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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Lord Ashfordly.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:53:51 pm »
Lord Ashfordly (1992–2010). Minor aristocrat. A "get off my land" character, his seat is Ashfordly Hall, an old country house surrounded by a large estate. He complains on occasion about a lack of funds despite being able to employ numerous maids, housekeepers, gamekeepers, gardeners, chauffeurs etc. His first name is Charles and he appears to be a bachelor, though he has at least one son called Rupert (played by Marc Warren, who appeared in one early episode as an arrogant young toff). He also has a sister called Patricia ("Patty") who has appeared a few times, and in episode 12.9 ("Many Splendoured Thing"), he "married" a woman who turned out to already have a husband as well as a criminal past. His valuable assets have made him something of a magnet for local crime down the years and incidents involving poachings or burglaries on his estate have become one of the show's more clichéd storylines. One of his most amusing incidents was when he was sold some magic mushrooms and ran around Aidensfield with a shotgun.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Jackie Bradley.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:53:03 pm »
Jacqueline "Jackie" Rosemary Bradley (née Lambert) (1998–2001). Smart, hard-working and successful solicitor, often acting on behalf of individuals under arrest. She met PC Mike Bradley through her work, and they married, rather in haste. Jackie always seemed slightly ambiguous about the relationship, and she felt "suffocated" in the isolated rural community. Conflicts of interest also arose from her position defending criminals arrested by her husband. She later started an affair with one of her clients, whom she had known only a matter of weeks. Following this, she and Mike Bradley divorced and she left the series.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Jo Rowan.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:52:16 pm »
Joanna "Jo" Rowan (née Weston) (1995–1997). Teacher at Aidensfield Primary School. Nick Rowan met her a while after the death of his wife Kate. Although he was still recovering from the sudden loss of Kate, the pair struck up a friendship which led to romance. They eventually got married, and shortly afterwards left the series to go to Canada where she continued her career as a teacher.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Rosie Cartwright.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:51:55 pm »
Rosemary ("Rosie") Cartwright (2004–2007). Mechanic, who worked for Bernie Scripps at Aidensfield Garage. Implausibly young and pretty to be getting her nails dirty in Bernie's workshop. Bernie was the only person who called her "Rosemary"; to everyone else she was "Rosie". Rosie lived on a farm with her father and two brothers, though her family life was rarely touched upon. She was unlucky in love despite her looks, with one suitor trying to hurry their physical relationship, another, a vet, having to move away to Birmingham to look after his dying father, and yet another, a motorcycling vicar, leaving to start a mission in India. PC Geoff Younger also displayed a keenness for Rosie, which was generally not reciprocated (there were signs towards the end of the first part of Series 16 that this might change, but Rosie's departure prevented this storyline from developing further). It was also suggested on occasion that David Stockwell had a crush on her. In the Series 17 episode "Love Story", the vicar (Jamie Finn, played by Nolan Hemmings) returned. He tried to persuade Rosie to join him in India, but Rosie turned down the proposal and instead left Aidensfield to go travelling with two Australian sheep shearers. This was initially meant to be only a temporary absence, but she later informed Bernie by letter that she would not be returning. Rosie wound up in Queensland with one of the shearers (Mick MacDonald, played by Blair McDonough) but went missing after the two separated. After no word had been heard from Rosie for several weeks, PC Mason and DS Dawson were dispatched to Australia to mount a search (accompanied by Nurse Carol Cassidy who was making a simultaneous search for her long lost brother). Two episodes depicting the search were filmed in Australia in August 2008 (aired May 2009). Mason and Dawson eventually discovered that Rosie had been kidnapped by a man living in the outback who had kept several women in small cages and left them to die. Rosie's body was not found but her mutilated passport picture suggested that she had met an unpleasant end.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / David Stockwell.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:50:33 pm »
David Stockwell (first appeared as an occasional character 1993, 1995 and regular 1996–2010). Comical village buffoon. Originally it was subtly suggested that David had severe learning disabilities and possibly some kind of mental disability, having to be cared for by his mother. However, as his appearances became more regular these elements were toned down, and he grew into more of a comedy character: clumsy, slow-witted, easily-led and uneducated, but with the proverbial "heart of gold". Due to his gullible nature he became a dogsbody first to Claude Greengrass, then Vernon Scripps, then Peggy Armstrong. David's signature gesture is to whip his hat off when he meets another person, or to scrunch it up in his hands when he is nervous or worried. David earns a living of sorts by doing odd jobs such as making deliveries, digging graves, gardening, and driving a taxi (originally for Vernon Scripps, though since the latter's departure from the series David is now apparently self-employed as a taxi driver, with his base being Bernie's garage, where he also acts as a mechanic). David originally "worked" for and lived with Claude Greengrass, and he took on Greengrass' house when the latter emigrated. Later Vernon Scripps moved in with David, until he too left the series. David's latest "house guest" is his aunt Peggy (Armstrong), who took it upon herself to move in with him. For many years David was accompanied by a lurcher dog called Alfred, which originally belonged to Greengrass. Alfred's death upset David greatly, but the grief was lessened by Peggy's gift of a new dog "Deefer" (from "D for dog"). In Series 17, a pregnant Gina Ward informed David that she wanted him to be her baby's godfather.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Bernie Scripps.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:49:45 pm »
