Career: Roles in films such as Doctor in Love, The Mouse on the Moon, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Charlie Bubbles followed. BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine made him a household name. He featured in all 295 episodes as Norman Clegg between 1973 and 2010. He also played his character's father in short-lived prequel First of the Summer Wine. He was also the voice of Wallace of Wallace & Gromit fame in the acclaimed A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and A Matter of Loaf and Death. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for services to drama. He died on June 2, 2017 at the age of 96.

Career: Thornton went on to become a familiar face on TV, specialising in comedy. He made guest appearances in Hancock, Sykes, The Goodies, Love Thy Neighbour and Steptoe and Son. He is best known for playing Captain Peacock in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? He reprised his role for the spin-off series Grace & Favour. In 1997, he joined the cast of Last of the Summer Wine as Herbert 'Truly' Truelove, a role he played until 2010. He also appeared in Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001). Thornton died peacefully in his sleep on March 16, 2013. He was 92.

Career: Conley began his TV career as a warm-up man, but was fired because the producers thought he was so funny he wore the audience down. Since then he has had his own show, starred in TV sitcom Time After Time and played music legend Al Jolson in the West End musical Jolson. He is also famed for playing bullying PE teacher Doug Digby in ITV's 1970s-set comedy The Grimleys. On stage he has appeared in Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Hairspray. He has also starred on the big screen in Circus, and on the small screen in Arthur's Dyke, Equilibrium, Marple and The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle. He also hosted the BBC talent series Let Me Entertain You. He largely works on the stage these days in pantomimes and his own show, The Best of Brian Conley, which showcases some of his material from past TV shows. In 2011, he toured the UK in Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show, a celebration of singer Neil Diamond. In 2012, he was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

Career: After the Second World War, Owen went on to appear in a number of films, including The Way to the Stars (1945), School for Secrets (1946), When the Bough Breaks (1947), and Once a Jolly Swagman (1949). His film career would also see him appear in a number of early Carry On films and several Lindsay Anderson movies, including O Lucky Man! (1973) and In Celebration (1974). On the stage, he starred alongside Katherine Hepburn in As You Like It, and with Spike Milligan in Son of Oblomov. Owen wrote the lyrics for the musical The Matchgirls. TV came knocking in 1973 when he landed the role of Compo Simmonite in Roy Clarke's Last of the Summer Wine. Owen played a central role in the success of the sitcom and appeared in the show for 26 years until his death in 1999. Away from acting, he was a strong supporter of the Labour Party.

Career: Murphy's big break came in 1974 when he began playing George Roper alongside Joyce in the sitcom Man About the House. Joyce played his long-suffering wife Mildred. The popularity of Murphy and Joyce's characters led to them starring in their own spin-off sitcom George and Mildred. The hugely popular series ran on ITV for five series until 1979 and ended after Joyce died in 1980. Murphy and Joyce also starred in a stage version of George and Mildred and a spin-off movie. Murphy went on to star in The Incredible Mr Tanner, L for Lester, Lame Ducks, One Foot in the Grave, the Booze Cruise TV movies, Last of the Summer Wine, and The Cafe.

Career: After marrying schoolteacher John Staff in 1951, she had two children and took a break from acting for 10 years. Fellow actor Gerald Harper, a friend from her rep days, persuaded her to return and she became an extra in TV. She appeared in a number of small roles until her big break came in 1973 when she was cast in the pilot episode of Last of the Summer Wine. Over 35 years, she appeared in 29 series of the long-running sitcom playing a broom-wielding, humourless battleaxe. During her time on Summer Wine, she also appeared in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Crossroads. She had a recurring role as Mrs Blewett in Open All Hours. She starred in a revived version of Crossroads in 2001 but left after a year due to the soap's racy storylines. She died on December 13, 2008, at the age of 80.