Career: While working in a department store in LA, Lansbury met a casting director through her mother. He offered her a role in the 1944 film Gaslight; she was just 18, but it landed her an Oscar nomination. Roles in National Velvet, Blue Hawaii and Bedknobs and Broomsticks followed. She gained further Academy Award nominations for The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Manchurian Candidate. She's also worked extensively on stage, winning a record five Tony Awards. But it was playing Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series Murder, She Wrote, that turned her into a household name. More recently, Lansbury has appeared in Nanny McPhee and Mr Popper's Penguins.

Career: Jarvis began his TV career playing a giant butterfly in an early episode of Doctor Who in 1965, and became a familiar face on British TV thanks to several high profile roles on the BBC, including playing Jon in the 1967 adaptation of The Forsyte Saga and the title role in the serialisation of Nicholas Nickleby a year later. He also took the lead role of Oliver Pryde in Rings On Their Fingers between 1978 and 1980 and has more recently starred in shows including Stargate Atlantis and Numb3rs. Martin is also well known for feature films roles, most notably in James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic and his regular appearances in Dictionary Corner on Countdown. He appeared in EastEnders as journalist Harvey Freeman in 2010. He also performs regularly in radio drama and he is one of the leading readers of audiobooks. He has had a long association with narrating Richmal Crompton's Just William stories.