STORY SO FAR: Roger Allam

Currently reprising his role as DCI Fred Thursday in Endeavour (8pm, ITV), Roger Allam, 64, has made his name as one of our most versatile actors. Here’s how he’s done it…

East Ender: Born in east London in 1953, Roger grew up in a riverside rectory at Bromley-by-Bow – his father was the vicar of St Mary Woolnoth in the City of London – and attended Christ’s Hospital (a ‘very odd school’, like ‘Eton for poor boys.’) His parents, he says, imbued in him a strong sense of the ‘value of ordinary life’.

Big ambition: As a child, Roger dreamed of being a bus driver until, as a teenager, he saw Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead at the Old Vic, and decided to be an actor.

Role play: In 1981, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company; since then, he has appeared in numerous theatrical productions, crossing the board from tragedy to comedy. He recently cited the high point of his career as playing Falstaff in Henry IV at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2010, saying, ‘It seemed to go well’ – it went so well in fact that he won his second Olivier Award for Best Actor; his first was for playing Captain Terri Dennis in Privates On Parade in 2001. Screen star: Roger has had numerous roles on film and TV – the latter include Paul Millington in Spooks, Peter Mannion in The Thick Of It, General Campion in Parade’s End, Illyrio Mopatis in Game Of Thrones and Adrian Stone in The Missing.

Home front: He lives in south London with his wife, actor Rebecca Saire, and their sons, William, 17, and Thomas, 12.