Agatha Christie's Marple - Sleeping Murder - 6:25 pm Tuesday, December 30 on ITV3

Geraldine McEwan (Actor) .. Miss Marple

Russ Abbot (Actor) .. CI Arthur Primer

Geraldine Chaplin (Actor) .. Mrs Fane

Born: July 31, 1944 in Santa Monica, California

Best Known For: Being Charlie Chaplin's daughter

Early-life: Geraldine Leigh Chaplin was born on July 31, 1944, in Santa Monica, California. She's the eldest of eight children from her father Charlie Chaplin's fourth and final marriage to Oona, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Geraldine was educated at boarding schools in Switzerland and made her screen debut aged eight in Limelight, directed by her dad. She originally wanted to be a ballerina, but eventually decided to concentrate on acting.

Career: Geraldine began her professional career with roles in European projects, such as Gran Parada and Dernier Soir. Her breakthrough came in David Lean's adaptation of Dr Zhivago in 1965. She appeared in her father's A Countess from Hong Kong two years later. She's rarely been out of work since, mixing mainstream movies and TV shows with arty European fare. Among her more famous projects are The Three Musketeers and its sequels, Nashville, The Mirror Crack'd, My Cousin Rachel, White Mischief, Jane Eyre and Dinotopia. She also played her own grandmother in biopic Chaplin.

Quote: "I thought it'd be easy to get into the movies as Charlie Chaplin's daughter. And it was. Except I wasn't much good as an actress."

Trivia: In 2006, she was awarded the Gold medal by the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.

Phil Davis (Actor) .. Kennedy

Born: July 30, 1953 in Grays, Essex

Best Known For: Bleak House.

Early-life: Born Philip Davis on 30 July, 1953, in Grays, Essex. His father worked in the local soap factory; his mother was a hospital cleaner. He enjoyed three seasons at the National Youth Theatre in his mid-teens, then landed a part in Barrie Keefe's play Gotcha about troubled teens, which later transitioned to TV, and he came to the attention of casting directors. He was then cast in cult film Quadrophenia.

Career: Davis's career took off and he played a huge range of roles throughout the 1980s and 90s. He was Prince John in the TV series Robin of Sherwood. He also took on Hollywood roles, starring in The Bounty, alongside Mel Gibson. In 2004 came Davis's much acclaimed performance in Vera Drake, the Oscar-nominated Mike Leigh film. He gained massive praise for his performance, and won the Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards. TV roles have included major hits like Inspector Morse, Bleak House, Fields of Gold, Sherlock, North Square, Rose and Malony, White Teeth, Doctor Who and Beau Brummell, and he is also an accomplished director.

Quote: "I just do it. It's like asking a painter about painting. They dip the brush and put it on the canvas. All I know is that if something isn't brilliant, there's no reason that you can't deliver it to the best of your ability."

Trivia: In 1980, Davis had a brief spell as a music artist when he recorded the song Blown It for Elton John's The Rocket Record Company.

Julian Wadham (Actor) .. Kelvin Halliday

Dawn French (Actor) .. Janet Erskine

Born: October 11, 1957 in Holyhead

Best Known For: Her partnership with Jennifer Saunders.

Early-life: Born Dawn Roma French on October 11, 1957, in Holyhead, Wales. She enjoyed a happy childhood, despite moving around a lot due to her father's various RAF postings. In her teens she won a scholarship to study in New York following a debating contest. She trained to be a drama teacher at the Central School of Speech and Drama, where she met Jennifer Saunders. They shared a house together in their final year and during that time developed their first comic characters.

Career: French taught briefly at a London school before taking up comedy performance professionally with Saunders, and gaining valuable TV experience in The Comic Strip Presents. She co-wrote and starred in ITV sitcom Girls On Top in 1985 and appeared in early Ben Elton offering Happy Families. She went on to become a household name with the first series of French and Saunders in 1987. While Saunders focused on Absolutely Fabulous, French also went solo, starring in Murder Most Horrid and The Vicar of Dibley. Other projects include Sex and Chocolate, Let Them Eat Cake, Lark Rise to Candleford, Psychoville and Roger & Val Have Just Got In.

