Agatha Christie's Marple - The Moving Finger - 5:55 pm Wednesday, December 31 on ITV3

Geraldine McEwan (Actor) .. Miss Marple

James D'Arcy (Actor) .. Jerry Burton

Born: August 24, 1975 in Fulham

Best Known For: A string of TV and film roles.

Early-life: Born Simon D'Arcy in Fulham on August 24, 1975. He has a younger sister, Charlotte. After completing his studies at Christ's Hospital boarding school, James went to Australia and spent a year working in the drama department of a school in Perth. When he returned to London, he studied drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Career: D'Arcy has worked steadily since leaving drama school, from small parts in Silent Witness and Dalziel and Pascoe to more substantial roles in Rebel Heart, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Revelation and Sherlock: Case of Evil. His film credits include Guest House Paradiso (1999), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Exorcist: the Beginning (2004), W.E. (2011), Cloud Atlas (2012) and Hitchcock (2012). In 2014, he began starring alongside Chloe Sevigny in American TV crime drama Those Who Kill.

Quote: "I'm attracted to seeing how different I can be, pushing the boat out."

Trivia: After graduating from LAMDA, he left his diploma on a bus.

Ken Russell (Actor) .. Rev Caleb Dane Calthrop

Frances de la Tour (Actor) .. Mrs Maud Dane Calthrop

Best Known For: Rising Damp.

Early-life: Born in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, on July 30, 1944. She has a younger brother, Andy, who is an actor and screenwriter. She was educated at the Lycee Francais and later studied acting at the Drama Centre. She then spent six years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, originally playing small roles before gradually building up to leading parts, gaining most acclaim as Helena in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Career: De la Tour spent four years playing spinster Miss Jones in classic sitcom Rising Damp on TV, and also appeared in the 1980 film spin-off. She's rarely been out of work since, playing a wide range of roles on TV, film and stage. Among her most acclaimed small-screen projects are Duet for One, Cold Lazarus and Tom Jones; she's recently returned to sitcom with Vicious and Big School. On film she's featured in the Harry Potter franchise, Alice in Wonderland and Hugo. On stage, her recent collaborations with Alan Bennett, in The History Boys, The Habit of Art and People, have been resounding successes.

Quote: "I didn't think that Rising Damp would have quite the longevity it's enjoying. It became more popular years later, and people started calling it a classic. But it's like we left it behind and it never died."

Trivia: Joanna Lumley, Dawn French and de la Tour were rumoured to have been considered as replacements for Colin Baker when he left Doctor Who in 1986; Sylvester McCoy was cast instead.

Thelma Barlow (Actor) .. Emily Barton

Born: June 19, 1929 in Middlesbrough

Best Known For: Playing dithering Mavis in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born Thelma Pigott in Middlesbrough in 1929, she was raised in Huddersfield by her mother Margaret. Her dad, a cabinet maker, died of pneumonia five weeks before her birth. Thelma discovered her love of acting at an early age and put on plays with her older sister, Veda. After leaving school, she studied shorthand and typing at Huddersfield Technical College, and then worked as a secretary for eight years. During this time, she continued to act with the college's amateur dramatics group, until one of the teachers recommended she turn professional.

Career: Barlow joined The Joan Littlewood Theatre group and worked in repertory companies. One of her earliest roles was in The Way of the World, co-starring opposite her future on-screen husband, Peter Baldwin. In 1971, she was offered the role of Mavis in Coronation Street. The character was intended to appear in one episode, but ended up staying for 26 years. Since quitting the soap in 1997, Barlow has starred in Murder Most Horrid, David Copperfield, dinnerladies, Stig of the Dump and Marple. She made her big-screen debut in 2005 in Mrs Henderson Presents, which led to the veteran actress being nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer gong at the British Independent Film Awards.

Quote: "Regrets are pointless. My career has been beyond my expectations - it's been wonderful."

Jessica Hynes (Actor) .. Aimee Griffith

Born: November 15, 1972 in London

Best Known For: Her appearances in a variety of sitcoms.

Early-life: Born Tallulah Jessica Elina Stevenson in Lewisham, South London, on October 30, 1972, and raised in Brighton, Sussex. She began writing at school, concentrating on creating unusual sci-fi stories. At 14, she joined the National Youth Theatre and four years later moved to London, where she earned a crust as an an actress and comedian. She became friends with actress Katy Carmichael and they went on to work with Simon Pegg on the sketch show Six Pairs of Pants.

