Law & Order: UK - Defence - 11:00 pm Wednesday, June 17 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.

Rupert Graves (Actor) .. John Smith

Born: June 30, 1963 in Weston-super-Mare

Best Known For: Appearing in period dramas.

Early-life: Rupert Graves was born June 30, 1963, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. The acting bug bit while performing in Victorian musical nights at the town's Birbeck Pier. Unhappy at school, he left at 15 to become a circus clown. He made his TV debut in 1978 in The Return Of The Saint and had small roles in various other productions. He later entertained children at holiday camps as part of Silly Billy Pickles And The Peanut Street Gang before his big break in Merchant Ivory's 1985 movie A Room With A View.

Career: Rejoined Merchant Ivory in 1987 to play a homosexual in Maurice, alongside James Wilby and Hugh Grant. The controversial role gained him fans of both sexes. He has tackled numerous challenging parts since, including a transvestite villain in Open Fire and the lover of a sex-change male in Different For Girls. He won the Best Actor award at the Montreal Film Festival for his part as a naive young man seduced by an older woman in Intimate Relations. Other notable productions include The Madness of King George, Mrs Dalloway, The Blonde Bombshell, Take A Girl Like You and Fortunes Of War. Graves has appeared on Broadway in Closer, and The Elephant Man. Has become a regular in a raft of top-notch detective shows, including Wallander, Lewis, and Sherlock and is very much in-demand.

Quote: 'I'm really pleased with myself. I've not had any training. I knew nothing about acting except that early on I knew I wanted to do it, and I've managed for years to do things without doing them just for the money.'

Trivia: He enjoys playing football.

Amanda Root (Actor) .. Patricia Smith

George Anton (Actor) .. Dr Roddy Armitage

Nicola Sanderson (Actor) .. Joy Ackroyd

Catherine Steadman (Actor) .. Joanne Ellis

Gary Powell (Actor) .. Frank Ellis

Paul Darrow (Actor) .. Judge Prentice

Kelsey Brookfield (Actor) .. Paul Dean

Pierre Mascolo (Actor) .. Gianni Patrone

Francesca Kingdon (Actor) .. Lia Rossi

Thaila Zucchi (Actor) .. Marcie

Nathaniel Martello-White (Actor) .. PC Baxter

Leo Wringer (Actor) .. Fr Michael

Sartaj Garewal (Actor) .. Ravi Luthra

Chris Polick (Actor) .. Ricky

Janet Walker (Actor) .. Surgical consultant

Michael Ballard (Actor) .. Admin assistant

Sophie Turner (Actor) .. Librarian

Born: February 21, 1996 in Northampton

Best Known For: Playing Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones.

Early-life: Born on February 21, 1996, in Northampton, Sophie moved to Chesterton, Warwickshire when she was two years old. She has two older brothers and had a twin who died before birth. Since Sophie was three, she has been a member of the Playbox Theatre Company.

Career: Turner's first professional acting role was as Sansa Stark in the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. She has played the character since 2011. Turner made her feature film debut in Another Me (2013) and also starred in TV film The Thirteenth Tale (2013). She starred in the comedy film Barely Lethal (2015) and played telepathic mutant Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).

Quote: 'I don't think that the status of a show, big or small, should affect a person's performance.'

Trivia: She is a natural blonde but dyes her hair auburn for her character in Game of Thrones.

Scott Ellis (Actor) .. Uniformed officer

Debbie O'Malley (Writer)

Mark Everest (Director)

Dick Wolf (Executive producer)

Andrew Woodhead (Executive producer)

Stephen Garrett (Executive producer)

Jane Featherstone (Executive producer)

Richard Stokes (Producer)

Law & Order: UK: Defence

11:00 pm - 11:50 pm, Today on ITV3 (10)

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Defence
Season 3, Episode 3

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