Career: Shaw's first major TV role was in a 1967 episode of Coronation Street. Keen on Shakespeare, he appeared in a TV movie of Hamlet, and Roman Polanski's 1971 film Macbeth. After impressing TV executives with his performance alongside Lewis Collins as Purdey's ex-fiance in The New Avengers, he landed the part of Doyle in The Professionals. When it was axed after four years in 1981, he went back to the stage. In 1993 he returned to TV with The Chief, and three years later starred in BBC mega-flop Rhodes. Since then, he's appeared in The Scarlet Pimpernel, A&E, Judge John Deed, Death in Holy Orders, Inspector George Gently, Apparitions and picked up a Tony nomination for a Broadway production of An Ideal Husband.

Career: Howman's big break came in 1986 when he was cast as wisecracking house painter Jacko in the popular BBC sitcom Brush Strokes. It ran for five series until 1991. He followed this up with the title role in another sitcom, Mulberry. Since then, he has had small roles in a number of shows, including Babes in the Wood, The Bill, Holby City, The Last Detective, Casualty and Doctors. In November 2014, he joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Buster Briggs.