Career: Hynes worked with Pegg and director Edgar Wright on Asylum before they collaborated on cult Channel 4 sitcom Spaced. Hynes was nominated for an Olivier Award for her work in stage play The Night Heron, and garnered a Bafta nomination for 2001 TV film, Tomorrow La Scala! She had a small role in Pegg and Wright's hit 2004 film Shaun of the Dead. Hynes also appeared in The Royle Family, Bob and Rose, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, According To Bex, Pinochet in Suburbia, Confetti, Four Last Songs and Magicians. She made a memorable appearance in two episodes of Doctor Who alongside David Tennant, playing a teacher who won the Time Lord's love. She's since returned to sitcoms with Up the Women (which she also wrote), Twenty Twelve and its spin-off W1A.

Quote: "I don't want to be the next Nicole Kidman. I've got enough on my plate being the current Jessica."

Trivia: She decided to become known by her married name of Hynes in 2007.

Sean Pertwee (Actor) .. Dr Owen Griffith

Born: June 04, 1964 in London

Best Known For: Being the son of Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born June 4, 1964, in London, the second child of actor Jon Pertwee and his German wife Ingeborg. He has an older sister called Dariel. He was raised in Barnes, south-west London, and Ibiza, and had a happy childhood, although he admits to having gone through a wild phase. On leaving school, Pertwee worked behind the scenes for Southern TV, which produced his father's Worzel Gummidge series, but turned to acting when the company folded.

Career: While awaiting his big break, Pertwee trained as an animator and designed album covers. He worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and made his film debut with a brief role in 1987's Prick Up Your Ears. His appearances in such projects as Blue Juice, Stiff Upper Lips, Cadfael, Cleopatra, Event Horizon, The 51st State and Dog Soldiers turned him into a heart-throb. He was co-owner of production company Natural Nylon with his friends Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, until its demise in 2003. A prolific voice-over artist, he's also appeared in The Tudors and the Goal movies. His recent projects include UFO, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Elementary and Gotham.

Quote: "The whole movie star thing, I tell you, mate, it's just not for me."

Trivia: He has voiced characters in a number of video games.

Imogen Stubbs (Actor) .. Mona Symmington

Harry Enfield (Actor) .. Richard Symmington

Born: May 30, 1961 in Horsham West Sussex

Best Known For: A huge array of comic creations.

Early-life: Henry Richard Enfield was born on May 30, 1961, in Horsham, West Sussex. He is the son of TV, radio and newspaper journalist and presenter Edward Enfield. He has two sisters. He was educated at the independent Arundale School in Pulborough, Dorset House School, Worth School, Collyer's Sixth Form College and the University of York, where he was a member of Derwent College and read politics. He worked for a while as a milkman.

Career: Enfield first came to public attention appearing on Channel 4's Saturday Live as a number of different characters created with Paul Whitehouse. These quickly entered the national consciousness. Among them were Stavros, a Greek restaurant owner with markedly fractured English; Tory Boy, a pompous Conservative MP; and Loadsamoney, an obnoxious character who constantly boasted about how much money he earned. In 1990, Enfield developed his BBC sketch show, Harry Enfield's Television Programme, later called Harry Enfield and Chums, with Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. He has followed this up with sitcom and film work, including Kevin & Perry Go Large, but returned to the sketch format with Paul Whitehouse in 2008 in Harry & Paul (originally titled Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul).

Quote: "My idea of a good Christian is a priest who can speed-read the Mass, not a semi-demented American with a permanent grin."

Trivia: Enfield made a cameo appearance as a tea lady during Blur's headline performance at the London 2012 Olympic closing ceremony.

Kelly Brook (Actor) .. Elsie Holland

Born: November 23, 1979 in Rochester, Kent

Best Known For: Her modelling career.

Early-life: Born Kelly Ann Parsons in Rochester, Kent, in 1979, the daughter of a cook and a scaffolder. She discovered her love of performing at a young age, and at the age of 12 won a place at the prestigious Italia Conti stage school. At 16, she began to look for work as an actress, but after winning a beauty contest her mum had entered her into, she initially found more success as a model. She went on to appear in numerous newspapers, magazines and advertising campaigns, which eventually led to TV presenting jobs.

Career: In 1999, she landed a high-profile job co-presenting The Big Breakfast, but left the show after a few months amid rumours she had struggled with the autocue. Undaunted by the criticism, she turned her attention to her acting career, winning roles in the movies Ripper, Absolon, School for Seduction and Three, as well as TV series such as Smallville and Marple. She continues to mix modelling, presenting and acting work, and competed in the 2007 series of Strictly Come Dancing, until she was forced to withdraw following her father's death. She played the lead role in successful horror comedy film remake Piranha 3D in 2010.

Quote: "You have to be really clever to play dumb."

Trivia: She has also appeared on the stage in Fat Pig and Calendar Girls.

John Sessions (Actor) .. Cardew Pye

Born: February 11, 1953 in Largs, Ayrshire

Best Known For: Surreal comedy Stella Street.

