Career: After numerous small TV and film roles, including parts in acclaimed dramas The Onion Field and Body Heat, Danson's big break came in 1982 when he was cast as retired baseball player and barkeeper Sam Malone in US sitcom Cheers. The show ran for more than a decade, and during that time, Danson received nine Emmy nominations, winning twice, and two Golden Globes. He went on to star in the successful sitcom Becker, which ran for six years. He's also starred in a number of films, including Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Made in America, Saving Private Ryan and a highly acclaimed adaptation of Gulliver's Travels. More recent TV work includes roles in Damages, Bored to Death, and CSI.

Career: Richardson's early films include The Hotel New Hampshire (directed by her dad), Wetherby (playing her mother as a young woman), King Ralph, and Shining Through. Controversial TV series Lady Chatterley made her famous in 1993. She went on to appear in numerous projects, such as Loch Ness, 101 Dalmatians, Event Horizon, Maybe Baby, and The Patriot before accepting a role in acclaimed US small screen hit Nip/Tuck in 2003, which made her a global household name. Her recent work includes the TV movie Wallis & Edward, The Tudors and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Career: Holm's first professional appearance was as a spear carrier in a 1956 production of Othello. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was said to be the most likely successor to Laurence Olivier. His first memorable screen appearance came in 1968's A Midsummer Night's Dream. His most famous movies since include Alien, Chariots of Fire, Greystoke, Brazil, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Day After Tomorrow.

Career: Allen was in a number of Comic Strip Presents... programmes during the 1980s. He also appeared in an episode of The Young Ones and made his film debut in Crystal Gazing, which he co-wrote. Among his highest profile projects are Scandal, A Very British Coup, Carry On Columbus, The Young Americans, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Martin Chuzzlewit, De-Lovely, 24 Hour Party People and The Others. Allen featured in BBC reality show Art School, released football-themed single Vindaloo as part of the band Fat Les, has conducted often-controversial interviews for Channel 4, and was most recently seen playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. More recently, he has starred in The Body Farm, By Any Means, and My Mad Fat Diary.

Career: Brimble started his acting career in theatre, beginning with a job as youth theatre organiser at the Marlowe Theatre and also acting in some of the theatre's plays. He went on to perform in theatre productions by a number of companies. In 1973, he started landing TV roles, starting with Wessex Tales. Following this, he appeared in such TV productions as The Sweeney, The Professionals and Dempsey and Makepeace. His film roles included Sweeney! (1977), Silver Dream Racer (1980) and Who Dares Wins (1982) before he was cast as Little John in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). Since then, he has appeared in such films as Loch Ness (1996), Seven Days to Live (2000) and A Knight's Tale (2001). Meanwhile, in TV, he has appeared in To Play the King, Ivanhoe, Emmerdale, The Bill and Grantchester.