Law & Order: UK - Alesha - 10:00 pm Thursday, June 11 on ITV3

Bradley Walsh (Actor) .. DS Ronnie Brooks

Born: June 04, 1960 in Watford

Best Known For: Coronation Street and Law & Order: UK

Early-life: Bradley John Walsh was born in Watford on June 4, 1960. He wanted to be a footballer and was playing for a county league team when he was offered a contract with Brentford FC. Sadly, his sporting career was brought to an abrupt end when he broke both his ankles. He then considered joining the police, but was told he was too short, so he followed his father into engineering. He eventually decided to try stand-up comedy, and made his first steps towards turning professional when he became an entertainer at a holiday camp near Morecambe.

Career: Walsh's big TV break came in 1993, when he appeared on the Royal Variety Show. It led to a stint presenting the National Lottery, and he also hosted the game shows Wheel of Fortune and Win, Lose or Draw. After fearing his brand of light entertainment was becoming dated he moved into acting, taking parts in the TV version of Lock, Stock, the soap Night and Day and movie Mike Bassett: England Manager before Coronation Street's bosses created the role of Danny Baldwin for him in 2004. He stayed in Weatherfield for two years before leaving to pursue other projects. He's since appeared in Torn, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Law and Order: UK and SunTrap. He moved back into presenting in 2009 with ITV quiz show The Chase, and is a team captain on Play to the Whistle.

Quote: 'Professionally I saw the end of light entertainment galloping towards me. Oddly enough, it's coming back now thanks to all the reality shows.'

Trivia: Walsh is a supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Jamie Bamber (Actor) .. DS Matt Devlin

Harriet Walter (Actor) .. DI Natalie Chandler

Ben Daniels (Actor) .. James Steel

Born: June 10, 1964 in Nuneaton

Best Known For: Playing Finn in Cutting It.

Early-life: Born in Nuneaton on June 10, 1964. He's the son of a Rolls-Royce engineer-turned-grocer and the owner of a children's clothes shop. He claims to have been shy, but naughty as a child. School plays gave him the acting bug and he also credits David Lynch's The Elephant Man as a source of inspiration. He studied acting at Lamda before appearing in a series of repertory productions up and down the UK. He made his big-screen debut in 1987 Emily Lloyd vehicle Wish You Were Here, while his first TV appearance was in the 1989 drama The Paradise Club.

Career: Daniels claims his big break came when he landed a leading role in Alan Ayckbourn's Family Circles at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1986. He then played Mercutio in a made-for-TV version of Romeo and Juliet. Larger parts in the likes of Outside Edge and Silent Witness followed, while on the big screen, his film CV was boosted with appearances in Passion in the Desert, and Fanny and Elvis. In 2002, he won the role of Finn Bevan in the series Cutting It, becoming a household name in the process. After quitting in 2004, he has gone on to star in Spooks, The Virgin Queen, The State Within, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Paradise and Law & Order: UK.

Quote: 'Homophobia is still shockingly prevalent in film and TV. I know I've lost work because of being gay, and it is always an issue. I don't consider myself politically gay, but whenever I catch a whiff of that now, I'm on it like a ton of bricks.'

Trivia: Daniels was in the running to replace Matt Smith in Doctor Who before the role went to Peter Capaldi.

Freema Agyeman (Actor) .. Alesha Phillips

Born: March 20, 1979 in London

Best Known For: Being a Doctor Who assistant

Early-life: Born in 1979 in north London to Azar, an Iranian mother, and Osei, a Ghanaian father. She has an older sister and younger brother. She grew up on a council estate in Hackney and went to Our Lady's Convent in Amhurst Park, Stamford Hill. Freema studied drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington and at Radford University in Virginia, USA. She graduated with a BA Honours in Performing Arts and Drama from Middlesex University in 2000.

Career: Agyeman made ends meet as a box-office assistant, before landing a regular role in the short-lived Crossroads revamp in 2002. After the soap folded, Freema went on to appear in Casualty@Holby City, Silent Witness and The Bill. She grabbed a part in the little-seen film Rulers and Dealers, before making her Doctor Who debut as ill-fated character Adeola in the 2006 episode Army of Ghosts. She was then recast as Adeola's cousin, Martha Jones, who became the Doctor's assistant following Rose's departure. Since quitting the show, Agyeman has featured in Little Dorrit, Survivors, Torchwood and Law & Order: UK.