Early-life: Born John Gibbs Marshall on January 11, 1953, in Largs, Scotland and spent some of his earliest years in Kempston, Bedfordshire and St Albans, Hertfordshire. He graduated with an M.A. in English literature from the University of Wales, where he had begun to appear to audiences with his comedy in shows such as "Look back in Bangor" and "Marshall Arts". He later studied for a PhD from McMaster University in Canada, although he did not complete the doctorate.

Career: He attended RADA in the late 1970s, studying alongside Kenneth Branagh. His debut film was 1982's The Sender, a horror feature in which he played a patient. Two years later he appeared opposite Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in The Bounty. In the late 1980s he played Lionel Zipser in Porterhouse Blue, appeared regularly on Whose Line is it Anyway? and starred in his own one-man TV show, simply titled John Sessions. He has also appeared in Henry V and In the Bleak Midwinter, both directed by old friend Branagh. He scored a major hit in spoof soap opera Stella Street for which he characterised a variety of middle-aged actors, alongside Phil Cornwell. Other projects include Skins, Outnumbered and The Iron Lady.

Quote: "When Whose Line Is it Anyway? was such a success, I became a bit of a showbiz Charlie. It did go to my head a bit. So it was important to have old friends who really knew me, who could remind me about what really mattered."

Trivia: In August 2014, he was one of the 200 public figures who signed a letter opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum.

Rosalind Knight (Actor) .. Partridge

Emilia Fox (Actor) .. Joanna Burton

Born: July 31, 1974 in London

Best Known For: Silent Witness.

Early-life: Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox was born on July 31, 1974, in London, to thespians Edward Fox and Joanna David. With so many relatives involved in the entertainment industry, including her uncles James and Robert, and grandmother Angela, Emilia naturally gravitated towards an acting career and made her screen debut in the acclaimed TV version of Pride and Prejudice alongside Colin Firth and her mother Joanna while still a student at Oxford University. Her younger brother, Freddie, has also decided to follow the family tradition. Emilia is also musical - she plays the cello, piano and trumpet.

Career: Since leaving full-time education, Fox has worked consistently on TV, but still found time to tread the boards and appear in movies. Period dramas Rebecca, The Round Tower and the aforementioned Pride and Prejudice brought her fame, but it was the remake of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) in 2000 that made her a household name. In 2002 she starred in Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and has more recently worked with Britain's acting elite in Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, The Virgin Queen, Marple: The Moving Finger, Born Equal, Upstairs Downstairs and Fallen Angel. In 2004 she took over from Amanda Burton as the lead actress in Silent Witness, and has been playing forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander ever since.

Quote: On attending film premieres: "If you want to see that film, then great, but don't do it just to have your photo taken because that's silly, and inevitably you get hurt by it. People start picking up on things about your life that are irrelevant."

Trivia: She is a patron of the environmental and human rights charity the Environmental Justice Foundation.

Ellen Capron (Actor) .. Agnes

Talulah Riley (Actor) .. Megan Hunter

Angela Curran (Actor) .. Miss Ginch

Keith Allen (Actor) .. Insp Graves

Born: June 02, 1953 in Gorseinon, near Swansea

Best Known For: Being the bad boy of TV.

Early-life: Despite his allegiance to the England football team, Keith Howell Charles Allen was born in Swansea, South Wales, in 1953. He supports Fulham FC. His brother Kevin is an actor, director and comedian. On leaving school, Keith had a variety of jobs, including coal mining (although he only completed three shifts), running the shooting gallery at a funfair and working in a chicken factory. His big showbusiness break came when he went down a storm at the Comedy Store in 1979.

Career: Allen was in a number of Comic Strip Presents... programmes during the 1980s. He also appeared in an episode of The Young Ones and made his film debut in Crystal Gazing, which he co-wrote. Among his highest profile projects are Scandal, A Very British Coup, Carry On Columbus, The Young Americans, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Martin Chuzzlewit, De-Lovely, 24 Hour Party People and The Others. Allen featured in BBC reality show Art School, released football-themed single Vindaloo as part of the band Fat Les, has conducted often-controversial interviews for Channel 4, and was most recently seen playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. More recently, he has starred in The Body Farm, By Any Means, and My Mad Fat Diary.

Quote: "I'm similar to Marmite in many respects. People either love me or hate me."

Trivia: He supports Fulham FC.

Stephen Churchett (Actor) .. Coroner

Agatha Christie (Writer)

Kevin Elyot (Dramatised by)

Matthew Read (Producer)

Rebecca Eaton (Producer)

Phil Clymer (Producer)

Michele Buck (Executive producer)

Damien Timmer (Executive producer)

Tom Shankland (Director)

Agatha Christie's Marple: The Moving Finger

5:55 pm - 8:00 pm, Wednesday, December 31 on ITV3 (10)

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The Moving Finger
Season 2, Episode 2

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