BBC comedy Dinnerladies is one of the late Victoria Wood's most famous creations, running for over two years between 1998 to 2000.
The popular programme, centred around the staff and customers of a canteen at a fictional factory in Manchester, drew in nearly 16million viewers at its peak.
During its time on air, the programme introduced viewers to up and coming stars including Maxine Peake and Coronation Street icon Shobna Gulati, as well as making audiences laugh out loud.
January 27 marks the anniversary of the last episode of the comedy series, and to pay tribute to one of the UK's most beloved programmes, Daily Star takes a look at where the cast are now.
Victoria Wood – Bren
Victoria Wood was the comedy legend behind sketch shows including Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies, where she played Bren.
Not only did she win five BAFTA awards, but she also formed lifelong relationships with fellow comedians Celia Imrie and Julie Walters, all of whom starred in her famous programmes.
Victoria also won praise for her performance in the critically acclaimed TV drama Housewife, 49.
In her personal life, she had also been married to Geoffrey Durham from 1980 to 2002 and they had two children together.
However, Victoria died on April 20, 2016 from cancer, leaving the world devastated from the loss of the beloved comedian.
Stars from the world of entertainment paid tribute to Victoria Wood, with friend Michael Ball explaining on BBC Radio 2 that she was a "trailblazer" for female comedians, saying: "She made it seem to other women, you can do this. You just need to look at the various social media feeds to see the people she's influenced."
Fellow comedian Jennifer Saunders also tweeted: "Can't believe Vic has gone. She was truly an inspiration and had so much left to to give and we won't see it. She was so funny."
Maxine Peake – Twinkle
Maxine Peake's breakout TV role was as the clumsy Twinkle in Dinnerladies, and from there, the star has risen to new levels of fame.
She has since appeared in programmes including Black Mirror, Talking Heads and most recently Anne in 2022, as well as starring in the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything.
Away from the limelight, Maxine is in a long term relationship with her partner Pawlo Wintoniuk.
Thelma Barlow – Dolly
Thelma Barlow already had a long acting career before joining the cast of Dinnerladies, but is fondly remembered for her role in the programme as Dolly.
However, she is also well known for her role as Mavis in the popular ITV soap Coronation Street, where she played the character for 26 until her last appearance in 1997.
Although Mavis was a fan favourite, the star has ruled out a return to the soap, telling Distinct Nostalgia Podcast: "They’ve asked me back two or three times but I’ve said no because I feel I’ve packed Mavis away in a box now.
"I don’t think I’d know how to do her anyway. Maybe a good script would make me realise how I’d played the part."
After roles in Doctor Who and Doc Martin, it seems that Thelma has now retired from acting at the age of 92, with her last appearance listed as Mrs Oscar Garmunder in the 2016 film Florence Foster Jenkins.
In her personal life, the actress was married to Graham Barlow between 1956 to 1983 and they had two children together.
Andrew Dunn – Tony
Andrew Dunn's most famous TV role was as Canteen Manager Tony in Dinnerladies, and not only did Tony and Bren have a great onscreen chemistry, but Andrew and Victoria Wood had a close off-screen bond too.
Andrew recalled fond memories of working with Victoria, telling The Yorkshire Post: "It was – on the whole – a very enjoyable experience and I look back on it very fondly."
Talking about the moment he found out that Victoria had died, he added: "I was out in York and Andrina called me. I couldn’t believe it. I went into shock.
"I knew that she’d been quite poorly, but we all thought that she’d pull through, put all that behind her. It was so terribly sad."
Like a lot of his fellow cast members, after Dinnerladies Tony also starred in ITV soap Coronation Street.
The actor played Janice Battersby's love interest Roger Styles from 2006 to 2008, before the character was axed from the soap.
Andrew has also turned his attentions to acting on stage, after appearing in a stage show of Dinnerladies in 2009, and playing Gerald Cooper in the musical version of The Full Monty.
Talking about performing The Full Monty, he revealed to the Yorkshire Post that he had gotten "comfortable being in a small thong," adding: "That was not always the case at first. Now, I am relaxed about ‘thong acting’.
"Whether the audiences are comfortable with seeing me in it… well, that’s another case entirely."
In his personal life, he is married to his wife Andrina Caroll and the couple have one son called Elliot.
Anne Reid – Jean
Anne Reid was a long-time collaborator of Victoria Wood, appearing in Victoria's self-titled comedy series and also as Jean in Dinnerladies.
Anne has also had a successful acting career on stage, appearing in productions such as A Little Night Music, Into The Woods and A Woman Of No Importance in 2017.
She also appeared on Series 12 of Who Do You Think You Are, where she went on a journey to discover her ancestry and more about her great-great grandfather.
The actress was also married to Peter Eckersley from 1971 to 1981 and they had a son together called Mark.
At the age of 82, Anne's acting career is still going strong, with roles in SAS: Red Notice in 2021 and Last Tango in Halifax from 2016 to 2020.
