Career: Cole made his big-screen debut in 1941's Cottage to Let, but didn't achieve fame until he landed the part of Flash Harry in the classic St Trinian's films. He went on to have a successful career on stage, TV and in movies, often appearing opposite mentor Sim in such productions as Scrooge and The Green Man. TV credits include My Good Friend, Dad, An Independent Man, Blott on the Landscape and Minder, which ran for 15 years. In his later years, he appeared in Station Jim, Bodily Harm, Mary Reilly, A Class Apart, and Diamond Geezer. He died on August 6, 2015, after a long illness. He was 90.

Career: McNeice's TV breakthrough was in the drama series Edge of Darkness. He has also appeared in a number of films, including 84 Charing Cross Road, Day of the Dead, No Escape, From Hell and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. His breakthrough into American films occurred when he played opposite Jim Carrey as Fulton Greenwall in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). Other notable credits include Conspiracy (2001), Valkyrie (2009) and the HBO hit series Rome. Since 2004, he has played Bert Large in Doc Martin.

Career: Samantha's first taste of fame came at 18 when she represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, eventually finishing joint 10th. But it's as an actress that she's now best known. She enjoyed success with sitcom Game On in the mid-1990s before appearing in The Grimleys, Up 'n' Under and Babes in the Wood. A successful run in a West End production of Guys and Dolls came just before she joined EastEnders in 2007. After being involved in a number of major storylines, she took a break from the soap in 2011. She went on to perform in a stage tour of South Pacific, and was also a subject of Who Do You Think You Are? In May 2013, it was confirmed that Samantha would return to EastEnders on a six-month contract.

Career: McElhone made her film debut in 1996 offering Surviving Picasso, and appeared in Dennis Potter's final projects Karaoke and Cold Lazarus in the same year. Hollywood movies The Devil's Own, The Truman Show and Ronin boosted her profile, but over the past few years she's struggled to find hit projects with Love's Labours Lost, The Contaminated Man and Killing Me Softly among the movies which vanished without a trace. Solaris was also a costly flop, but she fared better in Charles Dance's movie Ladies in Lavender. She's currently playing David Duchovny's estranged partner in US series Californication and her recent projects have also included The Secret of Moonacre and Thorne: Sleepyhead.

Career: Wood spent several years as a jobbing actor, receiving decent reviews for a varied selection of roles. His first acting part was in the 1985 film Flesh & Blood. He has since made guest appearances in TV series such as May to December, Only Fools and Horses, Murder in Mind, Sean's Show, Inspector Morse, One Foot in the Grave, Red Dwarf, A Touch of Frost, The Bill, Sea of Souls and Doc Martin. He has also starred on the big screen in Vera Drake (2004) and The Illusionist (2006). He appeared in a few episodes of London's Burning as Kevin Medhurst's delinquent brother's friend and also appeared in Miss Marple mystery They Do It with Mirrors. In 2006, he joined EastEnders, playing tough guy and serial womaniser Max Branning. In 2014, he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.