Happy Valley

Sarah Lancashire (Actor) .. Catherine Cawood

Born: October 04, 1964 in Oldham

Best Known For: Playing Raquel in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born on October 4, 1964, in Oldham, Lancashire. Her father was scriptwriter Geoffrey Lancashire, who penned more than 100 episodes of Coronation Street in the 1960s. She has three brothers (one of whom is her twin), and claims to have had an idyllic childhood, growing up in a rambling Victorian home. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and on graduating took work in bars to make ends meet.

Career: Lancashire's first professional job was with the Manchester Library Theatre; she then spent four years teaching drama at Salford University. She made her Coronation Street debut in 1987 with a walk-on part, returning in 1991 to play Raquel Wolstenhulme - the role that made her a star. She quit five years later, and became one of the most sought-after actresses in British TV appearing in such series as Where The Heart Is, Clocking Off, Seeing Red, The Glass, Chambers, Rose and Maloney, The Birthday Girl, The Rotters' Club, Doctor Who, and All the Small Things. Through much of 2011, Lancashire starred on the West End stage in Betty Blue Eyes, a musical comedy based on the film A Private Function. She's since collaborated with writer Sally Wainwright on hit TV series Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley.

Quote: 'When I left drama school I thought, 'For the rest of your days, Sarah, you're going to be a second income.' I assumed I'd never have my name on a mortgage.'

Trivia: In 2014, she won a Bafta for her performance in Last Tango in Halifax.

James Norton (Actor) .. Tommy Lee Royce

Born: July 18, 1985 in London

Best Known For: Playing Sidney Chambers in Grantchester.

Early-life: James Geoffrey Ian Norton was born on July 18, 1985 in London. His family lived in Malton, North Yorkshire and he was educated at Ampleforth College. James read Theology at Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge University and graduated in 2007. He went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and got a role in An Education (2009) shortly before he was due to graduate.

Career: After An Education, Norton had a number of theatre roles, including appearances in Posh at Royal Court Theatre, That Face at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and a touring production of Journey's End. He then went on to get parts in a number of films, including Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012), Rush (2013), Belle (2013) and Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014). He has also had a number of roles in TV, including as Henry Alveston in Death Comes to Pemberley, Andrei Bolkonsky in War and Peace, Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley and Sidney Chambers in Grantchester.

Quote: 'If it's a sunny day, I get this weird guilt if I'm not making the most of it, so I'll walk or go for a swim or get on my bike, or I'll go to the Heath, just to have a reason to get out.'

Trivia: He received a Fitzwilliam Travel Grant to travel to Northern India and teach and perform for children at 16 schools.

Siobhan Finneran (Actor) .. Clare Cartwright

Kevin Doyle (Actor) .. John Wadsworth

Shirley Henderson (Actor) .. Frances Drummond

Katherine Kelly (Actor) .. Jodie Shackleton

Born: November 19, 1979 in Barnsley, England

Best Known For: Playing lovable ex-con Becky in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Katherine was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on November 19, 1979. She attended Wakefield Girls High School. She has strong links with The Lamproom Theatre in Barnsley, established in 1998 by her father John. She trained at Rada with fellow students Meredith MacNeill and Laurence Fox, graduating in 2001.

Career: Keen for a stage career, Kelly worked at Chichester Festival Theatre in The Accrington Pals and at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in Othello. She was a leading lady at the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2004-2005, performing in both Stratford-Upon-Avon and the West End. She has worked in TV, film, radio and voice-over, but she is best known for playing Becky McDonald in Coronation Street between 2006 and 2012. Since leaving the soap, she has starred in the TV movie The Best Possible Taste, Mr Selfridge and The Field of Blood.

Quote: 'I've been broody for the last 10 years. One day I hope to have kids. And if I couldn't, I'd adopt. It's what life is all about. I adore kids, but with us women there's never a right time.'

Trivia: In 2012, Kelly won a National Television Award and a British Soap Award.

Amelia Bullmore (Actor) .. Vicky Fleming

Julie Hesmondhalgh (Actor) .. Amanda Wadsworth

Born: February 25, 1970 in Accrington, Lancashire

Best Known For: Playing transsexual Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington, Lancashire, on February 25, 1970. She initially dreamed of becoming a social worker, though went on to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 1988 to 1991, where one of her classmates was Benito Martinez, who went on to appear in US drama The Shield and Million Dollar Baby. On finishing her training, Julie spent several years with Arts Threshold, a small independent theatre in London.

