Jane Asher

Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946) is an English actress, author and entrepreneur, who achieved early fame as a child actress, and has worked extensively in film and TV throughout her career.

She has appeared in TV shows and films such as The Masque of the Red Death, Alfie, Deep End, The Mistress, Crossroads, Death at a Funeral and The Old Guys. She is also known for supplying specialist cakes and kitchenware, as well as publishing three best-selling novels. She was a key figure of 1960s show business society.

Early life

Asher was the middle of three children born to Richard Alan John and Margaret Asher, née Eliot, in Willesden, North West London. Her father was a consultant in blood and mental diseases at the Central Middlesex Hospital, as well as being a broadcaster and the author of notable medical articles. Asher's mother was a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Asher attended Queen's College in Harley Street, London and is the elder sister of Clare Asher, a radio actress and school inspector. Asher's elder brother is record producer Peter Asher, who was "Peter" of Peter and Gordon.

Sophie Winkleman

Sophie Lara Winkleman (born 5 August 1980) is an English television, film, and stage actress. As the wife of Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin Prince Michael of Kent, she is formally referred to as Lady Frederick Windsor.

Early life

Winkleman was born in Primrose Hill, London. Her father, Barry Winkleman, published the Times Atlas of World History, her mother is the children's author Cindy Black and her half-sister by her father's first marriage is the television presenter Claudia Winkleman. Winkleman was educated at the City of London School for Girls and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge where she read English literature. She joined the university's dramatic society Cambridge Footlights and wrote and performed in the comic revue Far Too Happy, which toured Britain for three months and garnered the troupe's first Perrier Award nomination in twenty years. Winkleman is a member of the National Youth Theatre. She is also a soprano, reprising her singing in the First Love series for Sky Arts.

Sebastian Armesto

Sebastian Armesto (born 3 June 1982) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He is the son of the historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. He was educated at Eton College.

Career

Television and film

Armesto played Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in the series The Tudors. He starred in the 2008 ITV drama series The Palace as the King's carefree younger brother Prince George. He then played the character of Edmund Sparkler in the 2008 BBC version of Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit. In the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Armesto played the Spanish King Ferdinand VI. He plays the poet and playwright Ben Jonson in Roland Emmerich’s feature film Anonymous.

Theatre

Armesto has acted in high-profile theatre productions in Britain, including three shows at the National Theatre and one at the Royal Court. He also writes and directs theatre with company Simple 8. His productions include directing and adaptating Les Enfants du Paradis to great acclaim. Most recently, he co-wrote and directed a play based on William Hogarth's The Four Stages of Cruelty and new versions of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Moby-Dick.

The Palace

The Palace was a British drama television series that aired on ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of King James III and the succession of his 24-year-old son, King Richard IV, played by Rupert Evans. It also stars Jane Asher and Zoe Telford. The series was filmed on location in Lithuania in 2007 and broadcast from January to March 2008. It was axed after one series due to low viewing figures.

Plot

On the sudden death of King James III, his 24-year-old elder son, Richard IV, inherits the throne. This causes resentment with his elder sister, Princess Eleanor (Sophie Winkleman), who wants the throne for herself. Her Private Secretary, Major Simon Brooks (David Harewood), helps her in trying to discredit the new king. Richard's younger brother, Prince George (Sebastian Armesto), is a party-animal, while the younger daughter, Princess Isabelle (Nathalie Lunghi), is an A-Level student. Their mother is the now-widowed Queen Charlotte (Jane Asher).

Rupert Evans

Rupert Evans (born 9 March 1976) is an English actor who has appeared in television, film and theater. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Early life

Evans was born in Staffordshire, England on March 30, 1977. He was brought up on a farm. Evans was educated at Bilton Grange School, a boarding independent school in the village of Dunchurch, near the market town of Rugby in Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England, followed by Milton Abbey School, a boarding independent school in the village of Milton Abbas, near the market town of Blandford Forum in Dorset in South West England, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, at the time based in South Kensington in London.

Career

Early in his career, Evans appeared in the drama Crime and Punishment starring John Simm, and North and South starring Richard Armitage.

Evans' first major film role was as FBI Agent John Myers in director Guillermo del Toro's 2004 adaptation of the Mike Mignola comic book Hellboy. He also appeared in Agora, filmed in Malta with Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella.