Doc Martin - Don't Let Go - 8:00 pm Friday, May 8 on ITV3

Martin Clunes (Actor) .. Dr Martin Ellingham

Born: November 28, 1961 in London

Best Known For: A string of TV hits, including Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin.

Early-life: Born Alexander Martin Clunes on November 28, 1961, in Wimbledon, south London, into a theatrical family. His father was the acclaimed classical actor Alec Clunes, who died of lung cancer in 1970. His mother used to work as Orson Welles's secretary, and his cousin was Sherlock Holmes star Jeremy Brett. Clunes left school at 16 with one O-level and wanted to be a carpenter before enrolling at the Arts Educational Drama College in London. He started out in theatre and won acclaim for directing The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

Career: Clunes made his TV debut in a 1983 Doctor Who adventure, followed by a regular role in sitcom No Place Like Home. In 1990 he appeared alongside Sean Connery in The Russia House and two years later in the much-maligned comedy Carry On Columbus. He turned to directing again with comedy film Staggered, in which he also starred. Men Behaving Badly made him a household name - but not until original co-star Harry Enfield was replaced by Neil Morrissey and the series moved from ITV to the BBC. He has chalked up a major success for ITV as über-grumpy GP Doc Martin. Clunes has also presented several documentaries, and appeared in such series as William and Mary, A is for Acid, The Town and Reggie Perrin.

Quote: 'I get contemptuous of my own acting and wish I had fewer chins.'

Trivia: He won a British Comedy Award and BAFTA award for his performance on Men Behaving Badly.

Caroline Catz (Actor) .. Louisa Glasson

Eileen Atkins (Actor) .. Ruth Ellingham

Best Known For: Co-creating Upstairs, Downstairs.

Early-life: Eileen June Atkins was born on June 16, 1934, in Clapton, east London. She has two older siblings. At the time of her birth, Eileen's mother was 46 and working as a barmaid; her father was a gas meter reader. A fortune teller told her mother that little Eileen would one day be a famous dancer, so she was immediately enrolled in lessons - which she hated. However, during the Second World War, she did perform professionally. After failing to get into Rada, Eileen completed a three-year teaching course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career: Atkins' post-Guildhall career began on the stage, but for nine years she struggled to gain decent roles. She's now one of the theatre's most in-demand actresses, having appeared in numerous acclaimed productions. On TV she has appeared in the likes of Smiley's People, Cold Comfort Farm, Wit, Bertie and Elizabeth, Psychoville and Cranford, as well as co-creating (with Jean Marsh) both The House of Eliott and Upstairs Downstairs (she appeared in the latter when it returned to TV in 2010). Her films include Gosford Park, Cold Mountain and Robin Hood. She was made a Dame in 2001.

Quote: 'All through my career I have tried to do new work, but there is a problem in the West End as far as new work is concerned. As a theatregoer, I get bored with seeing the same old plays again and again.'

Trivia: Atkins was married for nine years to actor Julian Glover; she wed Bill Shepherd in 1978. She also claims that Colin Farrell propositioned her shortly before she turned 70.

Ian McNeice (Actor) .. Bert Large

Born: October 02, 1950 in Basingstoke

Best Known For: Doc Martin.

Early-life: McNeice was born in Basingstoke in Hampshire in 1950. His acting training started at the Taunton School in Somerset, followed by two years at the Salisbury Playhouse. His childhood was hard, as the shy youngster struggled with a stammer, and he lost his older brother in a car accident. Determined to overcome his shyness, he stuck at acting and spent years in theatre, including a four-year career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a production of Nicholas Nickleby on Broadway.

Career: McNeice's TV breakthrough was in the drama series Edge of Darkness. He has also appeared in a number of films, including 84 Charing Cross Road, Day of the Dead, No Escape, From Hell and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. His breakthrough into American films occurred when he played opposite Jim Carrey as Fulton Greenwall in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). Other notable credits include Conspiracy (2001), Valkyrie (2009) and the HBO hit series Rome. Since 2004, he has played Bert Large in Doc Martin.

Quote: "In a funny kind of way, the problems that my weight and stammer created were also the foundations of my career as an entertainer."

Trivia: McNeice has played Winston Churchill in a number of projects, including Doctor Who and the stage version of The King's Speech.

John Marquez (Actor) .. PC Penhale

Jessica Ransom (Actor) .. Morwenna Newcross

Louise Jameson (Actor) .. Eleanor Glasson

Born: April 20, 1951 in London

Best Known For: EastEnders, Doctor Who, Bergerac and Tenko.

Early-life: Louise was born in London on April 20, 1951. She trained at Rada and went on to spend two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early TV credits included Z Cars, Emmerdale and Space: 1999 but her big break came in 1977 when she was cast as Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) in Doctor Who.

Career: In the early 1980s, Jameson had a lead role in the first two series of popular BBC drama Tenko. She went on star in Bergerac as Jim Bergerac's girlfriend for five years. In 1998 she began an association with EastEnders that ran to more than 200 episodes as Rosa di Marco. More recently she has appeared in River City, Doc Martin, Doctors and Holby City. When she is not gracing the small screen, she can usually be found on the stage.

Quote: 'When I was Leela I was surprised I became a sex symbol. I thought Doctor Who was just a children's show.'

Trivia: In 2007, Jameson toured her one-woman show, Face Value.

Julie Graham (Actor) .. Maggie Reid

Born: July 24, 1965 in Irvine, North Ayrshire

Best Known For: At Home with the Braithwaites.

Early-life: Born July 24, 1965 in Irvine, North Ayrshire. Her father, John, a singer, left when she was a child. At the age of eight, writer/broadcaster David Webster became her stepfather. Her mother, Betty Gillin, who was also an actress, died of lung cancer, aged 50, when her daughter was 18. Julie made her TV debut in a 1986 episode of Taggart. It was the role of Alison McGrellis in Casualty in 1988 that helped boost her profile.

Career: Graham also starred in the TV series Harry and Life Support. However, she became a household name in comedy drama At Home with the Braithwaites. In 2003 she starred in Kay Mellor's steamy series Between the Sheets, and the same year appeared with Martin Clunes in the drama William and Mary (they were reunited years later when she made a guest appearance in Doc Martin). Her film credits include Silent Scream, Nuns on the Run, The Near Room, Preaching to the Perverted, Bedrooms and Hallways and Some Voices. She's also appeared in a revamp of cult 1970s series Survivors, The Bill, and was the best thing about short-lived BBC archaeological drama Bonekickers. More recently, Graham has enjoyed success with a starring role in ITV's period crime drama The Bletchley Circle and the BBC's Shetland.

Quote: 'Yes I've taken my clothes off and, yes, I've played saucy roles. But for god's sake it's not what I've built my career on. I try to find roles that are a little bit outside the box.'

Trivia: She is a patron of children's hospice Chestnut Tree House.

Brian Pettifer (Actor) .. Mr Coley

Samuel Timson (Actor) .. Adam Dawson

Joseph Timson (Actor) .. Garth Dawson

Buffy Davis (Actor) .. Pippa Woodley

Lucy Hutchinson (Actor) .. Ella

Sarah Buckland (Actor) .. Shopkeeper

Chris Hurford (Writer)

Tom Butterworth (Writer)

Ben Bolt (Director)

Philippa Braithwaite (Producer)

Mark Crowdy (Executive producer)

Doc Martin: Don't Let Go

8:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Today on ITV3 (10)

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Don't Let Go
Season 5, Episode 6

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