Yesterday I shared with you the wonderful saga of Christina from Flambards. But do you ever wonder where the people from your favorite shows or films are now?
For some reason finding any information on the cast of Flambards was almost near to impossible. I say almost because I did find some information.
Let us begin with Christine McKenna who plays Christina, the orphan who goes to lives in Flambards. Christine acted a bit more after the film and even wrote an autobiography about her experiences filming Flambards called Why Didn't They Tell The Horses? It is very hard to find a copy and I have only found some on Amazon but they are quite pricey. Snag one if you can, I have a feeling it is a good read. I found out that she may be a special education teacher in the UK.
Steven Grives played the role of Mark, the brash and arrogant son of Uncle Russell, Christina's guardian. Steven is still actively acting and had a big role in the television series called BeastMaster (1999-2002). I found a neat interview of him that may have been taken around the time he was filming BeastMaster. You can read it here. Today, Steven lives in Australia with his wife and five children.
Alan Parnaby played the second brother of Uncle Russell and later Christina's husband. Alan is also actively acting in British television and stage. Little else is known about Alan today.
Sebastian Abineri played Dick, the stable boy and brother of one of the housemaids in Flambards. His character was my favorite in the series and I am glad that he is still actively acting. One of his last works in film was in 2009's Sherlock Holmes. His father John Abineri also had a role in Flambards, that of a Colonel Badstock. Today, he is a busy stage actor these days and I found a funny article about him from 2013 that you can read here.
Edward Judd played the cruel and misunderstood Uncle Russell who was also the father to Mark and William. Edward continued to work as an actor well into the 1990's and passed on in 2009 at the age of 76. His best friend was Michael Caine, was married twice, and had one child. He made his film debut in a 1948 film called The Hideout.
Rosalie Williams played the hard working and feisty maid, Mary who becomes so much more to Christina as time goes on. She continued to act into the 1990's and has since retired from film making. She was married and had two sons. She passed away in 2009. I couldn't find any photos of her that were in her later years.
Frank Mills played the role of Fowler who tended to the horses on the Flambards estate and eventually grew to help out in many more ways. Frank began acting in the 1960's and even played a role in Doctor Who called Terror of the Autons (photo above). His last film credits are from 2009 so he may have retired. There are no photos of him from Flambards and the "current" photo of him above is the closest I could find. It was from his role in a film in the 1980's.
Carol Leader played the role of Dorothy, a friend to Christina who teaches her to become more independent. Carol stopped acting in the 1990's and is now a analytical psychotherapist. You can read more about her HERE.
I hope you enjoyed my Where Are They Now? on the Flambards cast. If you would like to see more of these sort of posts let me know, it was so much fun putting together.
Very interesting! There's a few shows (chief amongst which is the beautiful Canadian series Road to Avonlea) that I've peaked in on the lives of the key cast members from over the years. Some kept on acting, but others did little to no work in the field afterwards, which sounds much like the members of the Flambards cast as well.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Oh yes, I love that series too Jessica!!!! I have a copy of Anne of Green Gables with the actress on it-its htf now but I bought it in the 80s when I was just a girl. I loved that movie! xox
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ReplyDeleteOne credit you can add to Rosalie Williams is that she played Mrs. Hudson in the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes television series.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! xox
DeleteI have been obsessed with Flambards ever since I was a girl when my mother showed me the television series! I have read all the books at least twice and save them for long train journeys as well as watching the TV series annually for about 8 years. I was procrastinating from revision and came across your article after not researching Flambards for a couple of years I have always wondered what happened to all of actors. Thank you so much for doing this - truly put a smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteOh Harriet that makes me sooooooooo happy! My best friend, who is English purchased the dvd set for me and kept telling me to watch it. After I did it just blew me away. It is epic but still felt like it was an everyday story that can happen to anyone. I had to find out what happened to them. My best friend also got me a copy of Christine McKenna's book which is really hard to find. I will be posting about it soon!!! Yay-another Flambard's fan!!!!! xox
DeleteThank you so much :) <3 :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my post-glad you enjoyed it! xox
Deletethank you. memories...
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! xox
DeleteFlambards can only be described as a unique TV series of the 1970's.It is a wonderful story encompassing the early 1900's to WW1 through the lives of the Russell family of Flambards.Into this shabby old and decaying country house comes a poor cousin and orphan,Christina.The story covers the lives of not only the aristocratic Russell family but also the loyal servants who share the ups and downs of life at Flambards.Watching this has now given me the impetus to tackle the book upon which Flambards is based.
DeleteExcellent - so many memories - it was about the only thing we were allowed to watch at boarding school...
ReplyDeleteAww how sweet! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! xox
DeleteThanks for posting this interesting read about the actors I used to love Flambards Found it is available on DVD cant wait to watch it all again.