Bernard ("Bernie") Scripps (1995–2010). Proprietor of Aidensfield Garage, mechanic, taxi operator and funeral director, though he appears to be some way past retirement age. A melancholy, tall and gaunt individual, but level-headed and kind, he is often roped (reluctantly) into madcap escapades by Claude Greengrass and (later) his half-brother Vernon Scripps, and, more recently still, Aunt Peggy. The schemes inevitably go wrong, with Bernie usually left to pick up the pieces. He is also something of a father figure to his longtime assistant David Stockwell. In the series 18 episode "Guilty Secrets", Bernie discovered that he has a long-lost daughter, Ruth, whom he had never met. Bernie engineered a meeting but did not reveal his true identity.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Peggy Armstrong.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:48:45 pm »
Peggy Armstrong (2005–2010). David Stockwell's aunt (known as "Aunt Peggy"). Indomitable old battleaxe, created in the Claude Greengrass / Vernon Scripps tradition to dream up colourful wheezes and bully David Stockwell. She arrived in Aidensfield out of the blue and promptly proceeded to impose herself on David, moving in with him and ordering him about. Like Greengrass before her, she is often to be found poaching game from Lord Ashfordly's estate, but somehow always manages to avoid prosecution.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Vernon Scripps.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:47:32 pm »
Vernon Scripps (2001–2005; 2007). Small-time businessman and entrepreneur, and half brother to Bernie Scripps (though the two are entirely dissimilar in both appearance and nature). A rotund, colourful, larger-than-life character, he replaced Claude Greengrass as the author of the hare-brained schemes which drive the show's various sub-plots. Vernon, who owned a small share in Bernie's garage business, arrived in Aidensfield having not seen his half-brother for 15 years. He moved in with David Stockwell as a lodger in Greengrass's house (which he later bought). After numerous failed business schemes, he landed a windfall by discovering very valuable modern art and seemed set for life. But he became a Lloyd's "name" and agreed to insure an oil tanker (the real-life Torrey Canyon), which was lost at sea, and so lost all the money he had gained. He was devastated, but it didn't take long before he began with his get-rich-quick schemes again. Vernon finally left the series in dramatic style—faking his own suicide to escape the taxman (though the taxman himself was in fact a con artist). In Series 16 he made a brief reappearance in Aidensfield, hoping to claim an inheritance from the estate of his recently deceased sister. It was revealed that he had established a new life running a beach bar in Spain, and wanted David to return with him. Aunt Peggy (see below) eventually persuaded David to stay. Vernon also has a half-sister called George (Georgina), who appeared in episode 12.10 ("Horses for Courses"); Bernie, Vernon and George all share the same father.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Claude Jeremiah Greengrass.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:46:46 pm »
Claude Jeremiah Greengrass (1992–2000). Dishevelled and curmudgeonly yet lovable old rogue, always getting into scrapes. He apparently had some sort of farm or smallholding, but seemed to spend little time working this, preferring instead to poach game from Lord Ashfordly's estate and engage in dubious dealings with local low-life. In Episode 3.30 "Bringing It All Back Home", Greengrass is investigated by the Inland Revenue, and it is revealed that in the 1950's he had sold a piece of his land to the Ministry of Defence for £25,000 which explains his financial security, although he hadn't paid any Income Tax for at least the previous 12 years! He was usually to be seen accompanied by his faithful dog Alfred, a lurcher. Although he often had troubles with the police, he did come to have a (slightly grudging) respect for Nick Rowan (or "Ronan" as he habitually mispronounced it), who would often warn him in advance to keep a low profile if there was any kind of trouble brewing. His reputation as a borderline criminal appeared to be common knowledge among the villagers and police but nobody in particular showed any real dislike towards him. Sergeant Blaketon was the one exception as he utterly despised Greengrass and went to great pains to permanently put a stop to the latter's activities. At first, Greengrass was used as a comic relief character, but after some time Greengrass became a central character with his own intrigues and schemes. Claude had a brother called Cyril Isaiah Greengrass, played by Stratford Johns, who appeared a couple of times, and a sister, Isabelle Christie, widow of a West Indian cricketer Vivian Christie. Bill Maynard reluctantly left the series due to poor health, with the producers unwilling to take the risk of insuring him to be on set. The producers offered to have a departing episode written for him, but he declined and so the character's exit (to join his sister on a cruise in the Caribbean) was explained without his appearing. Maynard went on to reprise his popular role of Greengrass in the first series of The Royal. While Heartbeat is well-known for quickly forgetting characters who have departed, Greengrass is unusual in continuing to be mentioned by his former sidekick David Stockwell in subsequent series, as both Vernon Scripps and Peggy Armstrong have tried to use Greengrass's old tricks in their schemes.
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HEARTBEAT CHARACTERS / Dawn Bellamy.
« Last post by thisisnothollywood on April 14, 2012, 08:45:57 pm »
Dawn Bellamy (2008–2010). Niece of the now deceased Phil Bellamy, her father sent her to stay with Gina Ward at the Aidensfield Arms in order to get her away from the influence of a bad crowd of people in her native Manchester. Her first screen appearance was in episode "Missing Persons", broadcast on 3 August 2008. A lively and somewhat ditzy character, she has become the object of muted attentions from PC Geoff Younger. She occasionally becomes a business enemy to Peggy Armstrong.
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