Career: On his return from service, Macnee studied at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art. Small roles in several films followed but, frustrated at the lack of opportunity in Britain, he emigrated to Canada, then moved to the US. He appeared in numerous TV plays and films before returning to the UK in 1959. Producing Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years brought him to the attention of TV bosses who, to his surprise, offered him the role of John Steed in The Avengers in 1961. He stayed with the popular series until it ended in 1969, but returned to the role in The New Avengers in 1976. Macnee also appeared in such movies as A View to a Kill, This Is Spinal Tap and The Sea Wolves. He died on June 25, 2015.

Career: David worked steadily on the stage throughout the 1980s and made his film debut in Bright Lights, Big City in 1988. He was later offered a role in Little Man Tate by former Yale classmate Jodie Foster, who remembered him from a student play. In 1992, he was in short-lived sitcom The Powers That Be and caught the eye of Frasier's creators, who noticed his resemblance to Kelsey Grammer and wrote the role of Niles especially for him. His performance in the long-running sitcom earned him four Emmy awards and a reported salary of $1million per episode for the last few seasons. Frasier came to an end in 2003 and David has since been seen in the film Down With Love and in various stage productions on Broadway and the West End. He won a Tony Award in 2007 for his performance in Kander and Ebb musical Curtains.

Career: After moving to Los Angeles, Leeves appeared in a series called Throb and made guest appearances in a number of shows, including Seinfeld and the miniseries Pandora's Clock. Her big break came in 1993 when she was cast as Daphne Moon in Cheers spin-off Frasier. Leeves has starred on Broadway as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and played parts in a variety of films, including Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), To Live and Die in LA (1985), Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and Music of the Heart (1999). Since 2010, she has starred in the sitcom Hot in Cleveland.

Career: Determined to become a serious actor, Grammer spent two years at New York's Juilliard School. He then worked in theatre before making his TV debut in 1983 miniseries Kennedy. He had a stint in soap Another World, and in 1984 began playing Dr Frasier Crane in Cheers. After Cheers ended in 1993, he launched the hugely popular spin-off series Frasier. In addition to starring in 264 editions of the sitcom, he directed more than 30 episodes. Grammer has also starred in X-Men: The Last Stand, short-lived sitcoms Back to You and Hank, and the dramas Boss and Partners. He is also the voice of Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons.

Career: Following acclaimed performances at university, Jacobi joined Birmingham Rep. He was spotted by Laurence Olivier, who invited him to join the National Theatre Company. He made his film debut alongside Olivier in 1965's Othello. Since then, Jacobi has continued to make acclaimed appearances on stage and screen. Among his films are The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, Love Is the Devil, Gladiator, Gosford Park, The King's Speech and Hereafter. He inspired Kenneth Branagh to become an actor and worked alongside him in Henry V, Hamlet and Dead Again. Jacobi won a Bafta for I, Claudius in 1977, starred in the medieval-set series Cadfael, played The Master in Doctor Who, is the narrator of In the Night Garden and scored a surprise hit with Last Tango in Halifax.