Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide

Pauline Collins (Actor) .. Dr Catherine Kendall

Born: September 03, 1940 in Exmouth, Devon

Best Known For: Shirley Valentine.

Early-life: Pauline Collins was born on September 3rd, 1940, to Irish parents living in Exmouth, Devon. The family moved to the Liverpool area when she was very young. After her convent school education, she trained to be a teacher, but soon realised the job wasn't for her, prompting her to begin acting part-time. She quit her job in a school in 1962, five years after her first TV appearance as a nurse in an episode of ITV soap opera Emergency Ward 10.

Career: Collins made her West End debut in 1967. She starred in the first series of sitcom The Liver Birds, but didn't become a household name until getting a regular role in Upstairs Downstairs in 1971. She also starred in its spin-off, Thomas and Sarah. Collins continued to work steadily through the 1980s until landing the role of Shirley Valentine in the original stage production. She won numerous awards for her performance both in London and New York, then reprised the role in the 1989 movie version, for which she was Oscar-nominated. Since then she's starred in such projects as The Ambassador, Forever Green, City of Joy, Paradise Road, Bleak House, Doctor Who, Agatha Christie's Marple, and Merlin.

Quote: 'As I've got older I've developed a desire to work a little less because I want what I do to be terrific.'

Trivia: She wed actor John Alderton in 1969.

Oliver Ford Davies (Actor) .. Col Geoffrey Reece

Kenneth Cranham (Actor) .. George Barton

Born: December 12, 1944 in Dunfermline

Best Known For: Being a star of stage, TV and film.

Early-life: Kenneth was born in Dunfermline on December 12, 1944 to Margaret and Ronald. He trained to be an actor at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and Rada. His breakthrough as an actor came in the 1960s when he starred in Joe Orton's Loot in the West End and on Broadway. He made his TV debut in an episode of City 68' in 1967.

Career: Cranham's long career has seen him switch effortlessly between roles on TV, film and in the theatre. On the small screen, he is best known for playing the lead role in popular 1980s comedy drama Shine On, Harvey Moon! but he has numerous TV credits to his name. He has starred in Danger UXB, Brideshead Revisited, Inspector Morse, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, El C.I.D., Minder, Our Mutual Friend, Rome, and Doc Martin among many others. On the big screen, he has starred in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), Born Romantic (2000), Layer Cake (2004), A Good Year (2006), Hot Fuzz (2007), Valkyrie (2008), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Maleficent (2014). He continues to be heavily in demand. On the stage, he is best known for playing Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls, a play he performed in the West End and on Broadway.

Quote: On Shine on Harvey Moon: 'It was very popular in Scotland. I always thought it was because it was very like The Broons.'

Trivia: On the stage, he has a long association with the work of Harold Pinter.

Susan Hampshire (Actor) .. Lucilla Drake

Born: May 12, 1937 in London

Best Known For: The Forsyte Saga or Monarch of the Glen, depending on your age.

Early-life: Susan Hampshire was born in London on May 12, 1937, the youngest of four children. Her father was a director of ICI, while her mother ran a small private school in London and taught dancing. She had a conventional upper middle-class upbringing, but was unhappy at school due to dyslexia, diagnosed at a time when the condition wasn't widely known. She became involved in her mother's dance academy, before joining forces with a friend in her late teens to form a cabaret act at a small London nightclub. She worked as an assistant stage manager in a Brighton repertory company, before becoming an actress.

Career: Hampshire turned down a chance to go to Hollywood when told she would have to change her hair colour and straighten her teeth. Instead, she built a career mainly on British TV and stage. Her film debut came in 1947's The Woman in the Hall, but she didn't appear on screen again until 1959's Upstairs and Downstairs. Notable success on the small screen came in the late 1960s when she played Fleur in the original version of The Forsyte Saga. She has worked continuously ever since in such projects as Monte Carlo or Bust, Living Free, The Pallisers, Nancherrow, The Grand and Monarch of the Glen. She has also written several books on gardening and an autobiography, Susan's Story.

Quote: 'There's no better part than as a nasty person.'

Trivia: She received Emmy Awards in the 1970s for her roles in The Forsyte Saga, The First Churchills and Vanity Fair. She was awarded an OBE in 1995.

Jonathan Firth (Actor) .. Mark Drake

Clare Holman (Actor) .. Alexandra Farraday

James Wilby (Actor) .. Stephen Farraday

Born: February 20, 1958 in Rangoon, Burma

Best Known For: His performances in Merchant Ivory films.

Early-life: Born in 1958 in Rangoon, Burma (his father was an executive with the British Oxygen Company), but raised in England. He attended school in Cumbria and gained a maths degree from Durham University before studing at RADA. While there he starred in the 1982 film Privileged alongside Hugh Grant and Imogen Stubbs. After graduating he gained experience on stage, which led to the lead role in Ismail Merchant and James Ivory's adaptation of EM Forster's novel Maurice, again opposite Hugh Grant.

Career: After impressing in his breakthrough role, Wilby subsequently appeared in a miniseries based on A Tale of Two Cities, and co-starred with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in another acclaimed Merchant/Ivory adaptation of EM Forster, Howards End. Though the rest of Wilby's 1990s movies were not as impressively received, he continued to work regularly, turning up in Immaculate Conception, the First World War drama Regeneration, the children's movie Tom's Midnight Garden, and as the bitter lord of the manor in Ken Russell's TV project Lady Chatterley. Wilby reunited with Ismail Merchant in the producer's directorial effort Cotton Mary. He subsequently appeared among the distinguished ensemble populating Robert Altman's Oscar-winning period piece Gosford Park, Midsomer Murders, Poirot and The Great Train Robbery. He also continues to work on stage.

Quote: 'I am lucky enough to find learning my lines really easy. The trouble is that I can't remember anything else, and as soon as I start preparing for a role, telephone numbers, children's birthdays and the names of favourite wines just fly out of the window. It's a real curse.'

Trivia: In his spare time, he enjoys yachting.

Chloe Howman (Actor) .. Iris Marle

Dominic Cooper (Actor) .. Andy Hoffman

Born: June 02, 1978 in London

Best Known For: Mamma Mia!

Early-life: Dominic Edward Cooper was born in London on June 2, 1978 to Julie and Brian. He has two older brothers, Nathan and Simon. His sister died in a car accident before he was born. He also has a half-sister and a half-brother. He graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2000. His early acting career involved minor roles in TV and the theatre.

Career: Cooper's breakthrough came in 2004 when he originated the role of Dakin at the National Theatre in Alan Bennett's The History Boys. He went on to play the role on Broadway and in the touring production in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He played the part for a final time in the 2006 big-screen version. Since then, he has starred in The Duchess (2008), Mamma Mia! (2008), Freefall (2009), An Education (2009), Tamara Drewe (2010), The Devil's Double (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and its 2014 sequel, My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2011). His TV credits include Down to Earth and Sense and Sensibility.

Quote: 'You never feel like you've done your best work. You always think you could be better.'

Trivia: Cooper was nominated for a 2006 Drama Desk Award for his work on the Broadway production of The History Boys.

Ruth Platt (Actor) .. Rebecca Knight

Rachel Shelley (Actor) .. Rosemary Barton

Jack Fortune (Actor) .. Phillip McCain

Laura Lamson (Writer)

Tristram Powell (Director)

Suzan Harrison (Producer)

George Faber (Executive producer)

Phil Clymer (Executive producer)

Charles Pattinson (Executive producer)

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm, Today on Sky Mix (11)

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