in the regular commuter, Amy. She is the only one who knows of Cecil and May's war-time fling once May tells her. Harry Lambert (Stephen Lewis) Signalman – He is eternally miserable, with Stephen Lewis portraying the character very much like "Blakey" in On the Buses. He never smiles and often sees the down side of things, never being seen happy. He hates his job, often calling the trains "ruddy". Because trains come through Hatley only a few times a day, he operates numerous sidelines from his box: growing vegetables, mending bikes and clocks, rearing farm animals (pigs, turkeys and chickens) for the staff's dinners, giving haircuts and taking bets. They are all illegal, yet all the staff, including Gloria know about them, are customers and keep their mouths shut. Cecil does not know, as he would make it stop. There is a recurring gag, where Harry will say, "if they poke their noses around, they will get the flat end o' my tongue", that person comes and he starts sucking up to them. He often resists Vera's advances. May Skinner (née Blanchflower) (Julia Deakin) Buffet Manageress – She had a passionate affair with Cecil Parkin before she married Jack, which ended when Cecil was called up to serve in the Army. She appears to genuinely love Jack, but she seems to still have buried feelings for Cecil. She frequently resists Cecil's advances, but occasionally relents, even letting him kiss her in Episode 10, but states that it must never happen again. In early episodes it is hinted that Cecil is the father of her daughter, Gloria, but this is proved to be false in Episode 11. The character of May was played by Sherrie Hewson in the original pilot episode shown in August 1995. Because of her role in Coronation Street, Hewson was unable to continue with the role of May in the series proper, so the character was recast to Julia Deakin. When the pilot episode was repeated as a prelude to the first series in July 1996, Hewson's scenes as May were reshot with Deakin in the role. Vera Plumtree (Barbara New) Cleaner – She helps the staff by cleaning their homes and washing linen for them. She has a lot in common with Ethel: she muddles her words and frequently talks about her unnamed late husband, who was an engine driver. She is fond of Harry,