Queens of Mystery - Death by Vinyl: Final Chapter - 04:00 am Sunday, March 15 on U&Drama +1

Juliet Stevenson (Narrator)

Born: October 30, 1956 in Kelvedon, Essex

Best Known For: Truly Madly Deeply.

Early-life: Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson was born in Essex on October 30, 1956, the youngest child of a brigadier and his teacher wife. Her childhood was spent in many different countries, including Australia, Malta and Germany. 'I didn't come from anywhere, which is strange,' she says. 'Acting is full of refugees from everything - class, race, sexuality.' On leaving school she enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she studied alongside such luminaries as Jonathan Pryce, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branagh and Imelda Staunton. After completing her studies, she was snapped up by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Career: Stevenson had appeared as most of Shakespeare's famous heroines by the time she was 30. As a result, she was hailed as the new Peggy Ashcroft, a label she hated and prompted her decision to leave the RSC. Her first TV role came in The Mallens in 1980. She made her first film, Drowning By Numbers, in 1988. The romantic drama Truly Madly Deeply introduced her to a wider audience in 1991. Since then she's returned to the stage numerous times, usually to great acclaim. Her distinguished CV includes diverse projects such as The Politician's Wife, Cider with Rosie, Bend it Like Beckham, Nicholas Nickleby, Mona Lisa Smile, Pierrepoint, and The Hour. Most recently she's been seen on the small screen in White Heat, The Village and Atlantis.

Quote: 'I'm hardly Hollywood material. They're interested in youth and perfection and I lay no claims to either. It's not a place that's particularly interested in talent.'

Trivia: She has voiced a number of audio recordings, including Hamlet, The King's General, A Room with a View, and Middlemarch.

Olivia Vinall (Actor) .. Det Sgt Matilda `Mattie" Stone

Julie Graham (Actor) .. Cat Stone

Born: July 24, 1965 in Irvine, North Ayrshire

Best Known For: At Home with the Braithwaites.

Early-life: Born July 24, 1965 in Irvine, North Ayrshire. Her father, John, a singer, left when she was a child. At the age of eight, writer/broadcaster David Webster became her stepfather. Her mother, Betty Gillin, who was also an actress, died of lung cancer, aged 50, when her daughter was 18. Julie made her TV debut in a 1986 episode of Taggart. It was the role of Alison McGrellis in Casualty in 1988 that helped boost her profile.

Career: Graham also starred in the TV series Harry and Life Support. However, she became a household name in comedy drama At Home with the Braithwaites. In 2003 she starred in Kay Mellor's steamy series Between the Sheets, and the same year appeared with Martin Clunes in the drama William and Mary (they were reunited years later when she made a guest appearance in Doc Martin). Her film credits include Silent Scream, Nuns on the Run, The Near Room, Preaching to the Perverted, Bedrooms and Hallways and Some Voices. She's also appeared in a revamp of cult 1970s series Survivors, The Bill, and was the best thing about short-lived BBC archaeological drama Bonekickers. More recently, Graham has enjoyed success with a starring role in ITV's period crime drama The Bletchley Circle and the BBC's Shetland.

Quote: 'Yes I've taken my clothes off and, yes, I've played saucy roles. But for god's sake it's not what I've built my career on. I try to find roles that are a little bit outside the box.'

Trivia: She is a patron of children's hospice Chestnut Tree House.

Sarah Woodward (Actor) .. Beth Stone

Siobhan Redmond (Actor) .. Jane Stone

Andrew Leung (Actor) .. Dr Daniel Lynch

Rebecca Grant (Actor) .. Natasha Young

Martin Trenaman (Actor) .. Insp Derek Thorne

Michael Elcock (Actor) .. PC Terry Foster

Michelle Collins (Actor) .. Electra Bliss

Born: May 28, 1961 in Hackney, London

Best Known For: Playing Cindy Beale in EastEnders and Stella Price in Coronation Street.

Early-life: Born Michelle Danielle Collins on May 28, 1961, in Hackney, London. When Collins was a baby, her father walked out, leaving her mother to bring up two daughters. Collins dreamed of becoming an actress, but didn't do anything about it until the age of 16 when her best friend Kate died of a heart attack. Suddenly life seemed short, and Collins set about getting onto a drama course.

Career: A self-confessed workaholic, her first professional job was as a backing singer for Mari Wilson, which she followed up by appearing in a Squeeze video. She made several minor TV appearances before joining EastEnders in 1988. Since quitting her role as Cindy Beale in the BBC soap she has starred in numerous other major TV shows - including Sunburn (she also released the theme tune as a single), Real Women, Ella and the Mothers, Daylight Robbery, Rock Rivals and Getting Out. She joined the cast of Coronation Street in 2011, playing Stella Price, the landlady of the Rovers Return, but left three years later. She's since appeared in Casualty.