Quote: "There are two kinds of women in the world: women who love chocolate and complete bitches."

Trivia: Away from acting, she published an autobiography, Dear Fatty, in 2008, and the novels A Tiny Bit Marvellous, in 2010, and Oh Dear Sylvia, in 2013.

Sarah Parish (Actor) .. Evie Ballantine

Born: June 07, 1968 in Yeovil, Somerset

Best Known For: Cutting It and Mistresses.

Early-life: Sarah Parish was born on June 7, 1968, in Yeovil, Somerset. Her parents were both keen on amateur dramatics. She made her first stage appearance at the age of two in a local pantomime, and claims she was immediately hooked on acting. Parish then enrolled in dance classes and attended a youth theatre group throughout her school years. She went on to train at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London.

Career: Parish took small roles in various projects to gain experience. She first came to the nation's attention while appearing in a Boddington's TV advert. In 1998, she had a regular role as a receptionist in Peak Practice, and made her film debut a year later in Parting Shots. Since then she's appeared in a string of high-profile TV programmes, including Hearts and Bones, Cutting It, Sirens, Trust, Unconditional Love, Blackpool, Doctor Who, ShakespeaRe-told, Mistresses, Merlin, The Pillars of the Earth, Monroe, Hatfields & McCoys, and Atlantis. She also appeared in big-screen romantic comedies The Wedding Date and The Holiday.

Quote: "In this business you can be flavour of the month. People might love me this year and then next year just think they have had enough of me."

Trivia: She set up a charity, the Murray Parish Trust, with her husband James Murray in memory of their first daughter, who died of congenital heart failure at eight months old.

Martin Kemp (Actor) .. Jackie Afflick

Born: October 10, 1961 in Islington, London

Best Known For: Playing Steve Owen in EastEnders and being the bass guitarist in Spandau Ballet.

Early-life: Martin John Kemp was born in Islington, London, on October 10, 1961. He was a shy child until, at the age of seven, his mother started taking him and older brother Gary to acting classes run by Anna Scher, which boosted his confidence. By the time he was 10 he'd appeared in Jackanory, Rumpole Of The Bailey, and Dixon Of Dock Green. He left school at 16 and planned to become a printer, but gave up an apprenticeship to join brother Gary's band The Gentry, who were later renamed Spandau Ballet.

Career: Spandau Ballet became hugely successful, scoring numerous hits. When they split in 1990, Martin and Gary returned to acting, and surprised many critics with their performances as gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie in The Krays. Martin then tried his luck in Hollywood, but his career was put on hold in 1995 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. In 1998, fully recovered, he accepted the role of Steve Owen in EastEnders, but quit four years later. He has since appeared in Daddy's Girl, Serious and Organised, Family, Brides in the Bath, Love Lies Bleeding and Waterloo Road. Spandau Ballet reformed in 2009 and Kemp came third in Celebrity Big Brother in 2012. He's also turned to directing with the film Stalker.

Quote: "I don't agree with all those entertainers that say they would never let their children anywhere near entertainment. I've had such a fantastic time in this business that I would never stop them doing it."

Emilio Doorgasingh (Actor) .. Sgt Desai

Sophia Myles (Actor) .. Gwenda Halliday

Aidan McArdle (Actor) .. Hugh Hornbeam

Best Known For: Playing Dudley Moore in Not Only But Always.

Early-life: Aidan was born in Dublin in 1970. He has five siblings. On leaving school, Aidan studied for a degree at his home city's University College. After appearing in a handful of productions at Dublin's renowned Abbey Theatre, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1996. He quickly began making a name for himself on the London stage thanks to several acclaimed performances.

Career: In 1999, McArdle joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, making a splash in such plays as A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and Antony and Cleopatra. He made his TV debut in a 2002 episode of Casualty and had a regular role in the series Any Time Now. Two years later he appeared in his first film, Ella Enchanted (2004), but it was his performance as Dudley Moore in TV movie Not Only But Always that made people sit up and take notice. He's since featured in Marple, Jane Eyre, the Perfect Day trilogy, Beautiful People, Garrow's Law, Mr Selfridge, The Mill, Clean Break and The Fall.

