Career: Elba's earliest roles came in Crimewatch UK reconstructions, 2point4 Children, Absolutely Fabulous and Bramwell. He spent a couple of years in Channel 5 soap Family Affairs and featured in Ultraviolet and Dangerfield before playing a suave, but doomed, urban gangster in the critically acclaimed The Wire on US TV from 2002 to 2004. The role turned him into a star on both sides of the Atlantic. Projects since include 28 Weeks Later, American Gangster, RocknRolla, The Office (US version), Thor, The Big C, Prometheus and the hugely successful Luther. More recently, he has starred in Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and No Good Deed.

Career: Mackintosh made his TV debut in 1983 series Nanny, and went on to appear in Doctor Who, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4,The Bill, Care (for which he won a Royal Television Society Award), London Kills Me, The Buddha of Suburbia, Cadfael, Blue Juice, Prime Suspect, Undercover Heart and The Land Girls. He won Best Actor at the Brussels International Film Festival for his part in gender-bending comedy Different for Girls. Theatre roles have included Brighton Beach Memoirs and My Zinc Bed. His recent work includes Underworld: Evolution (and its second sequel), Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole in My Heart, Criminal Justice, Mo, and Luther.

Career: McGann started out on stage, eventually making his TV debut in the 1983 series Give Us a Break, but it only lasted for one series. He became a household name in 1987, thanks to acclaimed TV drama The Monocled Mutineer and has achieved long-lasting fame thanks to a starring role in cult 1986 film Withnail and I. He went on to appear in Alien 3, Our Mutual Friend, Nature Boy and Queen of the Damned. McGann also became the eighth Time Lord when he appeared in the 1996 Doctor Who film. Another notable appearance came in The Hanging Gale, a drama about the Irish potato famine which co-starred his three brothers. He's cropped up in several Hornblower dramas, plus Poirot, Marple, acclaimed drama True Dare Kiss and the last-ever episode of Waking the Dead.

Career: Roles followed for Brown in Grownups, Casualty, Mobile, Casualty, Spooks, The Bill, Occupation, Criminal Justice and Single Father. More recently, he played DS Justin Ripley in BBC drama Luther. His other TV credits include Good Cop, Agatha Christie's Marple, By Any Means and X Company.