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,
Polly Draper Polly Draper Polly Carey Draper (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. Draper has received several awards, including a Writers Guild of America Award (WGA), and is noted for speaking in a "trademark throaty voice." She first gained recognition for her role in the ABC primetime television drama "Thirtysomething" (1987–91). Draper co-starred in her screenwriting debut "The Tic Code" (1998) and Off-Broadway in her play "Getting Into Heaven" (2003). In mid-2004, she wrote her directing debut "" and created and produced the Nickelodeon musical comedy series "The Naked Brothers Band" (2007–09), which won her a