Shobna Gulati – Anita
Shobna Gulati rose to fame as Anita in Dinnerladies, before taking on huge roles in programmes such as Doctor Who, Where The Heart Is and River City.
Another of Shobna's huge roles was as Sunita in Coronation Street, where she played the love interest of Dev Alahan, who was sadly killed in 2013 by Karl Munro.
However, Shobna told Soap on The Box podcast that she would like to return to Coronation Street, but as a villain, saying: "They should bring me back as Sunita's twin. The mean twin, the mean Sunita. It would be nice to go back."
She also had a rival soap role in EastEnders as Ameena in 2000, as well as playing Ray in the hit 2021 film Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
In 2021, the actress also made a shocking revelation in an interview with The Times, saying that after contracting Covid-19, she thought she was going to die and that she was still living with the effects of the virus months afterwards.
She said: "I couldn't take a deep breath for three months. I was exhausted. I had to crawl upstairs on all fours.
"I was diagnosed with pneumonia and had three rounds of antibiotics.
"I just couldn't get rid of it. There were times I thought: 'If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die.'"
In her personal life, the actress was also married to Anshu Srivastava from 1990 to 1994 and they had one child together.
Duncan Preston – Stan
Duncan Preston was another regular collaborator of comedian Victoria Wood, appearing as Clifford in Acorn Antiques and Stan the handyman in Dinnerladies.
Following the news of Victoria's death, Duncan revealed to The Mirror that he still dreams about the comedian, saying: "I have dreams about her. Like we are having a cup of tea or going to the pub like we used to when we lived near each other.
"It was her son Henry who rang to tell me she’d died. I hadn’t known she’d been ill and I was shocked to the core. I thought ‘F*** me, what a loss!'"
After Dinnerladies, the actor later went on to appear in hit TV programmes including Love & Marriage, Heartbeat and Moving On.
He also had a long-running role as Doug Potts in Emmerdale, where his partner Susan Penhaligon also starred as Jean Hope in 1996, but he left in 2020.
Duncan and Susan married in 1986 but divorced in 1992. However, true love can never be kept apart and the couple reconciled in 1997.
Before Emmerdale, Duncan Preston also had a rival soap role in EastEnders as DS Todd during the eighties.
Celia Imrie – Phillipa
Beloved Brit actress actress Celia Imrie already had a long acting career before playing HR Manager Philipa in Dinnerladies.
As well as her roles in Dinnerladies and Acorn Antiques, the actress also played Frankenstein housekeeper Mrs Moritz in the 1994 Kenneth Brannagh film.
Most recently, Celia has starred in 2018's Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and TV series Keeping Faith – and is due to start filming The Inn at the Edge of the World.
Celia also had a close friendship with the late writer and comedian Victoria Wood, with whom she starred in programmes such as Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV.
She told The Guardian that she was in America when she found out that Victoria had died, saying: "I think about her every day. Always will.
"I wish I was still working with her. She was my dear pal."
Julie Walters – Petula
Award winning actress Julie Walters is famous for her role as the hilarious Petula in Dinnerladies, who was Bren's mother.
The star is also known for starring in Boys from the Blackstuff, Educating Rita and Calendar Girls, as well as playing Mrs Weasley in the successful Harry Potter film series.
Since then, Julie has also taken on a number of roles in Hollywood blockbusters including Paddington, Mary Poppins Returns and The Secret Garden.
The actress also spoke to The Times about being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2018 while filming The Secret Garden, saying that she initially thought the doctors had made a mistake.
She said: "Part of me was going, 'Oh my God! I've got cancer! Oh my God!' And I'm dealing with the shock of that, and it's all systems go to have it treated."
"But there was also an element of going, ‘I don't have to do any more work. I can actually get off this treadmill.
"Because I had been working really hard and it seemed like a big excuse not to do anything. Cancer trumps everything. So there was a huge relief in it, which is strange. But I needed something to stop me."
In her personal life, the actress is also married to Grant Roffey and the couple have one daughter together called Maisie.
Sue Devaney – Jane
Sue Devaney starred as Planning Department member Jane in Dinnerladies, before going on to reprise her role as Debbie Webster in ITV soap Coronation Street.
She has also had rival soap roles in Emmerdale as a midwife and in The Royal, as well as starring in Shameless and Years and Years.
Sue is also listed as appearing as Anne in the film Made in Eighties, which is in post-production.
The star also revealed to the Manchester Evening News that in her personal life, she has battled her own addiction issues, saying: "I know what it’s like to be desperate."
She added: "I have experienced mental health issues, low self esteem, low self worth like many of us. I know what it’s like to be an addict.
"I am lucky. I got help. I had the disease of more, more, more… more drink, more sugar, just an insatiable appetite for the bad things in life. Nothing in moderation, everything in excess."
Sue also revealed that she is dedicated to helping people who are homeless outside of her acting life, adding: "I’m passionate about helping these people because I know what it’s like to have no money, no job."
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