Every Title Tells a Story Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ronnie Corbett

Along with Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett entertained the British public for almost two decades. Known as 'The Two Ronnies', their complementary comic skills seemed to have been made for one and other. Scots-born Corbett did perform without Ronnie Barker; however, he never achieved the adulation that he received as part of their double act.

Answer: Sir John Gielgud

Shakespearian actor John Gielgud lived to the ripe old age of 96. In his formative years he was better known for his theatrical work, but he managed to transfer his considerable talents to the silver screen later in his career. Playing Dudley Moore's butler in the 1981 movie 'Arthur', he received an Academy Award for best supporting actor.

Answer: The Autobiography of a Thief

In 1963, along with a large gang, Bruce Reynolds was involved in Britain's most infamous train robbery. Reynolds, who was said to be the mastermind behind the audacious raid, initially escaped capture by fleeing to Mexico and then Canada. In 1968 he returned to the UK where he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was released in 1978.

Answer: Evelyn Glennie

World-renowned percussionist Evelyn Glennie was born in Aberdeen Scotland. A tremendously successful classical musician, Evelyn is extremely versatile and likes to extract music from unlikely sources. In addition to performing a piece using only kitchen paraphernalia, she appeared with Oscar the Grouch on 'Sesame Street', where they performed a duet playing dustbins.

Answer: Cyril Smith

Cyril Smith was the Member of Parliament for Rochdale from 1972 until 1992. Smith, who was somewhat of an anomaly, being a truly working-class Liberal MP, was knighted in 1988. In the sixties, while representing the Labour party, Smith served as Mayor of his beloved Rochdale.

Answer: A Young Man's Passage

Julian Clary, the outrageous English television presenter, is a master of the art of the double entendre. Clary has hosted the National Lottery, appeared on 'Strictly Come Dancing', and has even turned his hand to novel writing.

Answer: Life on Air

For well over 50 years, Sir David Attenborough has been making high quality natural history programmes for television. His achievements include such landmark series such as: 'Zoo Quest' (1954-64), 'Life on Earth' (1979), 'The Blue Planet' (2001) and 'Planet Earth' (2006). If that was not enough, Attenborough was pivotal in introducing colour television to the British public in the sixties.

Answer: On a Clear Day

David Blunkett, who was home secretary in Tony Blair's New Labour government, was blind from birth. During his time in the House of Commons he was assisted by guide dogs, Lucy and Sadie. Mr Blunkett nearly lost his life when he protected his dog Sadie from a charging cow on his 62nd birthday. The MP suffered a broken rib when he collided with the one ton marauding bovine.

Answer: Dirk Bogarde

Born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde, Dirk Bogarde literally shot to fame in the 1950 British film 'The Blue Lamp'. He played a police killer called Tom Riley, a forerunner to many of the criminal characters he would later depict. Bogarde certainly gives credence to the notion that everybody has a book in them, as he penned seven autobiographical volumes.

Answer: Gerald Durrell

Gerald Durrell dedicated his life to the conservation and preservation of animals on this planet. A prolific writer, Durrell used the proceeds of his publishing to fund his zoological mission. His Jersey Island Zoo was world renowned for its pioneering work on animal preservation, long in advance of modern day trends.

Answer: Jonathan Aitken

The former Conservative MP was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 1999 for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He had allowed parties connected with the Saudi royal family to pay a substantial hotel bill, while he was still a Government minister with responsibilities for Defense Procurement.

Answer: Dick Francis

The Welsh born jockey-turned-author is most famous for riding the Queen Mother's horse, the ill-fated Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National. Approaching the finishing post the horse, that was clear of the field, lunged inexplicably, slipped, then came to a grinding halt. To this day nobody has come up with a definitive explanation as to why this astonishing climax to the race occurred.

Answer: Bob Monkhouse

Bob Monkhouse was an English comedian who became synonymous with television game shows. He fronted such iconic television gems such as; 'The Golden Shot', 'Celebrity Squares', 'Family Fortunes' and 'Bob's Full House'.

Answer: Dancing in the Moonlight: My Early Years

Barker enjoyed a long and successful partnership with fellow comedian Ronnie Corbett. They were known collectively as 'The Two Ronnies' although both pursued successful solo television careers. Ronnie Barker's standing with the British public is such, that there is a statue of him situated in Aylesbury.

The bronze sculpture, portrays him as prisoner Norman Stanley Fletcher, probably his best known comedy character which he portrayed in the 1970s sitcom 'Porridge'.

Answer: Boy George

Boy George, real name George O'Dowd, the androgynous lead singer of 1980s pop group Culture Club, has experienced extreme highs and lows during his flamboyant career. A chart-topping iconic figure in the mid 1980s, he later suffered the ignominy of having to sweep the streets of New York while performing community service. Worse was to follow in 2009, when he was sentenced to a 15 month jail term in England.

Answer: Amanda Barrie

Born Shirley Anne Broadbent, Amanda Barrie seemed destined for stardom as her parents named her after Shirley Temple. Before appearing in 'Coronation Street', Amanda featured in two movies which have achieved cult status in the UK, 'Carry On Cabby' and 'Carry On Cleo'.

Initially only scheduled to appear in 'Coronation Street' for two weeks in 1981, she finally bowed out of the soap when her character Alma Baldwin died of cancer in 2001.

Answer: Maureen Lipman

Comedienne Maureen Lipman, can be accurately described as a multi-talented lady. She has performed successfully in films, on the stage, as a television actress and with the written word as a columnist. In 1979 Maureen shot to fame playing Jane Lucas, an agony aunt in the ITV sitcom 'Agony'. Ironically, having achieved so much throughout her career, she will always be Beattie from the British Telecom advertisements to millions of viewers.

Answer: Joanna Lumley

Maybe Joanna selected the name of her autobiography from appearing in a James Bond film. In 1969 she was cast as one of Blofeld's "Angels of Death"
in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', where she played alongside George Lazenby. In 1976 she starred as Purdy, where she displayed the iconic streamlined Purdy hairstyle in 'The New Avengers'. Moving into the 21st century, Joanna Lumley has become more political, fighting for justice for the Nepalese soldiers known as the Gurkhas.

Answer: Bravo Two Zero

Military man turned best-selling author, Andy McNab has had an extraordinary life by anybody standards. Found on the steps of Guy's Hospital London in a carrier bag, he was adopted by a local family. By his own admission he was a delinquent youngster before becoming a boy soldier in 1976 and serving as part of the British Army on the streets of Northern Ireland. McNab is a pseudonym adopted for security reasons, as the author has been involved in numerous counter-terrorism operations all over the globe.

Answer: John Mortimer

John Mortimer is the brilliant creator of 'Rumpole of the Bailey', a British tongue-in-cheek television courtroom drama which first appeared in 1978. The son of a divorce lawyer, Mortimer himself spent over 30 years as a barrister. His time spent mingling with the criminal classes generously furnished him with a multitude of real life anecdotes, which he later incorporated into his scripts.