Career: McShane's first film was 1962's The Wild and the Willing. After that, he built a reputation as a fine stage actor thanks to various West End productions. His first starring role came in 1966's Skywest and Crooked, which co-starred Hayley Mills and was directed by her actor father John. He played Heathcliff in an acclaimed TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights and gained plaudits for such productions as Roots, Jesus of Nazareth and Disraeli. McShane became a household name thanks to Lovejoy in 1986, and even appeared in Dallas. Other projects include Deadwood (for which he won a Golden Globe award), Sexy Beast, Kings, 44 Inch Chest, The Pillars of the Earth, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Jack the Giant Slayer.

Career: Parish began her career in theatre, going on to make TV appearances in the likes of Lovejoy, Casualty, Holding On, The Vice and Clocking Off. She also made her soap debut in 1998, when she turned up as singer Lola in EastEnders. She followed up an acclaimed role in the drama series Babyfather with a two-year stint in The Bill as DC Eva Sharpe, a role she reprised in the spin-off MIT: Murder Investigation Team. In 2006, she returned to Albert Square, this time as Denise Fox and has stayed in Walford ever since.

Career: Jones quickly gained a reputation as a fine character actor while working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early TV roles came in Z Cars, The Baron and The Avengers. His first film was Marat/Sade in 1967. He and Dudley Sutton are the only actors to have appeared in the original and revamped versions of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). Other TV work has come in the likes of Jackanory, Inspector Morse, The District Nurse and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. Jones has become a cult hero thanks to his film work for legendary studio Hammer (Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed and The Satanic Rites of Dracula) and director David Lynch (The Elephant Man, Dune, Wild at Heart, On the Air and Hotel Room). Jones has played Sandy in Emmerdale since 2005.