Career: Helena's professional debut came at 16 in a TV commercial, swiftly followed by small-screen movie Pattern of Roses. The film Lady Jane followed, but it was 1985's A Room with a View which made her a star. Roles in Hamlet, Howards End and Frankenstein followed, and she was Oscar-nominated for 1997's The Wings of the Dove. The actress went on to prove she could do more than just period drama in projects such as Fight Club, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and lent her voice to animated movies Corpse Bride and Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. She made her musical debut in the big-screen version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. She's since appeared in Dark Shadows, Les Miserables and Burton & Taylor, and played Bellatrix Lestrange in several of the Harry Potter movies.

Career: In 1959, Rigg signed a five-year contract with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her move to TV came in 1965 when she was offered the role of Emma Peel in The Avengers, but the demand for interviews and photographs proved too much, forcing her to quit in 1967. She went on to star in various movies, including On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Julius Caesar and The Great Muppet Caper, but by the 1980s her screen success was fading. However, she returned to form in 1989 in the award-winning miniseries Mother Love, and has appeared continually on stage, film and TV ever since. In 2013, she made a memorable Doctor Who villain alongside Matt Smith and her real-life daughter Rachael Stirling, and has a regular role in the acclaimed Game of Thrones.

Career: Fox was an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (which featured his brother James), and had a bigger role in 1963's This Sporting Life, the same year he made his TV debut in Suspense. He quickly became famous in the UK thanks to Edward & Mrs Simpson, The Jokers, The Portrait of a Lady, Oh! What a Lovely War, and The Go-Between, but it was The Day of the Jackal in 1973 which brought him international acclaim. Since then, Fox has appeared in A Bridge Too Far, The Duellists, Gandhi, Never Say Never Again, A Passage to India, Lost in Space, Stage Beauty and Oliver Twist. He continues to act on stage.

Career: Massey's first roles came on the stage in the early 1950s. Her film debut was in Ford's Gideon's Way in 1958. Among her most famous movies were Peeping Tom, Frenzy, The Vault of Horror, Another Country, The Tall Guy and The Importance of Being Earnest. She won a Bafta for her role in 1986 TV movie Hotel du Lac. Other small-screen credits include Tales of the Unexpected, A Tale of Two Cities and He Knew He Was Right. She died on July 3, 2011, at the age of 73.

Career: Plummer made his Broadway debut in 1953 in The Starcross Story - a play that lasted just one night. He had better luck with his next show, Home is the Hero, which lasted for 30 performances. He has since appeared successfully on stages around the world, including London. Plummer's film career began in 1958 when he was cast in Stage Struck, but it was The Sound of Music in 1965 that made him an international star. Since then, he has been a heavily in-demand character actor and appeared in a number of notable films, including The Night of the Generals (1967), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Malcolm X (1992), The Insider (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and The Lake House (2006). He received his first Academy Award nomination in 2009 for The Last Station, but lost out to Christoph Waltz. He had better luck in 2012 when he won an Oscar for his performance in Beginners (2010). His recent credits include Priest (2011) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Career: Fullerton went on to enjoy an acting career for more than 30 years on the stage, TV and big screen. On TV, she starred in Angels, The Charmer, Hold the Dream, and To Be the Best, and on the stage she starred in a number of productions, including opposite Richard Harris in West End musical Camelot. In films, she is best remembered for playing Bond girl Pola Ivanova in A View to a Kill alongside Roger Moore. She left the acting profession in 1995 and embarked on a new career as a property guru. She now writes property features for a number of publications. In 2013, she was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.