Philip Pope
Acting
Biography
Philip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford. Pope appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1978 and 1979, both with Angus Deayton. He performed in the BBC radio comedy series Radio Active (1980–87) and has also starred in a number of television comedy series, including Who Dares Wins (1983–88), Chelmsford 123 (1988–90), Round the Bend (1989–91) and KYTV (1989–93). He made guest appearances in Blackadder as the painter Leonardo Acropolis and Horatio Nelson, and in Shelley as pop star Hobo. Pope also appeared as Tony Angelino, the singing dustman, in the Only Fools and Horses episode "Stage Fright", in 1991. Pope toured the UK as a member of the cast of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Series Live, for which he was also musical director.[3] Pope portrayed several minor parts in the original radio series, as well as the subsequent adaptations of the later novels. Pope appeared in the radio series Old Harry's Game (1995–2009), and he has performed as a singer with the Thame Chamber Choir. With Richard Curtis, Pope co-wrote the Hee Bee Gee Bees' single "Meaningless Songs" (the B-side of which was "Posing in the Moonlight"), released in 1980 to parody the style of a series of disco hits by The Bee Gees. The Hee Bee Gee Bees went on to record two albums spoofing numerous acts including Eagles, Michael Jackson, The Police, Status Quo and Supertramp. Pope also wrote or co-wrote many comic songs for Not the Nine O'Clock News and Spitting Image, the latter of which included the British Number 1 hit single "The Chicken Song", for which Rob Grant and Doug Naylor wrote the lyrics. Along with Simon Franglen, Pope wrote the main theme for Round the Bend, a three-series children's comedy produced by Yorkshire Television for CITV, and later shown on Channel 4 and Nickelodeon. Pope has also composed a large amount of music for radio and television, including the theme tunes for Through the Keyhole, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, KYTV, My Hero and Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul. He was the musical director and composer for The Fast Show, as well as the popular BBC children's programmes Words and Pictures, Fimbles and The Roly Mo Show. Pope also provided the voice for the characters of Yugo and Migo from The Roly Mo Show. Pope has scored numerous dramas and comedy-dramas for television, including Ted & Ralph, Midnight Flight, Crazy for A Kiss, Hospital! and Margery & Gladys as well as the film Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000). He was invited to arrange Snow Patrol's "Run 12" remixed by Jacknife Lee, to which he contributed additional guitar. On 5 October 2004, Pope featured in an episode of the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, entitled "Fit the Fifteenth", as one of three aliens from the planet of Krikkit. They sang a song called "Under the Ink Black Sky", which Pope wrote and performed. On 13 February 2013, Pope and his wife Rosie appeared on ITV's From The Heart, a programme about organ donation and which featured their 20-year-old son Will, who was seriously unwell with a failing heart, had only months to live, and was in desperate need of heart transplantation. He finally obtained a new heart in a successful operation, and was slowly nursed back to health by his family.
Known For
Blackadder traces the deeply cynical and self-serving lineage of various Edmund Blackadders throughout British history, from the muck of the Middle Ages to the frontline of The Great War.
Blackadder
Set in the Solana all-inclusive Resort, Benidorm follows the antics of regulars and first-time holiday makers on their journeys abroad.
Benidorm
Only Fools and Horses.... Is a British sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally transmitted on BBC One from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until 2003. In working-class Peckham in south-east London, ambitious market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter and his younger half-brother Rodney, explore their highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. Initially not an immediate hit and receiving little promotion early on, it later achieved consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time on Our Hands" (originally billed as the series finale) holds the record for the biggest UK audience for a sitcom episode, attracting 24.3 million viewers. The series bears a significant influence on British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the English language.
Only Fools and Horses
A sitcom set in the offices of "GlobeLink News" after its acquisition by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant. Led by editor George Dent, the staff of GlobeLink battle to maintain the company as a serious news organization against Sir Roysten's right-hand man, Gus Hedges, who wants to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Roysten's business empire.
Drop the Dead Donkey
Hannah plays DI Jack Cloth, who is called in to investigate an apparent series of serial killings alongside his new partner, DC Anne Oldman, described as a "plucky, no-nonsense sidekick". Playing with the cliches and conventions of British police dramas, subplots include Cloth dealing with visions of his dead wife and the bisexual DC Oldman coming to grips with her feelings for both her female fiancee and Cloth.