Quote: 'I don't for any minute take any of this for granted, I'm fully aware of how lucky I am.'

Trivia: She was named Best Newcomer at the 2007 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.

Bill Paterson (Actor) .. George Castle

Born: June 03, 1945 in Glasgow

Best Known For: A number of small-screen TV roles.

Early-life: Bill Paterson was born on June 3, 1945, in Glasgow. He spent three years as a quantity surveyor before doing a teaching course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He was about to accept an educational role when he was offered a place with the Citizen's Theatre. His big break came at the Edinburgh Festival in The Great Northern Welly Boot Show, a satire by Billy Connolly about striking shipbuilders.

Career: Paterson's TV debut came in 1977's Bafta-winning Licking Hitler. A year later he appeared in The Vanishing Army and Smiley's People. He went on to feature in such films as The Killing Fields, A Private Function, Defence of the Realm, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Chaplin, Bright Young Things and Truly, Madly, Deeply. Other TV projects include The Singing Detective, Traffik, The Crow Road, Doctor Zhivago, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and Law & Order: UK. He was also nominated for an Olivier Award for Bertolt Brecht's Schwekyk in the Second World War in 1982 and has done extensive voiceover work on TV and radio.

Quote: 'I don't think acting has ever been my passion, but it's a very nice way of making a living.'

Trivia: Paterson turned down one of the leads in Alien.

Derek Riddell (Actor) .. Dr Alec Merrick

Lesley Manville (Actor) .. Phyllis Gladstone

Born: March 12, 1956 in Brighton

Best Known For: Her work with director Mike Leigh.

Early-life: Lesley was born in Brighton on March 12, 1956. She trained as a soprano singer from the age of eight and went on to secure a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. She made her professional stage debut in the 1972 West End musical I and Albert and had a recurring role on Emmerdale Farm in the mid-1970s, playing Rosemary Kendall.

Career: A frequent collaborator with Mike Leigh, Manville has appeared in a number of his films, including Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010) and Mr Turner (2014). In 2011, she starred in Mike Leigh's play Grief at the National Theatre. Her other stage roles include His Dark Materials, The Alchemist, All About My Mother, Her Naked Skin, Six Degrees of Separation, and Ghosts, for which she won an Olivier Award. On the small screen, Manville has starred in David Copperfield, The Cazalets, North & South, and Cranford. More recently, she has appeared in Mayday, Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond, and River.

Quote: 'I think that distributors and marketing companies realise that there are a huge number of women over 40 who want to go the cinema and see films about themselves.'

Trivia: Manville received an OBE in the 2015 Birthday Honours.

Kim Vithana (Actor) .. Donna Miller

Ania Sowinski (Actor) .. Diane Perkins

Camilla Arfwedson (Actor) .. Laura Todd

Best Known For: Playing Dr Zosia March in Holby City.

Early-life: Camilla was born in London in 1981 to a Swedish father and an English mother. While studying at the University of Edinburgh, she joined their theatre society and landed roles in a number of stage plays. She became a professional actress after graduating and spent the early part of her career working mostly in the theatre.

Career: Arfwedson starred in the films The Duchess (2008) and A Bunch of Amateurs (2008) but she is mostly known for her TV work, including guest roles in Minder, Law and Order: UK, Lewis and Pete Versus Life. In 2013, she joined the cast of Holby City as Dr Zosia March.

Quote: 'I love MasterChef and obsessively record it. It would be amazing to appear on it, although I think I'd quickly get booted off.'

Trivia: Arfwedson has been the face of travel website SecretEscapes.com.

John Rowe (Actor) .. Judge Silverton

Robert Benfield (Actor) .. Dr Brian Dyer

Brett O'Brien (Actor) .. Nurse Miriam Gregory

Nancy Crane (Actor) .. Sandy

Nicholas Khan (Actor) .. Magnus Hall

Helena Cullinan (Actor) .. Matilda Howard

Richard Stokes (Producer)

Jane Featherstone (Executive producer)

Andrew Woodhead (Executive producer)

Chris Chibnall (Executive producer)

Dick Wolf (Executive producer)

Stephen Garrett (Executive producer)

Mark Everest (Director)

Catherine Tregenna (Writer)

Law & Order: UK: Alesha

10:00 pm - 11:00 pm, Thursday, June 11 on ITV3 (10)

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Alesha
Season 1, Episode 7

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