Quote: 'I'm not too beautiful, I'm not too ugly. I'm normal, and I think other women find me accessible.'

Trivia: Away from showbusiness, she is a committed supporter of Oxfam and has travelled to various countries to witness the charity's work in action.

Chelsea Edge (Actor) .. Nikki Holler

Con O'Neill (Actor) .. Len Savage

Born: August 15, 1966 in Weston-super-Mare

Best Known For: A string of stage and TV roles.

Early-life: Born Robert O'Neill on August 15, 1966 in Weston-super-Mare, Con's TV acting debut was a walk-on role in Willy Russell's coming-of-age drama One Summer. At the age of 22, he was cast in another Russell project, playing Mickey on the stage in Blood Brothers. His performance won him the 1988 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and a Tony nomination for the Broadway version.

Career: O'Neill's other stage credits include The Awakening, A Tribute to the Blue Brothers, Telstar, Midnight Cowboy, The Caretaker, A View from a Bridge, and The Ladykillers. A regular on the small screen, O'Neill's TV credits include Brookside, Pie in the Sky, Tom Jones, Heartbeat, Waking the Dead, Moving Story, Criminal Justice, The Bible, Uncle, Banana and Cucumber. On the big screen, his credits include Dancin' Thru the Dark (1990), Telstar (2008) and Frank (2012). In early 2015, he starred in the 35th-anniversary staging of Educating Rita at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Quote: 'I think Blood Brothers is the most phenomenal musical, you can't help but be moved by it.'

Trivia: In 2011, he won the Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in A View from a Bridge at the Exchange Theatre in Manchester.

Mark Heap (Actor) .. Kurt Lee

Frances Barber (Actor) .. Viv Collins

Born: May 13, 1958 in Wolverhampton

Best Known For: A string of performances on the stage and the small screen.

Early-life: Born May 13, 1958, the fourth of six children from a working class family in Wolverhampton. She couldn't afford to go to drama school; instead, she did a postgraduate degree in theatre studies at Cardiff University. At one point considered working for the Samaritans: 'I went to a Samaritans meeting and had an initiation period, but it wasn't for me.'

Career: Started acting with Hull Truck Theatre Company, and by 25 had been accepted by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Had bit parts in Michael Palin comedy The Missionary, and A Zed and Two Noughts. Achieved a mainstream breakthrough in 1987 with the movies Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, and Prick Up Your Ears. Has worked steadily since, with highlights including epic miniseries Rhodes, John Thaw drama Plastic Man, and Michael Caine movie Shiner. Other projects have included the Pet Shop Boys' West End musical Closer To Heaven, and TV offerings Manchild, The IT Crowd, New Tricks, Where The Heart Is, Funland, Doctor Who, The Fattest Man in Britain, Silk, The Spa, and Psychobitches.

Quote: 'It wasn't meant to happen to a girl from Wolverhampton.'

Trivia: In 2005, she appeared alongside Ian McKellen in the Old Vic's pantomime production of Aladdin.

Josette Simon (Actor) .. Tallulah Savage Hughes

Best Known For: Cry Freedom and Blakes 7.

Early-life: Josette Patricia Simon was born in Leicester in 1960, the youngest of four children. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. In 1980, she made her TV debut in an episode of the sitcom The Cuckoo Waltz, but she made a big impact in another show that year, sci-fi drama Blakes 7, playing Dayna Mellanby.

Career: Simon made her film debut in Cry Freedom (1987). A year later, she had a lead role in Milk and Honey. In 1992, she starred alongside Brenda Fricker in the TV movie Seekers. Her TV work includes appearances in Kavanagh QC, Dalziel and Pascoe, Lewis, The Bill, Skins, Minder, Casualty and Silent Witness. More recently, she has starred in New Tricks, Merlin, Death in Paradise and Suspects. On the stage, she has performed frequently with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Quote: On Blakes 7: 'It was such a massive cult series. I still get letters about it now.'

Trivia: In 1995, Simon received an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Leicester. She was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2000.

Matthew Thomas (Writer)

Jamie Magnus Stone (Director)

Tim Vaughan (Producer)

Linda James (Producer)

Queens of Mystery: Death by Vinyl: Final Chapter

04:00 am - 05:00 am, Sunday, March 15 on U&Drama +1 (60)

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Death by Vinyl: Final Chapter
Season 1, Episode 4

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