Career: In 1980 she made a brief appearance in The Elephant Man. Bigger roles came in Shine on Harvey Moon and Angels. In 1989, she was cast in the sitcom Birds of a Feather alongside best friend Linda Robson; it ran for nine years. In 1996, Quirke earned critical acclaim for her role in psychological drama The Sculptress, and was praised for her performance as a bereaved mother in Our Boy. She also appeared in Office Gossip, Real Women, Maisie Raine, Being April, Down to Earth and The Thieving Headmistress before having a two-year stint in Emmerdale. While appearing in the Yorkshire-based soap her character underwent the trauma of losing a son, which coincided with the actress losing six-and-a-half stone in weight. She's since starred in Broadchurch and the ITV revival of Birds of a Feather.

Career: Robson's big break came in 1982 when she took on the part of Maggie in popular ITV comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. She reprised the role in 1995 in a revived version of the series. She also appeared in IRA drama Harry's Game. She became a household name in 1989 after landing the part of Tracey Stubbs in BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather, alongside Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph. The hugely popular series ran for 102 episodes until 1998. She returned to the role of Tracey in a touring version of the sitcom in 2012, and again when the show was revived in 2014. She is a Loose Women panellist and has appeared in a number of reality TV programmes, including Come Dine With Me, the Weakest Link and Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. In 2012, she was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Career: Joseph made her TV debut in a 1974 episode of Wendy Craig-fronted sitcom And Mother Makes Five. She went on to make appearances in Sadie, It's Cold Outside, The Knowledge and Minder. Her big break came in 1989 when she was cast as man-eater Dorien Green in popular sitcom Birds of a Feather. It ran on the BBC until 1998 but it returned in 2012 as a stage version. The interest generated by the stage version led to ITV commissioning a new series which began airing in January 2014. Away from Birds of a Feather, Joseph has also starred in ITV soap Night and Day, appeared in a number of pantomimes, been a regular guest on Loose Women and co-hosted a radio show on BBC London 94.9 with Christopher Biggins. In 2015, she was a contestant on ITV's celebrity sheepdog trials programme Flockstars.

Career: In 1980 his regular appearances in Grange Hill as woodwork teacher Stuart Hopwood made him a cult star. A year later he played Donald Worthington in Coronation Street and returned to Weatherfield in 2001 as serial killer Richard Hillman. He picked up the award for Best Soap Villain Ever by readers of the TV Times and Best Storyline, Best Actor, Villain of the Year, Spectacular Scene of the Year and Best Exit at the British Soap Awards 2003. He has also appeared in Minder, The Bill, Doctors and EastEnders, as well as the films Still Crazy, 101 Dalmatians and Emma.