ReplyDeleteI love it too! Such a great story! Thank you so much! xox
DeletePlease join us on Facebook page "Flambards Appreciation Society". The group is active since more than 20 years. We would like to get in contact with the most number of flambards actors and flambards scenographers.
ReplyDeleteI remember the show when it was first on AMerican TV, and now have it on video. Just as good today as in 1979!
DeleteLord, whatever happened to Christina?
Please join us on Facebook page "Flambards Appreciation Society". The group is active since more than 20 years. We would like to get in contact with the most number of flambards actors and flambards scenographers.
ReplyDeleteThe Flambards is a delightful series. My wife and I watch it every 3 to 4 years!
ReplyDeleteRoger Benson
I do the same! Thank you for sharing!! xox
DeleteI absolutely loved Flambards. I have all the books, the series on DVD and I even have the LP. My favourite character was William ... cried buckets when he was 'killed'. So glad I came across your page ... was interesting reading what you could find about the characters now.
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you so much!! xox
DeleteA nice trip down memory lane. I still remember the music, gosh I didn't know there was a Flambards fan club! I would love to watch it again but I'm worried I might be disappointed. I think I will read the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
A nice trip down memory lane. I still remember the music, gosh I didn't know there was a Flambards fan club! I would love to watch it again but I'm worried I might be disappointed. I think I will read the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! xox
DeleteInteresting, thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteLoved the music behind this series so much I bought the cassette album in the 80's, but was disappointed to see that I later couldn't get it on CD.
After I managed to get to see Flambards more recently, I decided to do another search for the music on CD and luckily found I could buy it from the FANSHAWE MUSIC STORE for a reasonable price. :-)
Thank you for sharing! xox
DeleteOh thank you for doing this. I watched the series in my early formative years and have always loved it. Currently rewatching the series and I remember everything so well. Such a great gem!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!!! I agree-it is a gem!! xox
DeleteSlightly surreal, I run a heritage venue and had a call today from Sebastian Abineri who runs a movie location guide company now. His voice is still great and it took me right back to 1979 when I had such a teenage crush on him. Made my day.
ReplyDeleteOh lucky you!!! I bet his voice is dreamy! Thank you for sharing!! xox
DeleteMy mother, now deceased loved this show. Your review brings back very fond memories of watching this as a child with the whole family. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteOhhh thank you so much! I truly appreciate this!! xox
DeleteI remember watching this excellent series here in the UK when it was shown in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Thanks for the very interesting post on this classic series!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it. I love this mini series as well. xox
DeleteThanks for this page. I loved Flambards after reading the books and watching the tv series when it was shown in UK on ITV. I am currently enjoying it, and the books, again. It is interesting to see what the actors are doing, or not doing, now. I have, because he was my favourite, been looking up Alan Parnaby and found my way to his agent's page. It looks like he has been doing lots of small parts on tv and theatre work. But, bizarrely, on the list of his tv work, something rather important, at least to me, is missing - Flambards. Considering it was a large role for a young actor it's not there. While Clockwise, where he was on screen for 5 minutes and said barely 2 words, is. Have a look. https://www.spotlight.com/1530-1273-1784 I do hope he isn't one of those snotty actors (like Martin Shaw who is ashamed of his role in The Professionals, while fans still love it) who is embarrassed by a tv show and tries to forget it.
ReplyDeleteOh I am so glad you liked it! Flambards is just an amazing mini series. I checked out the link. Its so strange that he didn't have that on there. He role in it was fantastic. I mean I know he was young but he should be proud to be a part of it. Very strange. Thank you for sharing!! xox
DeleteI loved Flambards and still re-watch it occasionally. I got the album and Christine's book,which you're right,is hard to find at an affordable price!The Flambards books are wonderful too,although I was VERY disappointed with the ending of the fourth and final book,which takes place after the end of the TV series. I still prefer to think of the 'end' as the end of the series! (Or better yet, before William dies!)
ReplyDeleteMe too! I like the end of the series as well but you can tell Mark is completely in love with her in that scene where he gets into the car with Dorothy. I think he always loved Christine. It’s a shame tge fourth book cake out after the series ended. Glad you liked my post! xox
DeleteWhy can't we geet good stuff like this today?
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree more!!! xox
DeleteI only recently heard that KM Peyton wrote 'Flambards Divided', which picks up where the 3rd book leaves off. I also finally figured out Flambards the show was available on Youtube. I loved the books passionately as a girl. So I've collected the books now, and am exploring the show. I was curious who played Dick, and a quick google search brought me here. He reminds me of James Norton (Grantchester). Thank you for putting this page together!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found my post. Its such a great epic story. Timeless. xox
DeleteSuch a beautiful series!
ReplyDeleteIt really is, isn't?! xox
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