referring to the fact that they were both of about the same height, and suggesting that the Queen Mother was Askey in drag.

Arthur Askey carried on working until just before he was hospitalised in July 1982. Poor circulation resulted in gangrene which led to him having both legs amputated and he died in London's St Thomas's hospital on 16th November 1982. Arthur Askey is buried in Putney Vale Cemetary.

The Persuaders - Episode Six - The Gold Napoleon (1971)

All that glitters may not be gold - but the question for Danny and Brett is whether there's glitter beneath the bronze of Napoleon coin replicas in this, the sixth episode of the legendary ITC classic, The Persuaders.......

Who was the intended victim - Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) or the pretty blonde Michelle Devigne (Susan George) standing by his side at Nice Airport?

Danny can't believe the bullet was for him. Michelle is certain that it was not for her - or so she says. Whoever fired the shot has wounded her sufficiently for her to be taken to hospital. Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) expresses the option that the shot was meant for Danny, but Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith) disagrees. A newspaper cutting explains why: "Mdlle Devigne, who lives with her uncle, one of Monte Carlo's most exclusive jewellers, had been voted the most talented student at the Valouris Art Centre before her sudden decision to continue her studies in London."

Fulton wants to know why she should have made this sudden decision. He links this up with the fact that her uncle deals in gold, specialising in gold coins, medals and plaques and that it is on record that he sold a gold Napoleon 100 franc piece which turned out to be counterfeit. Is it a coincidence that, while at the airport, Michelle dropped her belongings, among them an ink portrait of Napoleon III, encircled as though on a coin? Fulton produces a similar coin - literally worth its weight in gold. Hundreds of them have appeared periodically in Paris, Rome, Geneva and Beirut, which could be a good way of unloading gold bullion.

This, in fact, provides the moment of truth for Michelle when her uncle, Monsieur Devigne (Harold Goldblatt) visits her in hospital and she challenges him: "Those moulds I made of the Napoleon coin were not for bronze replicas." Her uncle tells her he had no choice: he is in the hands of a ruthless syndicate. And it is because she has visited the foundry and has been seen running away that an attempt was made to kill her. Devigne taxes the syndicate boss, Pullicino (Alfred Marks) with this, but is told that everything will be all right so long as Michelle keeps her mouth shut. This is a critical moment. Two-and-a-half million dollars worth of gold are about to be moved through Devigne's "imitation" coins.

Later, a quarrel between Devigne and Pullicino is to lead to Devigne's murder, which means that Pullicino no longer has control over Michelle. Once again, he orders that she must be silenced.The death sentence is also passed on Danny when he breaks into the foundry and discovers the truth, but he and Michelle escape their fate and, with Brett, set out on the dramatic chase to prevent the gold getting across the border into Italy.

It's a chase with hazards in every bend of the winding roads and unexpected drama just as triumph appears to be in their hands.

It's The Way He Told 'em! (Frank Carson 1926 - 2012)

Another favourite of mine from the good old days, the great Frank Carson has sadly lost his battle with cancer. Forget wankers like Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand, Frank Carson was the true comedian and will be sadly missed. Hugh Francis "Frank" Carson (6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012) was a Northern Irish Comedian and actor, I remember growing up with Frank in the 1970s on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas.

Frank Carson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland where he attended St Patrick's Primary School and worked as an electrician, and later plasterer, in the building trade. Frank Carson's family were of Italian descent, with his grandmother hailing from Sicily. He grew up in the "Little Italy" area of Belfast, an area which no longer exists, and was once a choirboy at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church on Donegall Street. Frank Carson spent three years with the Parachute Regiment in the Middle East in the 1950s.