A Touch of Cloth
After You've Gone is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 12 January 2007 to 21 December 2008. Starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, Celia Imrie, Dani Harmer and Ryan Sampson, the three season comedy follows handyman Jimmy Venables, who moves in with his teenage children and his mother-in-law Diana after his ex-wife Ann goes to Africa to help with a flood.
After You've Gone
Chelmsford, Britain in the year AD 123; there is a power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus and the British chieftain, Badvoc. Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse, but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos, the governor of Roman Britain between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman, who was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years.
Chelmsford 123
Following the success of their 2015 election comedy Ballot Monkeys, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin (Ballot Monkeys, Outnumbered, Drop the Dead Donkey) return to Channel 4 with a six-part satire lampooning the fictional communications and social media ‘experts’ on both sides of the EU referendum, as well as taking audiences a few doors down from the Kremlin and into the imagined world of Donald Trump’s campaign plane.
Power Monkeys
Singer, actress, dancer, comedienne: these are just some of the words the popular American comic can spell. Rita Rudner's first British series features stand-up comedy, sketches and songs.
Rita Rudner
A situation comedy about divorcee James Shepherd, a charismatic vet, who struggles to run both a successful surgery and a home for his two teenage children.
Close to Home
Kate runs an old-fashioned café in a seaside town, and develops a strong, if sometimes volatile, friendship with asylum-seeking African doctor Koji. Although from different worlds, Kate and Koji are similar in ways they do not see for themselves.
Kate & Koji
Daring 1980s alternative comedy sketch show that helped launch the careers of a number of British comedians. Often parodies the channel it aired on. Recurring characters include Terry and Wang-Wang - a pair of swearing Pandas.
Who Dares Wins
After a genial spirit shows the benevolent Ebenezer Blackadder visions of his unscrupulous ancestors, he resolves to mend his generous ways.
Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Comedy about a brilliant young brain surgeon set in an unorthodox hospital. A "Naked Gun" type comedy from Britain, this one-off special was made specifically for the launch of Channel 5 in 1997.
Hospital!
Round the Bend was a satirical British children's television series, which ran on Children's ITV for three series from 1989 to 1991. The show was a Hat Trick production for Yorkshire Television. The show was later repeated on Channel 4, The Children's Channel and Nickelodeon UK and was nominated for an RTS Award. It was created by the team behind the comic Oink! - Patrick Gallagher, Tony Husband and Mark Rodgers. The puppets, animation characters and main set were designed by Gallagher, who was also the show's graphic designer. The puppets were made by the team who made the puppets for Spitting Image. Round the Bend was a satirical parody of Saturday morning magazine shows — with a host providing linking material between cartoons, music videos and news sections - albeit set in a sewer. The anarchic tone of the show and its parody cartoons was similar to that of Viz. The animated segments were done by Aardman Animations and Catalyst Pictures. The title of the show is a reference to a toilet U-bend, with the opening titles beginning with the camera being flushed down a toilet and ending up in a sewer.
Round the Bend
A televised pantomime of Aladdin with characters played by well-known celebrities.
Aladdin: The ITV Pantomime
One-off comedy drama featuring characters from award-winning BBC sketch series 'The Fast Show'. Ralph Mayhew (Charlie Higson) lives alone in a faded stately home. His only friend is Ted (Paul Whitehouse), the elderly Irish estate worker. But their way of life is under threat: Ralph must marry before his 35th birthday or lose everything. Just when it all seems hopeless, along comes Wendy (Kathy Burke). As Ralph's affection for Wendy grows, his dependence on Ted wanes. Is this the end of a beautiful friendship ? Is Wendy all that she seems ? Will Ralph go through with the marriage ? And will he save the Hall ?
Ted & Ralph
As Christmas celebrations get under way, Britain is rocked by a deadly new food scare - "mad turkey disease".
Gobble
Bono estente! It's been over 25 years since quickfire sketch show classic The Fast Show first hit our screens, and what better way to celebrate its enduring success than with a two-hour extravaganza of archive clips, cast interviews and rarely seen footage?
The Fast Show: Just a Load of Blooming Catchphrases
As part of the BBC2 50th anniversary celebrations comedians Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse were commissioned to produce this spoof history of the channel. It parodies the channel, its content and the history documentary.