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
George Costigan
(Actor)
.. Nevison Gallagher
Rhys Connah
(Actor)
.. Ryan Cawood
Karl Davies
(Actor)
.. Daniel Cawood
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.
Charlie Murphy
(Actor)
.. Ann Gallagher
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.
Derek Riddell
(Actor)
.. Richard Cawood
Amit Shah
(Actor)
.. Faisal Bhatti
Mark Stanley
(Actor)
.. Rob Hepworth
Born:
April 29, 1988
Best Known For:
Playing Grenn in Game of Thrones.
Early-life:
Born on April 29, 1988. Mark started acting while he was at Prince Henry's Grammar School. He then went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which he graduated from in 2010.
Career:
Stanley's first TV appearance was in Game of Thrones, playing the character Grenn from 2011 to 2014. Since then, he has appeared in such series as Dickensian, The Collection and Broken. His film credits include National Theatre Live: Coriolanus (2014), Kajaki (2014), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Our Kind of Traitor (2016).
Trivia:
He was part of the ensemble cast of Game of Thrones that was nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2012 and 2015.
Rick Warden
(Actor)
.. Mike Taylor
Mollie Winnard
(Actor)
.. Joanna Hepworth
Jack Bandeira
(Actor)
.. Matija Jankovic
Oliver Huntingdon
(Actor)
.. Ivan Sertic
Andrew Tiernan
(Actor)
.. DC Hayes
Mete Dursun
(Actor)
.. Gorkem Tekeli
Chord Melodic
(Actor)
.. Sledge
Sara Bahadori
(Actor)
.. Binita Bhuppal
Alec Secareanu
(Actor)
.. Darius Knezevic
Kelly Harrison
(Actor)
.. Ros Cawood
Rina Mahoney
(Actor)
.. Anisha Bhatti
Yasmin Ali
(Actor)
.. Maira Bhatti
Myra-Sofia Iftikhar
(Actor)
.. Haniya Bhatti
Caroline Harding
(Actor)
.. SIO Mary Whitaker
Judy Holt
(Actor)
.. Jane Hepworth
Bethany Stott
(Actor)
.. Florence Hepworth
Bonnie Stott
(Actor)
.. Poppy Hepworth
Jason Merrells
(Actor)
.. DC Stead
Born:
November 02, 1968
in
London
Best Known For:
Cutting It and Emmerdale.
Early-life:
Born on November 2, 1968, in Wanstead, Essex. Jason developed a passion for art, writing and acting from an early age. However, his brother Simon had dropped out of the acting profession, so when arts graduate Jason later expressed an interest in the same career, his parents were worried he was making the wrong move, but eventually backed him. His dad designed the posters for a one-man show, and his mum used to pretend to be his agent to get him bookings. Merrells also cut hair as a student, little knowing it would come in handy for a later role.
Career:
Became a familiar face in 1994 as Matt Hawley in Casualty, but quit after three years in the role. He went on to appear in episodes of Thief Takers, The Bill, Fat Friends, Queer as Folk and Clocking Off. However, it was as Gavin Ferraday in BBC One drama Cutting It that he sent pulses racing. His student days snipping hair were boosted by five days' intensive training. He had the lead role in short-lived medical drama Sweet Medicine, before making appearances in Where the Heart Is and Murder City. Between 2006 and 2008 he played headmaster Jack Rimmer in Waterloo Road. In 2010, he made his debut in Emmerdale, playing Declan Macey.
Quote:
'Love scenes are quite a difficult technical exercise, but they're also slightly hysterical.'
Trivia:
He has directed episodes of River City for BBC Scotland.
Anne Marie Draycott
(Actor)
.. DC Betteridge
Natalie Grady
(Actor)
.. DC Owen
Paul Warriner
(Actor)
.. DC Mitchell
Matthew Zajac
(Actor)
.. Surroje
Matthew Booth
(Actor)
.. Receptionist
Sally Wainwright
(Writer)
Faith Penhale
(Executive producer)
Rebecca Ferguson
(Executive producer)
Ben Irving
(Executive producer)
Will Johnston
(Executive producer)
Jessica Taylor
(Producer)
Fergus O'Brien
(Director)