Career: Ward moved on to theatres in Oxford and Birmingham, before making his London debut in 1964. His big break came three years later with a starring role in Loot, which led to several small TV and film roles. His first major movie role came in 1969's Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. In 1972, he proved he could carry a film with a stirring performance in Richard Attenborough's Young Winston. Other hits from this period include The Three Musketeers, All Creatures Great and Small and TV versions of Dracula and The Four Feathers. In his later life, he worked extensively on stage, but occasionally had supporting roles in films and on TV. He died on July 22, 2012, after a long illness.

Career: Hopkins's first professional work was on stage. He later joined Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, but left to make acclaimed movie The Lion in Winter. A steady stream of TV and film work followed (as well as some theatre appearances), including War and Peace, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, The Bunker, A Bridge Too Far, The Elephant Man, and Across the Lake. But Hopkins didn't become a major Hollywood star until after giving up alcohol. He won an Oscar for 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, and since then has starred in such hits as The Remains of the Day, Howards End, Hannibal, Shadowlands, Thor and Hitchcock.

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.