BAGLEY, WALTER
Played by Charles Hawtrey
It was thought that Walter Bagley, alias King Tonka in Up the Jungle, had been eaten by a crocodile in the African jungle. Whilst honeymooning with his wife, Evelyn, and their little baby boy, Cecil, he decided to take his son for an early morning stroll through the jungle. Nothing was seen of him, or the little boy, again; when his watch was later found inside a dead crocodile’s stomach, it was assumed he’d been eaten alive.
Lady Bagley, therefore, is shocked when she’s reunited with her husband, who hadn’t been gobbled up at all; he’s been living the life of Riley with the Lubidubies, a tribe of females, who appointed him King Tonka with the sole duty of mating with as many girls as possible. All those years ago, his watch was eaten by a warrior from the Nosha tribe, who was then eaten by a crocodile. The Noshas had captured Walter and his life was in peril until rescued by the Lubidubies.
When Lady Bagley returns home she takes Walter with her, whom the Lubidubies lose interest in once his wife appears on the scene.
BAGPIPE SOLDIER
Played by Simon Cain
A soldier of the 3rd Foot and Mouth in Up The Khyber.
BAGSHAW, CAPTAIN
Played by Peter Gilmore
One of Lady Jane Ponsonby’s many suitors in Follow That Camel, Bagshaw tries his utmost to see another, Bertram West, written off by accusing him of cheating at cricket. When West is banned from ever stepping foot inside the Ponsonbys’ mansion again, Humphrey Bagshaw’s conscience gets the better of him: realising he’s acted despicably, he tries committing suicide.
BAILEY, ANTHONY
Role: Rider in Dick
Londoner Anthony Bailey was born in 1933 and trained at the City Literary Institute. Primarily a stage actor, he appeared on the screen from time to time. On television, he had a running part as Roddy Barrows in Crossroads and was also seen in, among others, Arthur of the Britons, Barlow at Large, The New Avengers, The Professionals, Grange Hill and The Bill. His film credits included The Main Chance, Thunderball, The Deadly Bees and Hussy.
Most recently, he was appearing at the National Theatre in London. He died in 2004, aged seventy-one.
BAILEY, JAMES
Played by Kenneth Williams
In Sergeant, James Bailey is a member of Sergeant Grimshaw’s Able Platoon. An educated snob, he ruffles Grimshaw’s feathers from day one with his supercilious manner. Eventually, though, he blends with the rest of the platoon and is instrumental in persuading them to give their utmost to become champion platoon. A graduate, his abilities are put to good use when he moves to the Education Corps after basic training.
BAIRD, ANTHONY
Role: Guard in Spying
Born in London in 1920, Anthony Baird has appeared in over a dozen films, including Passport to Treason, Operation Conspiracy, Echo of Diana, The Ipcress File, Cheetah and Braxton, but his most notable appearance was in Ealing’s 1945 compendium, Dead of Night.
His television credits range from The Count of Monte Cristo and The Avengers to Strangers and a running role, as Mr Pearson, in Crossroads.
BAKER PLATOON
Sergeant Mathews’ platoon at Heathercrest National Service Depot in Sergeant.
BAKSH, SHAKIRA
Role: Scrubba in Again Doctor
Crowned Miss Guyana in 1967, Shakira Baksh came third in that year’s Miss World contest.
Born in 1947, she worked as a librarian and fashion model in Guyana before coming to England for the Miss World contest. She continued modelling and made a handful of screen appearances during the 1970s, including a couple of episodes of UFO. She was also seen in the films Son of Dracula and The Man Who Would Be King, with Michael Caine, whom she had married in 1973. Caine had first noticed Baksh in a Maxwell House coffee advert.
BALD-HEADED DOWAGER
Played by Joan Ingram
Seen at Sir Rodney Ffing’s charity ball in Don’t Lose Your Head, the bald-headed Dowager’s wig is accidentally blown off her head.
BALFOUR, MICHAEL
Role: Matt in Constable
From Genevieve and Man From Tangier in the 1950s to Batman and The Holcroft Covenant in the 1980s, character actor Michael Balfour was regularly in demand.
Born in Kent in 1918, he appeared in films from the late 1940s, including an uncredited role in the 1948 picture, Sleeping Car to Trieste. Other notable credits included Venetian Bird, Johnny On the Run and The Sea Shall Not Have Them. On the small screen, he was seen in, among others, Hancock’s Half Hour, Dixon of Dock Green, Man from Interpol and Department S.
Away from the screen, he created his own clown character and toured Europe with Gerry Cottle’s Circus. He was also an accomplished sculptor and painter, opening a gallery in Spain.
He died in 1997, aged seventy-nine.
BALL, NURSE SUSAN
Played by Barbara Windsor
Employed at the Finisham Maternity Hospital in Matron, the even-tempered Nurse Ball shares her room – number sixteen at the nurses’ home – with Nurse Carter, aka Cyril Carter. She realises he’s a fella when he falls over steps and reveals his unmistakable underwear. Upon discovering the motives behind Cyril’s disguise, she agrees to keep mum and ends up falling in love with her roommate.
BALL, VINCENT
Roles: Jenkins in Cruising and Ship’s Officer in Follow That Camel
Vincent Ball, who was born in Wee Waa, New South Wales, Australia, in 1923, left school at fourteen and worked as a messenger boy until, aged eighteen, he joined the Australian Air Force. He trained in Canada and the Bahamas before completing his tour of operations in England and Scotland.
Ball returned to Australia in 1945 and decided upon a career in acting. To reach England, he secured a job on a Swedish cargo ship and spent seven months cleaning the decks en route to the UK.
He’d previously written to film studios enquiring about work and was lucky enough, upon reaching England, to complete underwater swimming scenes for non-swimmer Donald Houston in the 1949 film, The Blue Lagoon. After his first taste of the film industry, he trained at RADA between 1949–51 and moved into repertory theatre, beginning at Leatherhead.
His film career started in the late 1940s and encompassed a host of pictures, including The Interrupted Journey, Dangerous Voyage, The Black Rider and Where Eagles Dare. More recently he’s been seen in, among others, The Man Who Sued God and The Cherry Orchard. On television, his credits include International Detective, Man in a Suitcase, Shannon’s Mob, The Outsiders, Mission Impossible and running roles in A Country Practice and Crossroads.
Ball’s recent work has mainly been in Australian television and films, which is where he’s lived since 1973.
BALLET MONTPARNASSE, THE
Roles: The Dancing Girls in Cowboy
The ballet company was occupied in light entertainment, appearing on numerous Variety bills in the 1950s and ’60s for Moss Empires, Stoll Theatres and other venues around the British Isles.
BALLS BOOK OF ENGLISH LAW
The book Bettina