Frank Carson became a popular performer on Irish television, before moving to E to work as a stand-up club comedian. He had success on the long running television music-hall revival show, The Good Old Days. He then went on to win the peak-viewing national favourite talent show Opportunity Knocks, presented by Hughie Green, three times. He was one of the more prominent acts on The Comedians alongside the likes of Charlie Williams, Bernard Manning, Mike Reid and Jim Bowen. The show consisted of 30 minutes of non-stop stand-up comedy from several comedians in each show, became a ratings hit in the United Kingdom and helped establish Carson's performing career.

Granada Television's The Comedians led to similar shows, such as The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, which was an attempt to bring the northern English working man's club show to television. Carson was a regular on television for a number of years after The Comedians, whilst also working as a stage entertainer and appearing before the Royal Family in shows. He is known for two catchphrases in live performances: "It's a cracker!" and "It's the way I tell 'em!". In 1975, Carson took the part of Paddy O'Brien, described as "an Irish Republican landlord and coalman", in The Melting Pot, a sitcom written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast.

When he had heart surgery in 1976 it was suggested this meant he would retire. However, he continued working and became a regular on the ATV children's series Tiswas. He began making acting appearances on television as well as in two cinema films in the 1990s. In 1998, he was the opening act for Mary Black's musical concert at the English Village in Dubai. In 2004, a planned appearance on the reality show I'm a Celebrity.....Get Me Out Of Here! was shelved by ITV executives due to prohibitive insurance costs given Carson's age.

After a routine hernia operation left Frank Carson, who had a heart pacemaker, seriously ill, he underwent a knee replacement operation in July 2009. Subsequent x-rays, 14 days after being discharged from hospital, showed that he had a previously undetected cracked rib, which may have been the cause of the hernia. In August 2011, Carson had an operation to remove a malignant tumour from his stumach

Frank Carson died on 22 February 2012, aged 85, at his Blackpool home. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, daughter Majella, sons Tony and Aidan. Upon hearing the news, Trevor Carson, a nephew, and a football goalkeeper with Premier League side Sunderland, stated "After a lengthy and wearisome illness, my uncle, friend, and hero has passed on to join the great comedy legends of our generation." Another nephew, Sean, is a comedy writer.

EastEnders first wimp! The Trials of Lofty Holloway

Time to remember one of EastEnders original and best characters. The gormless George "Lofty" Holloway was played by Tom Watt. Lofty is one of the serial's original characters, making his first appearance in the third episode, 26 February 1985. Lofty was generally depicted as a meek, luckless and hapless victim. A long running storyline concerns his relationship with the character Michelle Fowler. Lofty bid farewell to Walford on 19 April 1988.

George Holloway, nicknamed 'Lofty' due to his above average height, serves in the army but has to leave because he suffers with chronic asthma; he settles in Walford and gets a job as a barman at The Queen Victoria Public House. Lofty is devoted to his aunt Irene, who lives in a hospice, stricken with inoperable cancer. He takes on the task of caring and visiting her and is devastated when she eventually dies in 1987. He grows close to Michelle Fowler after she falls pregnant in 1985 and refuses to name the father - the actual father, Den Watts, is Lofty's employer although Lofty never discovers this. Michelle finds the prospect of bringing up a child daunting. Lofty struggles to see Michelle unhappy and chivalrously offers to marry her and help bring her baby, Vicki, up as his own. Although Michelle does not love Lofty, she accepts his proposal, realising that she can never be with her baby's real father. However, on their wedding day, Michelle is visited by Den in secret and this makes Michelle reconsider her options; she jilts Lofty at the altar, devastating him.

When Michelle changes her mind months later, Lofty is overjoyed and sneaks Michelle away for a secret wedding. Money is sparse for the couple and Michelle is never truly happy in marriage; she quickly tires of Lofty. When Lofty begins pressurizing Michelle to have another baby with him and to allow him to adopt Vicki, she is unwilling. She discovers that she is pregnant with Lofty's child and decides to abort. Lofty is devastated with Michelle's betrayal and their marriage breaks down. He grows depressed about losing the child he wanted so badly and amidst continued hostility with Michelle, he decides to leave Walford and take a job working as a handyman in a children's home in Bedfordshire. He skulks away in the middle of the night in April 1988 without anyone but Den witnessing his departure. It is subsequently revealed that Lofty works as a Social Worker.

