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- Michael Sundin was an English actor, puppeteer, dancer, and trampolinist from Low Fell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. He was better known as one of the presenters of the children's program "Blue Peter" from 1984 to 1985. He was fired under controversial circumstances.
Sundin initially became known as a champion trampolinist. He reportedly won five British titles and one world title in trampolining tournaments. He decided to follow a career in show business, making his stage debut in a 1980 version of the Christmas pantomime "Jack and the Beanstalk".
Sundin found work as both an actor and a dancer. From 1982 to 1983, he portrayed the acrobatic kitten Bill Bailey in the musical "Cats" (1981). The musical was loosely based on the poetry collection "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" (1939) by T. S. Eliot, and depicted sentient cats competing for a chance at rebirth.
In 1984, Sundin was hired as in-suit performer for the dark fantasy film "Return to Oz" (1985). The film was a loose adaptation of the fantasy novels "The Marvelous Land of Oz" (1904) and "Ozma of Oz" (1907) by L. Frank Baum. Sundin was chosen to portray the sentient robot Tik-Tok, one of the film's main characters. He operated the character's body, while Tim Rose remotely-operated the head and Sean Barrett voiced the character. While Sundin was preparing for this role, his casting attracted considerable press attention. Television producer Biddy Baxter invited him to audition for a position as one of the presenters of "Blue Peter". Sundin passed the audition, and was chosen to replace Peter Duncan. His debut episode was broadcast in September 1984.
Sundin made his last appearance as a television presenter in late June 1985. His contract was not renewed following the end of the season. The production team claimed that Sundin "had little rapport with the viewers", but Baxter also reported that both parents and viewers had complained that Sundin was too effeminate. The press had recently outed Sundin as a gay man, which was thought to be the undeclared reason for his firing. Biddy Baxter later claimed in an interview that Sundin was fired because "children didn't like him", not because of his sexuality. The controversy over the perceived discrimination was covered in the tabloid press.
After portraying Tik-Tok "Return to Oz", Sundin was chosen to portray the March Hare in the drama film "Dreamchild" (1985). In the film, the elderly Alice Liddell finds herself becoming the center of attention at the centenary of Lewis Carroll's birth. Her memories of her long-gone friend and potential suitor are juxtaposed with hallucinations of meeting both a ghostly Carroll and the characters from Wonderland.
Sundin subsequently had his last film appearance in the adventure film "Lionheart" (1987). In the film, a group of orphans attempt to join the crusading army of Richard the Lionheart, King of England (1157-1199, reigned 1189-1199), while evading a slave trader who wants to sell them as slaves. The film combined events from the Third Crusade (1189-1192) and the Children's Crusade (1212).
Sundin fell ill in 1988, and was hospitalized in 1989. In July 1989, he died at the Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne. He was only 28-years-old at the time of his death, and he was the first among the presenters of "Blue Peter" to die. The British press initially attributed his death to liver cancer. Later press reports indicated that Sundin had contracted the virus HIV/AIDS, and died due to the infection. - Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Brian Johnson was born on 5 October 1947 in Dunston, Gateshead, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Iron Man (2008), Maximum Overdrive (1986) and The Avengers (2012). He is married to Brenda. He was previously married to Carol.- Actress
Evelyn Hope was born on 11 March 1904 in Gateshead, Durham, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Ivanhoe (1913), Single Life (1921) and Across the Atlantic (1914). She was married to Boris Karloff and Tom Helmore. She died on 1 June 1993.- Andrew Hayden-Smith was born on 5 November 1983 in Gateshead, Newcastle, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Doctor Who Confidential (2005), Hollyoaks (1995) and Byker Grove (1989).
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Justin McDonald is an award winning actor, writer and producer originally from Tyneside in the north east of England. He received a scholarship to attend Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, where he gained a BA in Acting. He went on to complete his studies early to play a series lead in the prime-time ITV drama 'Distant Shores'.
Since then, McDonald has continued to work as an actor in film, television, theatre and radio. His screen work has seen him playing leading roles in many acclaimed television productions and feature films. In 2023 he won a prestigious Royal Television Society Award for best actor in a drama performance for his work on BFI film 'FIST'.- Sammy was born in Gateshead and played in several local bands including 'Pigmeat'. In 1973 he and other local actors setup the 'Live Theatre Company' in Newcastle.
