Motherland - Last Christmas - 10:35 pm Tuesday, December 30 on BBC Three HD

Anna Maxwell Martin (Actor) .. Julia

Best Known For: Bleak House.

Early-life: Born Anna Charlotte Martin in Beverley, East Yorkshire, on May 10, 1977. She has an older brother called Adam, and their mother gave up her job as a research scientist to raise them. Their father was the managing director of a pharmaceutical company; he died after a battle with cancer when Anna was 24. After leaving school, she studied history at Liverpool University, then enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career: Martin's TV debut came in an episode of Midsomer Murders, but she first made a mark on the acting world on stage, thanks to an acclaimed performance in the National Theatre's epic, six-hour adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials during the winter of 2003 and 2004. A year later she won a Bafta for her performance in the BBC's Bleak House; she picked up her second Bafta for Poppy Shakespeare in 2008. In fact, everything Martin touches seems to turn to gold - she's suffered very few flops or misfires in her career so far. On stage she's impressed in the likes of The Entertainer, Cabaret and Measure for Measure, while other TV projects include Freefall, Moonshot, South Riding, The Bletchley Circle and Death Comes to Pemberley (which was partly shot in her home town). Martin has been less active on film, with Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) and Philomena (2013) the highlights.

Quote: On period dramas: "I just don't like it: the hair, the make-up, the corsets, the hours in costume. I'd rather have no make-up on and wear an anorak."

Trivia: When she was a child, Martin wanted to be Whitney Houston.

Lucy Punch (Actor) .. Amanda

Paul Ready (Actor) .. Kevin

Diane Morgan (Actor) .. Liz

Tanya Moodie (Actor) .. Meg

Philippa Dunne (Actor) .. Anne

Oliver Chris (Actor) .. Paul

Born: November 02, 1978 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Best Known For: Playing Boyce in Green Wing.

Early-life: Oliver Graham Chris was born on November 2, 1978 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He attended Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, having passed his 11-plus exam to get in, before moving to the Michael Hall Steiner School in his fourth year. Oliver went on to attend the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career: Chris has made many appearances in British TV comedy series, having played Ricky Howard in The Office and Boyce in Green Wing, as well as appearing in According to Bex, Nathan Barley, Rescue Me and The IT Crowd. Aside from comedy, he has appeared in TV film Sharpe's Challenge (2007) as well as the shows Hotel Babylon and Silent Witness. His film credits include The Gathering (2002) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). He has also had a number of roles on the stage, including National Theatre productions of Twelfth Night and One Man, Two Guvnors.

Quote: "When people talk to me as if I'm some kind of constantly working actor, I get very confused. It's not the case. I'm not sifting through offers."

Trivia: In 2012, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his work in One Man, Two Guvnors.

Ellie Haddington (Actor) .. Marion

Jackie Clune (Actor) .. Mrs Lamb

Terry Mynott (Actor) .. Johnny

Penny Ryder (Actor) .. Elizabeth

Louise Delamere (Actor) .. Tamara

Born: July 22, 1969 in Wallasey, Merseyside

Best Known For: No Angels and Holby City.

Early-life: Louise Alexandra Delamere was born in Wallasey, Merseyside, on July 22, 1969. She went on to attend Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. As a student, she shared a flat with former Doctor Who David Tennant.

Career: Delamere made her TV debut in an episode of Peak Practice in 1994 and a year later, she starred on the big screen in Mad Dogs and Englishmen and Judge Dredd. After a number of guest appearances in the likes of Pie in the Sky, Game On, Beast and Linda Green, Delamere landed a recurring role on Channel 4 drama No Angels. More recently, she has starred in Doc Martin, Scott & Bailey, Inspector George Gently, Waterloo Road and The Bible. In 2013, she joined the cast of Holby City, playing Colette Sheward.

Quote: "I once went for a year without one single acting job. That's when you polish up your waitressing skills."

Trivia: She is married to actor Stephen Mangan.

Anthony Head (Actor) .. Bill

Born: February 20, 1954 in London

Best Known For: Playing Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Early-life: Anthony Stewart Head was born in Camden, north London, on February 20, 1954. His father, Seafield Head, was a documentary film-maker and his mother, Helen Shingler, was an actress. His older brother, Murray, is an actor and singer best known for his role in the film Sunday Bloody Sunday and stage hit Chess. Anthony caught the acting bug at the age of six, when he first appeared in a school play, and went on to join the London Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career: Head's big break came when he was offered the role of Jesus in a West End production of Godspell. More musical stage work followed, as did roles in Secret Army, Bergerac, The Mallens, Love in a Cold Climate, and Accident. The Gold Blend ads in the late 1980s, in which he co-starred with Sharon Maughan, were hugely popular and made him a household name. They even went down well in America, paving the way for his successful run in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since then, Head has returned to the UK, appearing in such projects as Little Britain, Doctor Who, Manchild, Sold, The Invisibles and Merlin.

Quote: "Go outside the zone of confidence and find out what's on the other side."

Trivia: Head played the lead role in Radio 4 comedy Bleak Expectations between 2007 and 2012.

Joanna Lumley (Actor) .. Felicity

Born: May 01, 1946 in Srinagar, Kashmir

Best Known For: Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous.

Early-life: Joanna Lamond Lumley was born on May 1, 1946, in Srinagar, Kashmir. As a child she lived with her family in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, where her father was a major in the Ghurkas. She came to England aged nine to attend boarding school in Kent, and later a convent school in Hastings. At 16 she auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but was turned down and decided to become a model instead, despite initially being told she was "too fat and too ugly".

Career: Lumley's first film was 1969's Some Girls Do, followed by Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Her most notable early role was as Ken Barlow's girlfriend Elaine in Coronation Street. Lumley became famous thanks to The New Avengers in 1976. After Sapphire and Steel in the late 1970s, she turned her attention to the theatre and had a stint as a Times columnist. In 1992, Jennifer Saunders cast her as Patsy in sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. Since then, she has appeared in numerous TV dramas and films, including Maybe Baby, James and the Giant Peach, Jam & Jerusalem, Sensitive Skin, The Making of a Lady and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Quote: "I can't see any difference in having your hair dyed, your teeth fixed, your nose done, or your face smoothed out or lifted."

Trivia: Lumley received an OBE in 1995.

Maggie McCarthy (Actor) .. Anne's mammy

Sharon Horgan (Writer)

Born: April 04, 1970 in London

Best Known For: Co-writing and starring in sitcom Pulling.

Early-life: Sharon was born in London on April 4, 1970 and moved to Dublin when she was seven. She is one of five siblings and went on to study English at Brunel University. Her first break came in 2001 when she won the BBC New Comedy award for sketch-writing in 2001 with her writing partner Dennis Kelly.

Career: Horgan has carved out a career writing and performing on comedy shows. She has written and starred in Angelo's, Pulling and Dead Boss. She has also appeared in Annually Retentive, Free Agents, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Little Crackers and Psychobitches.

Quote: "I love making men cry."

Trivia: Horgan won a British Comedy Award for Pulling.

Holly Walsh (Writer)

(Writer)

Barunka O'Shaughnessy (Writer)

Caroline Norris (Producer)

Simon Hynd (Director)

Clelia Mountford (Executive producer)

Helen Serafinowicz (Executive producer)

Motherland: Last Christmas

10:35 pm - 11:10 pm, Tuesday, December 30 on BBC Three HD (107)

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Last Christmas
Season 4, Episode 1

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