JON CULSHAW
HUGHIE GREEN
Widely regarded as Britain’s best impressionist, Jon Culshaw is also an accomplished actor and presenter. Notable credits include Dead Ringers, Spitting Image, The Impressions Show and The Secret World.
As an actor, Jon has played a wide variety of roles and delivered performances to much critical acclaim, including The Final Take: Bowie in the Studio for the BBC, Unseen Academicals a Terry Pratchett audio drama for Audible, a portrayal of the great Alan Whicker for The Other Side of the World and Billy and Me, part of the ‘Barnes' People’ series for The Original Theatre Company and Perfectly Normal Productions.
Last year, Jon received widespread critical acclaim for his solo performance in Les Dawson: Flying High, taking the show from a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to a sell-out national tour at the end of 2022.
JON CULSHAW talking
about LENA on
GOOD MORNING
BRITAIN
Meet ERIN ARMSTRONG
ERIN ARMSTRONG
LENA ZAVARONI
Erin plays series regular Cassie Perez in BBC’s Shetland and has also featured in
Rillington Place, Millie Inbetween, Emmerdale and River City.
Erin has worked with Theatre School Scotland, running film and TV workshops and started her acting career as part of Theatre in Education. Lena marks Erin’s first major starring role in theatre.
Meet ALAN McHUGH
VICTOR ZAVARONI
Alan trained at RSAMD and has since worked with the country’s leading theatre companies, including the Citizens, National Theatre of Scotland, Traverse, Royal Lyceum, Tron, Wildcat, Borderline, Perth Rep, Dundee Rep and many more. In addition to many radio and feature/ short film credits, he has worked extensively in television. Credits include Outlander, the double BAFTA Award-winning Limmy’s Show, Taggart, High Road, River City, Scot Squad, Rab C. Nesbitt and Still Game. As a writer, Alan is also the principal writer for Crossroads Pantomimes, developing up to twenty pantos for theatres the length and breadth of the UK each year.
ALAN MCHUGH
JULIE COOMBE
HILDA ZAVARONI
After training in acting at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Julie has enjoyed an incredibly varied career for nearly three decades. Theatre includes Scottish classics such as, The Slab Boys Trilogy and The Steamie.
She starred in the first Scottish tour of The Vagina Monologues where her flair for comedy led to the creation of her hit show, Hormonal Housewives, which has seen six UK tours. On radio Julie is a well-known voice from countless comedy shows including the long-running sketch show The WhyFront and the sitcom No Hard Feelings. On TV Julie has ticked off two Scottish soaps starting with STV’s Take the High Road, but is perhaps best known from BBC’s River City as Terri, ‘the tart with no heart’.
She was the alien mum Mrs Krspltyx in CBBC’s Intergalactic Kitchen. Her comedy credits for the BBC include Revolver, the sitcom Millport and three seasons of Live Floor Show.
Meet JULIE COOMBE
HELEN LOGAN
DOROTHY SOLOMON
Helen has worked widely in theatre with roles in: Local Hero (Royal Lyceum); Hamlet (Bard in the Botanics); Bill McLaren: The Voice of Rugby (Firebrand TC); The Sunshine Ghost (Scottish Theatre Producers); Blithe Spirit; Death of a Salesman; Moonlight and Magnolias; Proof; A Streetcar Named Desire; Tales from Hollywood, (all Perth Theatre); The Angel and The Manse (Glasgow Oran Mor); The Cone Gatherers (APA Tour); Life, Love and Liberty (Dumfries and Galloway Arts); Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (Prime Productions); Mill on the Floss (Nottingham Playhouse/ Northcott Exeter) and Hard Times (Northcott Exeter).
Helen has also performed in several seasons at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Her film & TV work includes River City (BBC); The Descent (Celador Films/Pathé); We've Gotta Get Out of This Place (BBC); A Mug's Game (BBC); and Dr Finlay (STV).
Meet HELEN LOGAN
TIM WHITNALL
WRITER
Tim wrote the plays HARRY’S WEB (Theatre Royal Windsor) 2000, THE SOCIABLE PLOVER (Old Red Lion Theatre) 2005, and THE FABULIST (Old Red Lion Theatre) 2006. His comedy, MORECAMBE, debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2009, winning a Fringe First Award. Transferring to the Duchess Theatre, London the show won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.
ONCE SEEN ON BLUE PETER (Cahoots Theatre Co.), Tim’s ‘play-within-a-play’ celebrating the diamond anniversary of the BBC children’s TV series starring six of the programme’s ex-presenters, played at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
His comedy FLYING DUCKS premiered at the Theatre Royal, Ramsbottom in September 2021, receiving warm reviews and playing to full houses.
LES DAWSON: FLYING HIGH (So Comedy/ Broken Robot Productions), Tim’s poignant drama starring Jon Culshaw as the much-missed comedian, opened at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe before commencing a sell-out national tour.
Tim adapted Bill Bryson’s NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND, the show receiving its successful world premiere at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury in early 2023.
Tim’s first feature, THE HIDE, was completed in 2008 by Poisson Rouge Pictures/ Solution Films for Film Four, receiving its premiere in 2009 and subsequent cinema release at the ICA. The film made the TIMES TOP 100 LIST and was later released on DVD. Tim was nominated for his work in the 2010 Writer’s Guild Awards in the Best First Feature Length Screenplay category.
BEST POSSIBLE TASTE: THE KENNY EVERETT STORY, Tim's BBC Four drama about broadcasting legend 'Cuddly Ken', was nominated for several honours, Tim winning the Breakthrough Talent Award in the 2013 BAFTA TV Craft Awards.
His feature-length adaptation of GREENSHAW’S FOLLY for Mammoth Screen/ ITV’s AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MARPLE was broadcast in 2013.
In 2021, Tim was commissioned by BBC/ Cosmopolitan Pictures to write an episode of BBC One’s popular crime series, THE MALLORCA FILES. He is currently developing a further episode for inclusion in its fourth series.
Meet TIM WHITNALL
PAUL HENDY
DIRECTOR
Paul Hendy is a scriptwriter, director, and producer.
In a previous life, Paul was a TV presenter and hosted shows such as The Disney Club, Don’t Try This At Home with Davina McCall and Wheel of Fortune (which had been running for twenty-three years until Paul hosted one series and they cancelled it!). He also hosted the BAFTA nominated Dear Mr Barker and the cult classic Stash the Cash (‘cult’ meaning it was rubbish but students liked it!).
Paul wrote, directed and produced the short film, The Last Laugh. The film was a huge success at major film festivals around the world winning several awards including ‘Best Comedy Drama’ at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, ‘Award of Excellence’ at the Global Film Festival (San Diego) and ‘Best Film’ at the Manchester Film Festival. On screen, Paul has also directed The Terrorist Princess, Mister Sunshine and several TV ads.
His novels Diary Of A C-List Celeb (in no way autobiographical... honest!) and Who Killed Simon Peters? were published by Transworld in 2004 and 2009. They received great critical acclaim and were subsequently translated into Russian and Greek (true!). The novels can currently be found in the bargain bins of most reputable bookshops.
Paul directed and produced a UK Tour of Morecambe. He has optioned the film rights for Morecambe and is currently developing a screenplay called Bring Me Sunshine with Tim Whitnall about the life story of his comedy heroes, Morecambe and Wise...
Paul is also one of the leading pantomime producers in the country and has written, directed and produced over 100 pantomimes in some of the best theatres in the country.