Catherine Cookson's The Round Tower

Emilia Fox (Actor) .. Vanessa Ratcliffe

Born: July 31, 1974 in London

Best Known For: Silent Witness.

Early-life: Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox was born on July 31, 1974, in London, to thespians Edward Fox and Joanna David. With so many relatives involved in the entertainment industry, including her uncles James and Robert, and grandmother Angela, Emilia naturally gravitated towards an acting career and made her screen debut in the acclaimed TV version of Pride and Prejudice alongside Colin Firth and her mother Joanna while still a student at Oxford University. Her younger brother, Freddie, has also decided to follow the family tradition. Emilia is also musical - she plays the cello, piano and trumpet.

Career: Since leaving full-time education, Fox has worked consistently on TV, but still found time to tread the boards and appear in movies. Period dramas Rebecca, The Round Tower and the aforementioned Pride and Prejudice brought her fame, but it was the remake of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) in 2000 that made her a household name. In 2002 she starred in Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and has more recently worked with Britain's acting elite in Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, The Virgin Queen, Marple: The Moving Finger, Born Equal, Upstairs Downstairs and Fallen Angel. In 2004 she took over from Amanda Burton as the lead actress in Silent Witness, and has been playing forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander ever since.

Quote: On attending film premieres: 'If you want to see that film, then great, but don't do it just to have your photo taken because that's silly, and inevitably you get hurt by it. People start picking up on things about your life that are irrelevant.'

Trivia: She is a patron of the environmental and human rights charity the Environmental Justice Foundation.

Keith Barron (Actor) .. Jonathan Ratcliffe

Born: August 08, 1936 in Mexborough, South Yorkshire

Best Known For: Sitcom Duty Free.

Early-life: Born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, on August 8, 1936, he was the son of a wholesale provisions merchant who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Barron said a sadistic teacher fear forced him to leave school, pushing him into acting. After National Service in the RAF, he joined an amateur dramatics group also attended by Brian Blessed. That led to training at Sheffield Playhouse and his first job with a repertory company in the city, earning £1 a week.

Career: Barron later moved to London, where he performed in several Dennis Potter plays in the West End. His TV debut came in a 1961 episode of The Avengers. It was the small screen plays Stand Up Nigel Barton, and Vote, Vote, Vote For Nigel Barton, both by Potter, that brought him to people's attention in the mid-1960s. His best-known work is on TV, but he has starred in films including The Land That Time Forgot, At The Earth's Core, Nothing But the Night and Voyage Of The Damned. His biggest success came playing philandering husband David in 1980s sitcom Duty Free. He went on to appear in Close Relations, Take Me Home, Where the Heart Is, NCS Manhunt, Brief Encounters and Being Eileen. He died on November 15, 2017 at the age of 83.

Quote: On being an actor: 'You take nothing for granted. The best thing about it is being offered another job. It keeps the whole thing alive.'

Trivia: In 2014, Barron toured with fellow original cast members Gwen Taylor and Neil Stacey in a stage version of Duty Free.

Jan Harvey (Actor) .. Jane Ratcliffe

Denis Lawson (Actor) .. Arthur Brett

Born: September 27, 1947 in Perthshire, Scotland

Best Known For: Being Ewan McGregor's uncle.

Early-life: Denis Stamper Lawson was born on September 27, 1947, in Perthshire, Scotland. His sister, Carol, is the mother of actor Ewan McGregor. Their parents hailed from Glasgow, but moved to Crieff to escape the poverty-stricken city. They later owned a watchmaker and jeweller's store. He remains very close to his family, and inspired Ewan to become an actor. Lawson left Crieff in the early 1970s to pursue his career in London.

Career: Lawson's first big success was in West End musical Pal Joey. He also appeared in such memorable TV productions as The Merchant of Venice, Rock Follies and The Man in the Iron Mask. He had a small role in the original Star Wars trilogy, was in the acclaimed Local Hero in 1983, and took the lead in sitcom The Kit Curran Radio Show. He has rarely been out of work since, whether it's on stage, film or TV. Among his other projects are The Ambassador, Bob Martin, Hornblower, Holby City, Bleak House, Robin Hood, Enid, Just William, Marchlands and New Tricks. He's also a director and has worked with his nephew on the theatre production Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs, and short film Solid Geometry.

Quote: 'The Star Wars films were one of the least important jobs I've ever done.'

Trivia: He voiced a character in the video game Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.

Ben Miles (Actor) .. Angus Cotton

Best Known For: Coupling.

Early-life: Born Benjamin Miles in Wimbledon in 1967, Ben began acting in school productions to get out of maths and English lessons. Later, he went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career: During the 1990s, Miles played a steady stream of supporting roles in a number of TV series such as Soldier Soldier, Is It Legal?, Wonderful You, The Bill, Peak Practice, Cold Feed and Holby City. His big break came in 2000 when he landed the role of Patrick in BBC sitcom Coupling. Other TV credits include The Forsyte Saga, Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness, Freezing, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Promise, and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder at Road Hill House. More recently, he has been starring in horror drama Dracula.

Quote: 'I've sort of enjoyed every job I've done, it's a very jammy thing to say.'

Trivia: Away from acting, Miles enjoys playing the guitar and drums.

Isabelle Amyes (Actor) .. Irene Brett

Robert Cole (Actor) .. Michael Brett

Christopher Connel (Actor) .. Smith

Jane Dixon (Actor) .. May

Jeremy Fowlds (Actor) .. Colin Brett

Trevor Fox (Actor) .. Fred Singleton

Jill Halfpenny (Actor) .. Rosie Cotton

Born: July 15, 1975 in Gateshead

Best Known For: Playing Kate in EastEnders.

Early-life: Born July 15, 1975, in Gateshead. She doesn't come from a theatrical background - her dad was a builder and her mum a classroom assistant - and says she has no idea where her love of acting came from. But she's been doing it from an early age; she attended classes at First Act Theatre in Gosforth and began appearing in Byker Grove, alongside Ant and Dec, at the age of 13.

Career: After quitting Byker Grove in 1992, Halfpenny took a break from TV for five years, eventually returning with a role in The Bill. Small parts in Birds of a Feather, Heartbeat and Peak Practice followed before she began playing Rebecca in Coronation Street in 1999. A year later, the character left Weatherfield having broken up Martin Platt's marriage to Gail. In 2002 she began a three-year stint as Kate, who married Phil Mitchell, in EastEnders. Since then Halfpenny has popped up in Inspector George Gently, Waterloo Road, Wild at Heart and Mount Pleasant. She was also Strictly Come Dancing champion in 2004 and has appeared in several acclaimed stage productions, including Calendar Girls and Legally Blonde.

Quote: 'Actors are always frustrated by the lack of versatility of the casting people who see you for roles. They do pigeonhole you.'

Trivia: Her neice, Chelsea, is also an actress and had a three-year stint in Emmerdale.

Tony Hodge (Actor) .. Wilton

Alan Grint (Adapted by)

Catherine Cookson (Writer)

3:15 pm - 6:35 pm, Sunday, May 3 on U&Drama +1 (60)

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