After more than seven decades in the acting profession, George Cole, OBE remains one of Britain's most recognizable faces. His first walk-on part at the age of 14 in a stage musical, and his subsequent coaching by well-loved actor Alastair Sim, led to more than 60 stage plays, 60 film titles and close to 300 episodes of more than 80 television shows. Brian Hawkins recently retired after 40 years as a medical scientist. He has published extensively in the medical literature and has written two medical books. Born in England, he has his roots in east London and became attracted to the Minder series when he saw it overseas because it closely resembled the people and language that surrounded him when he was growing up. This interest eventually grew into a book, and during the course of his research he paid a visit to George Cole for an interview. They stayed in touch and, after a few nudges from Brian, George eventually asked him to help compile this autobiography.
