Midsomer Murders - Small Mercies - 2:00 pm Sunday, August 2 on ITV3

John Nettles (Actor) .. DCI Tom Barnaby

Born: October 11, 1943 in St Austell, Cornwall

Best Known For: Playing Jim Bergerac.

Early-life: John Vivian Drummond Nettles was born on October 11, 1943, in St Austell, Cornwall. He was adopted at birth by a carpenter and his wife, who was a cleaner. John later discovered his biological mother was an unmarried Irish nurse who died of tuberculosis at the age of 28. Despite these humble beginnings, he won a scholarship to study philosophy and history at Southampton University. He trained to be a teacher, but drifted into acting after appearing in a touring version of the play Camus during his time at university.

Career: While appearing in amateur drama productions, Nettles was spotted by an agent who arranged work for him at the Royal Court Theatre. He made his debut as a standard bearer in Macbeth, opening doors for Alec Guinness. His first movie was The Red, White and Black in 1970. His big break came in 1972's A World At War, followed by a four-year stint in The Liver Birds. Nettles became a household name thanks to Bergerac, which ran for 10 years until 1991. TV projects since include Romeo And Juliet, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Midsomer Murders. He has also provided the narration for such programmes as Airport and The Hunt.

Quote: 'I live in the tranquility and splendour which befits someone of my seniority.'

Trivia: Nettles received an OBE in 2010.

Jason Hughes (Actor) .. DS Ben Jones

Jane Wymark (Actor) .. Joyce Barnaby

Barry Jackson (Actor) .. Dr Bullard

Kirsty Dillon (Actor) .. DC Gail Stephens

Jesse Birdsall (Actor) .. Mike Johnson

Born: February 13, 1963 in London

Best Known For: Eldorado and Bugs.

Early-life: Jesse was born in 1963, the son of renowned Penguin Books designer Derek Birdsall. He showed a passion for acting and first came to public attention in the serial Annika in 1984, his first notable TV role. He subsequently appeared in the movie Wish You Were Here (1987), directed by David Leland and co-starring Emily Lloyd. He was cast in notorious BBC soap Eldorado in 1992.

Career: Eldorado was mauled by viewers and critics and cancelled after one year. Nonetheless, the amount of coverage the programme received for its perceived low quality and lack of success would gain Birdsall much exposure, and from 1995 to 1999 he played one of the lead characters in another BBC1 programme, the successful futuristic action/adventure series Bugs. Since then, he has appeared in episodes of The Bill, Footballer's Wives, and EastEnders.

Quote: Following the critical response to Eldorado. 'We're working on the scripts. It'll get better'.

Trivia: He has twice been convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Olivia Colman (Actor) .. Bernice

Born: January 30, 1974 in Norfolk

Best Known For: Rev, Peep Show and Broadchurch.

Early-life: Born Sarah Caroline Colman on January 30, 1974, in Norfolk. She claims she relied on making her fellow pupils laugh at school because she wasn't very academic, but went on to study at Cambridge, where she met future collaborators David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Colman initially intended to become a primary school teacher, but switched to drama and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She hasn't looked back since.

Career: Colman's first TV work came in the series Bruiser in 2000, and was followed by appearances alongside her old friends David and Robert in The Mitchell and Webb Situation sketch show. She had a brief role in The Office, but it wasn't until Peep Show, Look Around You and Green Wing came along that people started to sit up and take notice. Since then she's featured in Hot Fuzz, That Mitchell and Webb Look, Beautiful People, Doctor Who, Twenty Twelve and Rev. More recently she made the move from comedy to drama in The Iron Lady, the hugely acclaimed Tyrannosaur and Hyde Park on Hudson. In 2013, she starred in the acclaimed ITV drama Broadchurch, which won her a Bafta TV award for Best Actress.

Quote: 'If a script is good, you are 10 steps into the part just reading it. But my choices are not all down to my taste. It is about people you have worked with before.'

Trivia: She has voiced a number of TV commercials.

David Ryall (Actor) .. Bob Moss

Margaret Tyzack (Actor) .. Harriet Compton

Caroline Blakiston (Actor) .. Hilary Compton

Paul Bentall (Actor) .. Edward Palfrey

Matilda Sturridge (Actor) .. Christa Palfrey

Sanchia McCormack (Actor) .. Jackie Tanner

Emma Stansfield (Actor) .. Rebecca Rix

Abigail Thaw (Actor) .. Annabel Johnson

Michelle Butterly (Actor) .. Kate Dove

Ian Targett (Actor) .. Steve Dove

Jamie Treacher (Actor) .. Richard Tanner

Brian True-May (Producer)

Peter Smith (Director)

Peter J Hammond (Writer)

Midsomer Murders: Small Mercies

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, Sunday, August 2 on ITV3 (10)

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Small Mercies
Season 12, Episode 5

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