An Actor's Life For Me is a British sitcom that aired on BBC Radio 2 from 1989 to 1993 and on BBC1 in 1991. Starring John Gordon Sinclair, Caroline Quentin and Gina McKee, it was written by Paul Mayhew-Archer, who later co-wrote The Vicar of Dibley.
Contents
Cast
Radio
John Gordon Sinclair – Robert Wilson
Caroline Quentin – Sue Bishop (Series 1 and 2)
Gina McKee – Sue Bishop (Series 3)
Gary Waldhorn – Desmond Shaw
Television
John Gordon-Sinclair – Robert Neilson
Gina McKee – Sue Bishop
Victor Spinetti – Desmond Shaw
Benedict Taylor – Sebastian Groom
Sophie Dix – Stage Manager
Plot
An Actor's Life For Me is based around Robert Wilson/Neilson, an actor who believes he is about to make it big time. While he never achieves his quest for fame, he always remains optimistic that he will do at the next audition. His girlfriend, Sue Bishop, and agent Desmond Shaw do their best to keep his feet on the ground.
The final episode of the TV series ends with Sue's father (John Woodvine) being humiliated as a result of Robert's new risque play and a misunderstanding with the police. As a result of this, Sue walks out on Robert.
Television episodes
"A Kiss Is Just a Kiss" (14 November 1991)
"I Can Do That" (21 November 1991)
"Fathers and Sons" (28 November 1991)
"May the Farce Be With You" (5 December 1991)
"Night of the Living Dead" (12 December 1991)
"Not Suitable For Parents" (19 December 1991)
Radio series
An Actor's Life For Me aired on BBC Radio 2 for three series. The first series of seven episodes aired from 20 January to 3 March 1989. The second series had six episodes and ran from 11 February to 18 March 1990. The third and final series also had six episodes and ran from 5 January to 9 February 1993. An unaired pilot had previously been recorded several years before. It starred Nicholas Lyndhurst and Peter Jones in the roles that were subsequently played by John Gordon-Sinclair and Gary Waldhorn.
The first series was rebroadcast on BBC Radio 7 in July 2007, with a full series repeat (all 19 episodes) from April 2009 on the same network. It has subsequently been repeated several times on BBC Radio4 Extra, in June 2021 (Series 1), October 2021 (Series 2) and January 2022 (Series 3), and again commencing in October 2026.
Series 1
Ep1 – A Stiff Audition
Ep2 – I Can Do That
Ep3 – Not Suitable for Parents
Ep4 – Separate Troubles
Ep5 – Educating Robert
Ep6 – May The Farce By With You
Ep7 – Pantomime Cows
Series 2
Ep1 – The Scottish Play
Ep2 – Fathers & Sons
Ep3 – Heart Throbs
Ep4 – Up on the Roof
Ep5 – Puppets
Ep6 – Read All About it
Series 3
Ep1 – Here's looking at you