For five decades Jim has followed his dream of becoming an actor. Whilst never attaining star status, he has appeared over the years with some of the most famous people around. In eight talks, he traces his story from 1942 in the back streets of Salford, to the present day. A glorious gallop through fifty years of highlights which include film, television, and stage appearances.

His clips include performances with Jeremy Brett, Ray Winstone, David Morrissey, Caroline Aherne, David Tennant, Rob Lowe, Christian Bale and many more stars.

Coronation Street has featured largely in Jim’s life and career. Having reached the lofty heights of becoming a recurring character, and appearing in more than fifty episodes, he recounts his first meetings with many of the leading actors. Oldham Repertory Theatre in the 1970s features prominently, where he first met Roy Barraclough, Barbara Knox, Anne Kirkbride and Peter Dudley.

Still working as an actor, he appeared last year in This England which starred Sir Kenneth Brannagh.

A humorous and engaging speaker, he will make you laugh, cry, and never be anything less than interesting.

Talk 1 – Fifty Years of TV & Film - For fifty years Jim has followed his dream of becoming an actor. Whilst never attaining star status, he has appeared over the years with some of the most famous people around. This talk traces his story from 1942 in the back streets of Salford, to the present day. A glorious gallop through some highlights of film, television and stage.

Talk 2 – The Kindness of Stars - Over the years Jim has been helped and supported by many of the most famous names in the Business. Ray Winstone, David Tennant and others have been kindness itself. This talk details some of those meetings and includes clips from both feature films and well known TV series.

Talk 3 – The Unkindest Cut - The lot of the small part player is that he is almost always the first to be cut. This talk contains some clips which have never been broadcast, especially bits from The Royle Family which provide an insight into the life of a character actor.

Talk 4 – Anecdotes from Film and TV - Television clips in this talk show Jim working with such names as Samantha Bond, David Morrissey, Amanda Redman and many more.

Talk 5 – Stories from the Soaps - Coronation Street has featured largely in Jim’s life and career. Having reached the lofty heights of becoming a recurring character, and appearing in more than fifty episodes, he recounts his first meetings with many of the leading actors. Oldham Repertory Theatre in the 1970s features prominently, where he first met Roy Barraclough, Barbara Knox, Anne Kirkbride and Peter Dudley.

Talk 6 – Screen Tales to Ponder - A terrible miscarriage of justice starts this presentation, something that is told with the help of a film clip which features Jim as the clerk of the court. In a happier vein are clips in which he plays characters from Cracker, Heartbeat, and The Royal. Working on a children’s drama called All At Sea was lovely, but appearing on the Sooty show has to be considered a stand-out moment.

Talk 7 – An Extra View - 50 years following the dream throws up many anecdotes and stories. Many of them are discussed in this talk, which traces friendship, and relationships, with clips from the archive illustrating many of them.

Talk 8 – Would I do it again? - With film excerpts from 'younger' audiences' programmes, this talk illustrates how actors have developed. People who were not well known at the time, shown in early roles. The nostalgia quotient is high, but this is a fascinating watch.

9 December 2023 - P&O G337 IONA
14 September 2023 - P&O J312 ARCADIA
14 May 2023 - P&O K310 ARVIA
5 January 2023 - P&O R303 AURORA
22 October 2022 - P&O N229 VENTURA
19 July 2022 - P&O J214 ARCADIA
2 April 2022 - P&O G208 IONA
22 Feb 2022 - SAGA Spirit of Adventure
6 Jan 2022 - SAGA Spirit of Discovery