Career: Hesmondhalgh's career began to take off in the 1990s, with appearances in The Bill, The Dwelling Place and Dalziel and Pascoe, as well as acclaimed comedy drama Pat and Margaret, alongside Victoria Wood and Julie Walters. She got her big break playing Hayley in Coronation Street in 1998, where she became the first transsexual character on a British serial. She's also been a panellist on Loose Women, and in 2007 began a year-long break from Corrie to allow her to spend more time with her family. She returned in 2008, but left the soap in January 2014 following a gruelling and controversial storyline in which the much-loved Hayley committed suicide while battling terminal cancer. She's since returned to the stage.

Quote: 'I like to think I'm slightly more funky than Hayley, but there is definitely a bit of 'anorak' in me too. I try to strike a balance between being rock 'n' roll and real prefect material.'

Trivia: Hesmondhalgh supports Manchester City.

Rick Warden (Actor) .. Mike Taylor

Vincent Franklin (Actor) .. Andy Shepherd

Born: November 03, 1966 in Yorkshire

Best Known For: A string of roles.

Early-life: Vincent Warren Franklin was born in Yorkshire on November 3, 1966. While studying drama at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Vincent worked shifts in a Clifton restaurant. He made his TV debut in an edition of Sharman in 1996.

Career: Franklin is best known for playing PR guru Stewart Pearson in The Thick of It. His other TV credits include The Office, Doc Martin, Twenty Twelve and the TV movie That Day We Sang. In 2015, he played his first lead role, in Channel 4 drama Cucumber. He has appeared in a number of films, including Topsy-Turvy (1999), From Hell (2001), The Bourne Identity (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Mr Turner (2014) and The Riot Club (2014). He also has extensive theatre credits.

Quote: 'I played a Tory party spin doctor for five years and nobody said to me, are you really a Tory? But as soon as you play a gay character, people want to know if you're really gay.'

Trivia: Franklin is a founder of the communications consultancy Quietroom.

Karl Davies (Actor) .. Daniel Cawood

Karl Haynes (Actor) .. Spike

Shane Zaza (Actor) .. Shafiq Shah

Mete Dursan (Actor) .. Gorkem Tekeli

Charlie Murphy (Actor) .. Ann Gallagher

Chris Michael-Hall (Actor) .. Sledge

Ramon Tikaram (Actor) .. Praveen Badal

Ishia Bennison (Actor) .. Joyce

Steve Edge (Actor) .. Graham Tattersall

Karen Bryson (Actor) .. Dr Carol Fowler

Catherine Copley (Actor) .. Pathologist's Assistant

Jayne Bickerton (Actor) .. Waitress

Ivana Basic (Actor) .. Ilinka Blazevic

Angela Pleasence (Actor) .. Winnie

Con O'Neill (Actor) .. Neil Ackroyd

Born: August 15, 1966 in Weston-super-Mare

Best Known For: A string of stage and TV roles.

Early-life: Born Robert O'Neill on August 15, 1966 in Weston-super-Mare, Con's TV acting debut was a walk-on role in Willy Russell's coming-of-age drama One Summer. At the age of 22, he was cast in another Russell project, playing Mickey on the stage in Blood Brothers. His performance won him the 1988 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and a Tony nomination for the Broadway version.

Career: O'Neill's other stage credits include The Awakening, A Tribute to the Blue Brothers, Telstar, Midnight Cowboy, The Caretaker, A View from a Bridge, and The Ladykillers. A regular on the small screen, O'Neill's TV credits include Brookside, Pie in the Sky, Tom Jones, Heartbeat, Waking the Dead, Moving Story, Criminal Justice, The Bible, Uncle, Banana and Cucumber. On the big screen, his credits include Dancin' Thru the Dark (1990), Telstar (2008) and Frank (2012). In early 2015, he starred in the 35th-anniversary staging of Educating Rita at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Quote: 'I think Blood Brothers is the most phenomenal musical, you can't help but be moved by it.'

Trivia: In 2011, he won the Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in A View from a Bridge at the Exchange Theatre in Manchester.

Felix Johnson (Actor) .. Jack Wadsworth

Madison Brown (Actor) .. Amber Wadsworth

James Senneck (Actor) .. Ben Wadsworth

Chris Kerry (Actor) .. Nun 1

Sally Womersley (Actor) .. Nun 2

Tanya Vital (Actor) .. Paramedic 1

Tyron Maynard (Actor) .. Paramedic 2

Maya Barcot (Actor) .. Mrs Dragovic

Rhys Connah (Actor) .. Ryan Cawood

David Crellin (Actor) .. Therapist

Kate Hampson (Actor) .. Woman

Sally Wainwright (Writer)

Neasa Hardiman (Director)

Juliet Charlesworth (Producer)

Nicola Shindler (Executive producer)

9:00 pm - 10:20 pm, Friday, May 1 on U&Drama (20)

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Season 2, Episode 3

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