Lofty (George) Holloway was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. Both felt that to help complete the community there was a need for a character in his early twenties. He had to be someone a bit different. Not brash and confident like a lot of the older men, and not boisterous like the younger ones. A loner, maybe someone forced to be a loner. A person who "stuck out like a sore thumb". Someone that was happiest in a group but still couldn't find one that he fit in with. Tony Holland had previously been in the army and found that ex-soldiers had these problems when they tried to reintegrate as civilians. So they decided that Lofty would be an ex-soldier, forced to quit because of his asthma. He was happiest in the army and felt incomplete without the group setting, the all-male camaraderie and even the security of the uniformity that the army provides.

Lofty's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders The Inside Story.

"Born of a working-class London family, which was very respectable: Church of England and ex-army...Lofty grew up in a house where his father was only really happy when reminiscing about his army days and his mother was ultra-possessive and narrow minded...His friends were always vetted...He grew up to despise his mother and have a tolerant pity for his father...His best moments came in the Boy Scouts, the summer camp, and the feeling of belonging...On his eighteenth birthday, he walked into an army careers office and from then until the age of twenty-one had the happiest years of his life in the RASC...He adored the army - It gave him a uniform, and set the limits...Then the shock - he was discovered to be physically unfit...Dormant asthma...He was invalided out of the service...And, he had no taste for civilian life...His Auntie Irene (now in a hospice) secured the flat above Ethel Skinner's for Lofty...He misses the security of the Army...He works in the pub - cash in hand." (page 60)

The invention of Lofty had been an afterthought, and during the casting he was still considered as something of an "enigma" to the creators and writers alike. This had made casting difficult as Holland and Smith were unsure about what they were looking for. The actor Tom Watt was suggested by one of the writers. Holland and Smith liked that his physical appearance (gauche and childlike) made him stand out (they likened him to the accident-prone sitcom character, Frank Spencer). It was decided that these attributes fitted the character perfectly and Watt was subsequently cast in the role.

The BBC's official EastEnders website describes Lofty as "a mug although a lovable one". In 1987, Bob Shields of the Evening Times described Lofty as a "portable funeral". He added, "Beneath the facade of his National Health glasses smoulders the fire and passion of a cold toilet seat."

One of the most notable storylines Lofty was involved with was his marriage to the teenage mother, Michelle Fowler. Michelle and Lofty's church wedding was a massive target of press speculation before the episodes aired. They wanted to know two things, firstly the design of Michelle's dress, and secondly whether or not she would jilt Lofty at the altar.

Anticipating a press furore, it was decided to shoot the wedding in a church in private grounds where the press would not have access. However the press still turned up in large numbers, and security men had to be hired to keep cameramen away from the story action. Huge lorries were parked in front of the entrance to the church so that nothing could be seen, and the cast arrived in disguise. Finally strong lights were shone into the eyes of the journalists and photographers, making them extremely angry, and they constantly tried to gain access to the grounds by breaking the security barrier and telling the production team that they were really extras needed inside the church.

The entire episode was written by David Ashton, and was devoted to Lofty and Michelle's wedding day. At the time it was deemed as one of the best cliffhangers of the series, with the episode ending as the bride arrives at the church door and hesitates. Michelle and Lofty's eventual marriage helped to consolidate a fast growing audience. The young couple had come together under enormously difficult circumstances. The subsequent storylines were purposefully built to keep the audience guessing about the future of their relationship. Were they married for the wrong reasons? Would the relationship survive? and what would happen if Lofty wanted a child that was their own?

The character remained in the show for three years, and eventually departed in 1988 when the actor decided to move on. On screen, Lofty, heart-broken after Michelle's abortion, moved on to become a handyman in a children's home.