The Liver Birds and Series 1 starred Pauline Collins as Dawn and Polly James as Beryl Hennessey. In Series 2, Nerys Hughes debuted as Sandra Hutchinson, replacing Dawn for the rest of the programme's run. The Beryl-and-Sandra pairing is generally regarded as the programme's best period. Beryl was the more 'common' one, while Sandra was soft-spoken and more refined, due to the influence of her snobbish, overbearing mother (Mollie Sugden). Carla Lane drew on her own mother for the character – "Mrs Hutchinson, I think she was my mother. I'm sure she was my mother". Beryl's 'common' mother (the Hennesseys live in Bootle,
James Gandhi James Gandhi James Gandhi (born 8 September 1993) is a British actor and writer who attends Regent's Park College, Oxford James Gandhi first appeared in My Life as a Popat at the age of 10. The show then went on to win numerous awards, including a BAFTA for best children's drama, and received critical acclaim. Gandhi then went on to co-star in Eden Lake which was praised by critics. He plays Ben, best friend of Max (Sebastian Applewhite), in hit comedy Dani's House alongside Dani Harmer which has aired 5 series. And also starred in 2 episodes of House Of