Career: Armstrong's screen debut came in the classic Michael Caine gangster movie Get Carter in 1971. Other early roles included parts in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Softly, Softly and The Sweeney. His many other TV roles include Austin Donaghue in Our Friends in the North, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Jefferson in In the Red, and George Mole in Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years, alongside Alison Steadman. Film credits include The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Krull (1983), American Friends (1991), Patriot Games (1992) and Braveheart (1995). He has won countless accolades for his classic stage roles. He is currently best known for playing the role of Brian Lane in popular BBC series New Tricks, a part he played for 10 series.

Career: In 1980 she made a brief appearance in The Elephant Man. Bigger roles came in Shine on Harvey Moon and Angels. In 1989, she was cast in the sitcom Birds of a Feather alongside best friend Linda Robson; it ran for nine years. In 1996, Quirke earned critical acclaim for her role in psychological drama The Sculptress, and was praised for her performance as a bereaved mother in Our Boy. She also appeared in Office Gossip, Real Women, Maisie Raine, Being April, Down to Earth and The Thieving Headmistress before having a two-year stint in Emmerdale. While appearing in the Yorkshire-based soap her character underwent the trauma of losing a son, which coincided with the actress losing six-and-a-half stone in weight. She's since starred in Broadchurch and the ITV revival of Birds of a Feather.

Career: Sharp has rarely been out of work since the mid-1980s, but chooses her projects carefully, preferring to select top quality productions rather than jobs for the money. Her first movie was 1986's Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Roles in Road, The Rachel Papers and Close My Eyes followed. Frank Stubbs Promotes was a TV hit in 1993, the same year she worked on Naked, with Mike Leigh, with whom she re-teamed for Vera Drake. Her work in Playing the Field, Clocking Off and Bob and Rose made her one of the small screen's most sought-after actresses. Sharp has also worked extensively in the theatre, but is perhaps best known for playing DC Janet Scott in Scott & Bailey.