Career: McShane's first film was 1962's The Wild and the Willing. After that, he built a reputation as a fine stage actor thanks to various West End productions. His first starring role came in 1966's Skywest and Crooked, which co-starred Hayley Mills and was directed by her actor father John. He played Heathcliff in an acclaimed TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights and gained plaudits for such productions as Roots, Jesus of Nazareth and Disraeli. McShane became a household name thanks to Lovejoy in 1986, and even appeared in Dallas. Other projects include Deadwood (for which he won a Golden Globe award), Sexy Beast, Kings, 44 Inch Chest, The Pillars of the Earth, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Jack the Giant Slayer.

Career: Parish began her career in theatre, going on to make TV appearances in the likes of Lovejoy, Casualty, Holding On, The Vice and Clocking Off. She also made her soap debut in 1998, when she turned up as singer Lola in EastEnders. She followed up an acclaimed role in the drama series Babyfather with a two-year stint in The Bill as DC Eva Sharpe, a role she reprised in the spin-off MIT: Murder Investigation Team. In 2006, she returned to Albert Square, this time as Denise Fox and has stayed in Walford ever since.

Career: A late starter, Finlay didn't appear in the West End until he was 31. After making a series of acclaimed performances in various plays, he was invited to join Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company. He starred opposite the legendary actor in Othello, and then reprised the role on the big screen in 1965, bagging an Oscar nomination in the process. Other major projects included Dennis Potter's version of Casanova, The Three Musketeers, and controversial TV drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire. He also featured in Common as Muck, Longitude, The Sins, Station Jim, Johnny and the Bomb, The Pianist and Life Begins. He died on January 30, 2016, from heart failure after a long illness. He was 89.