Quote: "Nothing better than playing a bastard. It's the biggest amount of fun you can have."

Trivia: He is a cousin of comedy actor Steve Coogan.

Harry Treadaway (Actor) .. George Erskine

Richard Bremmer (Actor) .. Mr Sims

Anna-Louise Plowman (Actor) .. Helen Marsden

Harriet Walter (Actor) .. Duchess

Greg Hicks (Actor) .. Ferdinand

Mary Healey (Actor) .. Shop assistant

Peter Serafinowicz (Actor) .. Walter Fane

Una Stubbs (Actor) .. Mrs Pagett

Born: May 01, 1937 in Welwyn Garden City

Best Known For: Till Death Us Do Part and Worzel Gummidge.

Early-life: Una was born in Welwyn Garden City on May 1, 1937. She trained at the La Roche dancing school in Slough and made her theatre debut at the age of 16 in a chorus line at the London Palladium. Her dancing talent led to her landing a role alongside Cliff Richard in Summer Holiday (1963). A year later, she appeared in the singer's next film, Wonderful Life (1964).

Career: Stubbs's big break came in 1966 when she began playing Rita, the married daughter of Alf Garnett in BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. The series ran until 1975 and she also reprised the role years later in Till Death and In Sickness and In Health. From 1979 to 1981, she became a firm favourite with younger viewers playing Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge opposite Jon Pertwee. She was also a team captain for several years on ITV game show Give Us a Clue. In recent years, she has appeared in EastEnders, The Catherine Tate Show, Benidorm and Sherlock.

Quote: "I truly believe happiness is a choice. You're not owed it."

Trivia: When she's not working, Stubbs likes to sketch.

Helen Coker (Actor) .. Lily Tutt

Paul McGann (Actor) .. Dickie Erskine

Born: November 14, 1959 in Liverpool

Best Known For: Withnail and I.

Early-life: Born in Liverpool on November 14, 1959, into a staunchly Catholic family. He was the second of his parents' five surviving children - he had older twin brothers but one died at birth. His mother was a teacher, and his dad was a metallurgist - both parents encouraged all their children to develop their interests as much as possible. His first ambition was to become an astronaut, and didn't decide to be an actor until he was 20. He was persuaded by a teacher to try performing, and went on to study at Rada.

Career: McGann started out on stage, eventually making his TV debut in the 1983 series Give Us a Break, but it only lasted for one series. He became a household name in 1987, thanks to acclaimed TV drama The Monocled Mutineer and has achieved long-lasting fame thanks to a starring role in cult 1986 film Withnail and I. He went on to appear in Alien 3, Our Mutual Friend, Nature Boy and Queen of the Damned. McGann also became the eighth Time Lord when he appeared in the 1996 Doctor Who film. Another notable appearance came in The Hanging Gale, a drama about the Irish potato famine which co-starred his three brothers. He's cropped up in several Hornblower dramas, plus Poirot, Marple, acclaimed drama True Dare Kiss and the last-ever episode of Waking the Dead.

Quote: "I don't want to be remembered as the George Lazenby of Doctor Who."

Trivia: He reprised his role as Doctor Who in 2013 mini-episode The Night of the Doctor.

Nickolas Grace (Actor) .. Lionel Luff

Vince Leigh (Actor) .. Jim Tutt

Stephen Churchett (Writer)

Matthew Read (Producer)

Rebecca Eaton (Producer)

Phil Clymer (Producer)

Michele Buck (Executive producer)

Damien Timmer (Executive producer)

Edward Hall (Director)

Agatha Christie (Writer)

Agatha Christie's Marple: Sleeping Murder

6:25 pm - 8:30 pm, Tuesday, December 30 on ITV3 (10)

About this Broadcast

Sleeping Murder
Season 2, Episode 1

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