However, Sammy was best known as the lovable Stick in the Hit BBC series Spender (1991). - Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Additional Crew
Rachel Clark was born on 11 July 1981 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He is a cinematographer, known for World War Z (2013), Black Panther (2018) and Dune: Part One (2021).- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Often described as a footballing "genius", and cited by his former teammate Chris Waddle in 2018 as England's last "real creative midfield player", Paul Gascoigne, usually referred to simply as "Gazza", started his career at Newcastle United, where he played in 92 games and scored 21 goals. He then went to the London club Tottenham Hotspur, where he also played in 92 games and scored nearly as many goals, 19 in total.
It was while at Tottenham that he was first called up to the England squad by manager Bobby Robson. He was a key member of England's 1990 FIFA World Cup team that reached the semi-finals, which was the best run of an England team since they won the 1966 World Cup. He became something of a national hero during the tournament due to his sparkling performances, with Bobby Robson later saying that he had been the best young player of the tournament (although FIFA disagreed, awarding that honour to Yugoslavia's Robert Prosinecki). However, Gascoigne was recognized as England's star of the tournament when he finished fourth in the Ballon d'Or for 1990 behind Lothar Matthäus, Totò Schillaci and Andreas Brehme, while no other English player made it into the top ten.
The next few years were a barren spell for England under the management of Robson's successor Graham Taylor, with an exit at the group stage of Euro '92 (which didn't feature Gascoigne due to injury) and failure to even qualify for the 1994 World Cup, which led to Taylor's sacking. However, between 1995 and 1998, Gascoigne had his best goalscoring spell while at the Scottish club Rangers, scoring 30 goals in 74 games. In 1996, England manager Terry Venables, who had previously managed Gascoigne at Tottenham, included him in the England squad for Euro '96, which was being held at home. Gascoigne won acclaim for a brilliant goal against Scotland and for his role in the astounding 4-1 defeat of the Netherlands, although he also narrowly missed an incredible chance to score a winning goal against Germany in the semifinal when he lunged for the ball in front of the goal and just failed to connect. England eventually lost the game in a penalty shootout following a miss from Gareth Southgate and Germany went on to the final, which they won against the Czech Republic.
The next England manager, Glenn Hoddle, controversially decided not to include the 31-year-old Gascoigne in the England squad for the 1998 World Cup, citing his lack of fitness, and this marked the end of his England career, in which he played a total of 57 games and scored ten goals. He also left Rangers in 1998, moving to Middlesbrough, although he was no longer in his previous form, scoring just four goals in 41 games for the club. He also made 32 appearances for Everton between 2000 and 2002, and finished his career at Burnley, Gansu Tianma in China and Boston United.
Despite never winning a major tournament with the national team, Gascoigne remains one of England's most iconic footballers and has been interviewed numerous times about his career, including for Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009), Alan Shearer's Euro 96: When Football Came Home (2016) and Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager (2018).- Marcus Bentley was born on 4 October 1967 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995), Finney (1994) and Crazyhead (2016). He is married to Julie. They have three children.
- Actor
- Producer
Phil K. Matthews was born on 4 January 1981 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for A Dinner of Herbs (2000), Byker Grove (1989) and Like Mother, Like Daughter (2014).- Bobby Pattinson was born on 21 July 1935 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He is an actor, known for I Didn't Know You Cared (1975), The Cuckoo Waltz (1975) and When the Boat Comes In (1976).
- Michael McNally was born in 1963 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Coronation Street (1960) and Stanton Blues (1998).
- Actor
- Producer
John Steele was born on 4 February 1941 in Gateshead, Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Slade in Flame (1975), The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1965) and Anak ng dagat (1991).- Actor
- Producer
Craig Ian Pearson is a British Actor, with English and Irish Heritage, born on the 22nd November 1982, in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England.
He returned to acting in 2019, and since he has appeared in several Feature Films as well as a steady stream of Film Shorts, Stage Productions, TV Pilots, Music Videos and Commercials.
He has trained with 'The Actors Forge' in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne for over four years and has appeared in the annual Durham Fringe Festivals in 2021 & 2022.
He is known for 'The King Of Spades' (2020), 'The Clocktower' (2021), 'Finding Your True Self' (2022), 'Tinseltown' (2022), 'Do As I Say' (2022) and can be seen in the upcoming films 'Bet On Dwight', 'A New Breed Of Criminal' and 'Commercium' (All 2023)
He has worked alongside many known industry names and has been seen by some of the UK's top casting directors. He is currently not represented by an agency, but actively looking.
He has two daughters and is engaged to his long term partner.- Wincey Willis was born Florence Winsome Leighton in Gateshead, County Durham in 1948.
