| The
Troubleshooters Cast Biographies |
 | Robert
Hardy - Born
in Cheltenham on 20 October 1925, Robert Hardy is still working today, engaged
in filming the third instalment of the Harry Potter trilogy, Harry Potter And
The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Hardy has become regarded as one of Britain's most reliable
character actors, featuring in a plethora of supporting roles before firmly making
his mark in The Troubleshooters and later in All Creatures Great And Small. His
earliest television appearance was in ITV's The Adventures Of Sir Lancelot in
March 1957, and thereafter he made appearances in The Baron, The Saint, The Strange
Report, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Duchess Of Duke Street, Raffles, Bulman, Inspector
Morse, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War and Spooks, all in a supporting capacity.
He has rarely appeared in a leading role, but BBC Television's Winston Churchill:
The Wilderness Years, The Spread Of The Eagle, Elizabeth R and The Dark Island
are notable examples of the power of his performances. Appearances in The Wednesday
Play, Theatre 625 and The Thirty-Minute Theatre underline his dramatic pedigree,
whilst Hardy has also confirmed he is capable of memorable comic performances
in Hot Metal and Lucky Jim. However, he is most memorably cast in the minds of
the general public as Siegfried Farnon from All Creatures Great And Small, one
of his most commercially successful performances. Hardy portrayed Principal Assistant
to Brian Stead, Alec Stewart. |
 | Philippa
Gail - A relative unknown until her appearance in Mogul and The Troubleshooters,
she starred in The Riviera Police, Man In A Suitcase and The Sweeney (Feet Of
Clay), and of her most recent performances, a supporting role in Barbara Vine's
(Ruth Rendell) A Fatal Inversion is the most notable. Gail portrayed the original
Secretary to Brian Stead, Jane Webb. |
 | Deborah
Stanford - Deborah Stanford had previously appeared as Jean Carey
in children's science fiction series Target Luna (1960) and in the BBC sitcom
The World Of Wooster (1966). A brief appearance in Sierra Nine was followed, post-Troubleshooters,
by roles in Gerry Anderson's UFO and the American series A Touch Of Love. Stanford
was also a member of The Royal Shakespeare Company, taking part in the 1964 production
of Richard III directed by Sir Peter Hall. Deborah Stanford portrayed Alec Stewart's
fashion-boutique-running wife, Roz Stewart. |
 | Virginia
Wetherell - Born in Farnham, Surrey, on 9 May 1943, Virginia Wetherell
is one of the rare actresses to appear in the series who has made notable appearances
after Troubleshooters. Her first appearance on British television was in Doctor
Who (The Daleks) as Dyoni, followed shortly thereafter by appearances in The Edgar
Wallace Mysteries before this programme. Following her original performance in
Some Days You Just Can't Win in March 1967, she returned as a more regular character
later in the series (after a brief illness prevented her from consolidating her
earlier performance). She made an uncredited appearance in Michael Caine's Alfie,
appeared in Clockwork Orange and Minder On The Orient Express before making her
final performance in Love Is The Devil in 1988. Ms Wetherell portrayed Julie
Serres, Peter Thornton's casual girlfriend, in The Troubleshooters. Virginia
was also married to the actor Ralph Bates before his death. |
 | Isobel
Black - Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 15 December 1943, Isobel Black
was a breath of 1960s fresh air to The Troubleshooters. Cast as the dynamic Public
Relations Officer Eileen O'Rourke (in Where The
Carpet Ends, an episode specifically written for her by John Elliot to introduce
what she would later describe as "Stead's Hush Puppy), Black's performance
introduced a strong, determined and capable female character to a series which
had previously relied on weaker feminine characters. O'Rourke was more than a
match for her male counterparts, as best exemplified in the episode A Nice White
Girl - Is She For Sale?. Black made notable appearances in The Invisible Man,
Crane, The Avengers, Danger Man and Mystery And Imagination for ITV prior to her
appearance in the series, with performances in Department S and Ace Of Wands preceeding
the series. Her final appearance on British television was in the BBC comedy series
Tygo Road, a relatively mediocre sitcom which failed to score more than one season.
|
 | Edward
de Souza - Born on 4 September 1932, Edward de Souza is ostensibly
the Geoffrey Palmer of early British Television: a character actor featured in
a supporting capacity on almost every popular television production between 1950
and 1970. Primarily an ITV actor, de Souza was introduced to The Troubleshooters
as Charles Grandmercy, a stiff-upper-lip member of the Mogul board brought into
the series as a foil for Robert Hardy's Alec Stewart. He has made appearances
in the Edgar Wallace Mysteries, Doctor Who, Cousin Bette, The Avengers, The Sweeney,
Rumpole Of The Bailey, Sapphire And Steel and Jane Eyre amongst his varied career.
|
 | Jayne
Sofiano - Jayne Sofiano was introduced to The Troubleshooters in 1969
as Doctor Ginny Vickers, the Personal Assistant
of Alec Stewart. Robert Hardy described her as his "Peter Thornton",
in so far as she was responsible for getting him out of problematic situations
and did all his dirty work whilst he took all the credit - in other words, Stewart's
dogsbody. She was virtually utilized as a plot device in the programme, thus underlining
the fact that the programme was unable to exploit female characters prior to Eileen
O'Rourke. Needless to say, the character remained with the series for one only
season. Sofiano made notable appearances in The Rat Catchers, Man In A Suitcase,
The Avengers and The Saint. |
 | John
Carson - Born in Sri Lanka on 28 February 1927, John Carson was a notable
actor in his own right prior to appearing in the final series of The Troubleshooters.
With over thirty-seven notable television performances (Ivanhoe, William Tell,
The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Ghost Squad, The Avengers, Maigret, The Protectors,
Emergency Ward Ten, The Caves Of Steel, Crane, The Saint, Adam Adamant Lives!,
The Baron, Man In A Suitcase, The Champions, Department S, Out Of The Unknown,
Special Branch, The New Avengers, Raffles, 1990, The Famous Five, The Professionals,
Tales Of The Unexpected, Cribb, Doctor Who, Poirot and Rhodes) and sixty-three
film appearances, Carson is best-remembered for his smooth and cultured inflection,
and his capacity to perform the roles of civil servants with aplomb. He is also
notable as an actor who has never appeared in the same guise twice on British
television (through the aide of various masks, hair dyes, changes to skin tone,
etc). Carson portrayed James Langley, a rival
Mogul board member who was introduced as a foil (and potential replacement) for
Geoffrey Keen's Brian Stead. The introduction of the character would enable pressure
to be brought to bear on the indomitable Stead, who would be required to ensure
the successful execution of Mogul's worldwide ventures in order to remain as Managing
Director of the firm. | |
Production
Notes /