Acting
Desmond McNamara
Place of birth
Hackney, London, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
36 titles
Known for
6.2Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
Casualty
1986
5.2A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
1965
7.2Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Minder
1979
8.2Sherlock Holmes, along with his friend Dr. Watson, uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve.
Sherlock Holmes
1984
7.0ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
ITV Playhouse
1967
6.4Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run.
Birds of a Feather
1989
Film credits
2000s · 3 titles
6.3Half-way through his 12-year prison sentence for an incompetent armed robbery, Jimmy Hands gets a lucky break: he's transferred to a prison from which he can probably escape. He convinces the governor to stage a musical in an old chapel next to the prison's outer wall. He rounds up volunteer actors and puts his escape plan into production. Two other barriers, besides the wall, confront him: the arrival of a nasty inmate, John Toombes, who insists on joining the escape, and Jimmy's feelings of attraction for Anabel, a social worker who agrees to appear in the play. Opening night approaches: is this Jimmy's breakout performance?
Lucky Break
2001
NRA disrespected but decent detective unravels a cold case about a missing seventeen year old girl while trying to deal with the breakup of his marriage.
The Last Detective
2003
A lorry driver feeling isolated from his family and a woman with a troubling secret help each other to find out some answers on a journey to Land’s End.
Long Haul
2000
1990s · 2 titles
5.6Communism seen through the eyes of a young girl who watches her beloved uncle struggle with the oppressive government .
A Pin for the Butterfly
1995
5.3Very much in love, Neil's wedding plans are sabotaged, beginning when he is abandoned, naked, on a Scottish island. A road trip ensues, with Neil encountering many obstacles as he makes his way to London for what he believes is to be his wedding day. Or is it?
Staggered
1994
1980s · 2 titles
1970s · 2 titles
5.2Joe North is a London taxi driver who manages to get himself into any number of sexual situations with various women.
Adventures of a Taxi Driver
1976
7.0Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
Hamlet
1970
Series credits
6.2Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
Casualty
1986
5.2A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
1965
7.2Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Minder
1979
7.2Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Minder
1979
7.2Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Minder
1979
8.2Sherlock Holmes, along with his friend Dr. Watson, uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve.
Sherlock Holmes
1984
7.0ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
ITV Playhouse
1967
6.4Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run.
Birds of a Feather
1989
6.8Wycliffe is a British television series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe. It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a production office in Truro. Music for the series was composed by Nigel Hess and was awarded the Royal Television Society award for the best television theme. Wycliffe is played by Jack Shepherd, assisted by DI Doug Kersey and DI Lucy Lane. Each episode deals with a murder investigation. In the early series, the stories are adapted from Burley's books and are in classic whodunit style, often with quirky characters and plot elements. In later seasons, the tone becomes more naturalistic and there is more emphasis on internal politics within the police.
Wycliffe
1994
8.3Pie in the Sky is a British offbeat police comedy drama programme starring Richard Griffiths and Maggie Steed, created by Andrew Payne and first broadcast in five series on BBC1 between 13 March 1994 and 17 August 1997 as well as being syndicated on other channels in other countries, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series departs slightly from other police dramas in that the protagonist, Henry Crabbe, while still being an on-duty policeman, is also the head chef of the title restaurant set in the fictional town of Middleton and county of Westershire.
Pie in the Sky
1994
6.8Dempsey and Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. The leading roles were played by Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber, who later married each other on 18 November 1989. The series combined elements of previous series such as the mis-matching of British and American crime-fighters from different classes as seen in The Persuaders! and the action of The Professionals.
Dempsey and Makepeace
1985
7.0The Chief is a British crime drama transmitted on ITV from 20 April 1990 to 16 June 1995. Produced by Anglia Television, it centred on the politics at the top of a typical English police force in its continual battle to solve the problems the times, in this case the fictional Eastland of East Anglia.
The Chief
1990
7.3Be sure to catch this brilliant comedy show starring the brilliant pop group S Club, one of the most successful pop groups around. The show is all about the normal and ab-normal goings on with talented group of friends trying to be famous.
S Club 7
1999
6.5After completing a two-year prison sentence for a bribe he didn't take, former DI Alan Lomax wants answers. With at least one luxury left - a narrowboat, and it's on the canals, among the day trippers and travellers, that he means to seek revenge. Not an easy task for an ex-detective isolated on the wrong side of the law.
Travelling Man
1984
7.8"Dangerous" Davies always gets the cases no one else wants, and no one notices when he eventually succeeds. But his old-fashioned decency and dogged determination have won him legions of loyal fans.
The Last Detective
2003
10.0In Victorian London, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes wields not only powers of observation and deduction but also vast knowledge on anything relevant to solve mysteries, including crimes. Cases that would stump most detectives are merely short work for Holmes, who is ably assisted by his friend and colleague Dr John H. Watson.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1984
6.3English literature lecturer Guy Pringle and his wife Harriet navigate the early years of WWII in Bucharest. They become involved in anti-fascist politics and are forced to flee as the war escalates, crossing paths with various characters along the way.
Fortunes of War
1987
5.2Hazell is a British television drama based on the novel series by Terry Venables and Gordon Williams (collectively known as P.B. Yuill), and starring Nicholas Bell as James Hazell, a 'smart parody' of Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. The program ran for 2 series, from January 1978 to July 1979.
Hazell
1978
10.0Female private detectives Pearl Parker and Finn Gallagher operate within the bustling multicultural communities of South London.
South of the Border
1988
5.7An anthology of half-hour stories, mostly historical romps and satires of pop culture, some feature recurring characters; based on the blockbuster Carry On films, the series was an attempt to address the films' declining cinema attendance by transferring the franchise to television. Many original cast members were featured in the series.
Carry On Laughing
1975
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
1989
6.7Running Scared is a British television children's drama serial produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC 1 in 1986, based on the Bernard Ashley novel and is set in Woolwich with the Woolwich Ferry featuring in a key scene. A gritty series, Running Scared deals with a teenage girl, Paula, whose life is put at risk when she uncovers evidence that could put a local criminal gang leader behind bars. The series is notable for its use of the then recently released Kate Bush pop song Running Up That Hill as its main theme tune.
Running Scared
1986
Childhood sweethearts Bernie and Sylvia are reunited after twenty years and resume their relationship, although their lives have become very different.
Streets Apart
1988
Focuses on the fraught relationship between two orthopaedic surgeons at a hospital on the Isle of Wight.
Doctors and Nurses
2004
5.9The Psammead is an 'it', an ancient, ill-tempered sand-fairy with a spider-shaped body, bat-like ears, and snail-like eyes. It is grumpy but has the power to grant one wish a day, which must be made before sunset. Five siblings—Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and infant Hilary—encounter It and experience the highs and lows of frivolous wish-making.
Five Children and It
1991
Twelve members of the public are picked as jurors in a rape trial. Each juror's personal life is gifted an episode as the court case plays out each week.
Jury
1983
Heavy Metal singer Nigel Cochran moves into a small English village and forms a relationship with the local classical music teacher.
Roll Over Beethoven
1985