The name Florence was soon dropped in favour of Winsome - shortened to Wincey - a named she loved. When she married husband Malcolm Willis the names ran together so well she still uses his surname some 15 years after her divorce. She was employed variously in the travel industry, acting as a courier and guide before finding work as a record plugger. This lead to her first broadcasting experience as a radio presenter, from where she progressed to Weather presenting for Tyne Tees Television. Domiciled in the Barnard Castle area she also indulged her other passion, which was to rescue and re-home various wild and domestic animals. At one time she had a menagerie of approaching 100 creatures of varying sorts, a subject on which she would eventually publish a book.
In May 1983, Greg Dyke, then Programme Editor for the struggling TV-am was searching for new faces to prop up the failing morning show. He sought unknowns who'd make an impact, even recruiting a friend's aerobics instructor as the exercise presenter. A clip of Willis' presenting the weather was sent to him and he hired her immediately. As he commented at the time, she was more famous for the things that went wrong on her show than for slick presentation, and nobody really cared about the weather anyway. Her weather slot was immediately prior to the half hourly news bulletins and she found she was given anything between 15 seconds and three minutes (with little notice as to which it would be) to fill depending on how long previous interviews and items had lasted. Remarkably it worked. Popular with both audience and colleagues her role began to grow and other features and gimmicks were added, until the arrival of Bruce Gyngell in 1984. Seeking to drag the whole show upmarket, and reduce expenditure to the minimum he could get away with Willis gradually found herself being marginalised within TV-am. However this ironically coincided with expanding horizons elsewhere. Treasure Hunt (1982) came along in 1985 and riding her fame she was offered a deal to write a book, and sponsor a children's board game. Neither was spectacularly successful, but kept her name firmly in the public eye. The usual round of 'B' list games shows and chat shows also meant that she was instantly recognisable anywhere in the UK and abroad. Her haircut was perhaps her most distinctive feature. Spectacularly streaked blonde, it was relatively short and spiky on top and long to the back. Definitively the ultimate 'Mullet' as they were known in the 1980s. She was rewarded with the 'Head of the Year Award' in 1986, a year that perhaps marked the peak of her fame.
In the summer of 1987 after a disagreement with Gyngell about her role within the programme she walked out: noting with some irony that as she was clearing her desk, her replacement was already being feted on the canal bank outside TV-am's studios. While TV-am and Bruce Gyngell then embarked on their terminal progress through industrial disputes and ill-judged franchise bids, Willis also saw her public exposure steadily decline. Although she continued to appear on Treasure Hunt, it too would disappear as a show in 1989 leaving her with no regular appearances.
Her involvement with animals had continued through the 1980s and she was active in supporting many animal charities, including sponsoring 'St Tiggywinkles' hospital for injured animals. Gradually this work took over and in the early 1990s she left the UK to go Greece for an extended period living and working in a turtle sanctuary. She has since returned to the UK, and has become known for reading and writing poetry. - Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Brian Routh was born in 1948 in Gateshead, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for UHF (1989), The Spirit of '76 (1990) and Forbidden Zone (1980). He was previously married to Patricia Wells-Routh, Karen Finley and Nina Sobell.- Actor
- Transportation Department
Alan Snell was born in 1938 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Red Fury (1984), The Likely Lads (1976) and When the Boat Comes In (1976). He died on 22 January 2018 in Killingworth, North Tyneside, England, UK.- Richard Steele was born on 15 November 1926 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Special Branch (1969) and Joe and the Gladiator (1971). He was married to Sylvia Burrows. He died on 30 April 2004 in Hackney, London, England, UK.
- Vernon Drake was born on 11 June 1896 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Z Cars (1962), When the Boat Comes In (1976) and Second City Firsts (1973). He died on 20 March 1987 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Norah Fulton was born on 16 October 1909 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983), The Stars Look Down (1974) and All Creatures Great & Small (1978). She died on 6 June 2005 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK.
- Alan Mason was born on 11 February 1931 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), The Avengers (1961) and The Wednesday Play (1964). He was married to Diana Bishop. He died on 25 December 2015 in London, England, UK.
- Joshua Bowes was born on 13 March 2002 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Little Fishes (2020).
- Dan Dobson was born on 3 January 1985 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Gamekeeper (2019), Give Them Wings (2021) and Orcus (2022).
- Norman Hunter was born on 29 October 1943 in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, England, UK. He died on 17 April 2020 in England, UK.
- Stephen Mark Scott was born on 6 November 1990 in Gateshead ,England. He is an actor, known for Blockheads in Britain (2022), Muse (2017) and Family 2 (2017).