I, Jack Wright - A Tougher Love - 9:15 pm Monday, July 13 on BBC One London

Nikki Amuka-Bird (Actor) .. Sally

Percelle Ascott (Actor) .. Reuben Maguire

Liz Kingsman (Actor) .. DC Kat Jones

(Actor) .. Georgia Wright

Born: October 26, 1981 in Bromley, Kent

Best Known For: Roles in a string of stage and screen hits.

Early-life: Zoe Tapper was born on October 26, 1981, in Bromley, Kent. She trained at the Academy Drama School and at the Central School of Speech and Drama, from which she graduated in the spring of 2003, days before taking on her first film role. She first came to prominence playing Nell Gwynne in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Stage Beauty in 2004 and has since notched up a steady string of stage and screen credits.

Career: Starring roles on TV include playing Mary Collins in A Harlot's Progress for Channel 4, Jane in Oliver Parker's The Private Life of Samuel Pepys alongside Steve Coogan, Gemma in the first series of the Sky One UK TV series Hex, Hermia in the 2005 BBC TV adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jenny Maple in the BBC miniseries Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, Sheila Steafel in the 2008 BBC TV play The Curse of Steptoe and Anya Raczynski in the action-packed BBC remake of Survivors. She also took the lead role in the small-screen version of the Gothic ghost story Affinity.

Quote: 'I did a stunt with Mackenzie Crook where I had to kick him and grab him by the throat and it was great fun.'

Trivia: On stage, she has appeared in Epitaph For George Dillon in the West End, and Othello at Shakespeare's Globe.

Rakhee Thakrar (Actor) .. Laura Johnstone

Born: February 29, 1984 in Leicester

Best Known For: Playing Shabnam Masood on EastEnders.

Early-life: Rakhee was born in Leicester on February 29, 1984. It was during her time at Soar Valley College that she developed an interest in acting. She joined Leicester theatre company Hathi Productions, which was run by her drama teacher at Soar Valley College. In 2004, she joined a team of budding newshounds to learn about print journalism at Leicester Mercury. In the same year, she landed a role on radio drama Silver Street, which was broadcast on the BBC Asian Network.

Career: In 2006, Thakrar made her small-screen debut in TV movie Banglatown Banquet. She followed this up with guest roles in the likes of Doctors, Holby City, DCI Banks, Peep Show and Cloud 9. Her big break came in 2014, when she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Shabnam Masood.

Quote: On her EastEnders character: 'Shabnam has got a great big heart and is fiercely protective of her family. She adores them and will do anything to keep them on the right path.'

Trivia: During her brief time as a journalist, Thakrar wrote about the unusual situation of being born on February 29th.

Niamh Cusack (Actor) .. Annie Rouse

John Simm (Actor) .. Gray Wright

Born: July 10, 1970 in Leeds

Best Known For: Playing Sam Tyler in Life on Mars

Early-life: Born John Ronald Simm on July 10, 1970, in Leeds. He was raised in Nelson, Lancashire, and attended Edge End High School. He's the eldest of three children. His father Ronald, a local musician, taught him how to play the guitar and together they toured the region's working men's clubs. In 1986, aged 16, John enrolled at Blackpool Drama College, and two years later moved to London to study Stanislavsky's acting methods at London's Drama Centre.

Career: Simm made his TV debut in a 1992 episode of Rumpole of the Bailey. He also appeared in Heartbeat, TV movie Meat, Dalziel and Pascoe's first drama A Pinch of Snuff, Cracker and the film Boston Kickout. Simm became a familiar face thanks to acclaimed series The Lakes. He went on to appear in such projects as Human Traffic, 24 Hour Party People, Spaced, White Teeth, State of Play and Sex Traffic. Simm's performance as troubled cop Sam Tyler in BBC hit Life on Mars made him a household name. Since then he's appeared in Doctor Who, Mad Dogs, The Village, Mad Dogs and Prey. While continuing his work as an actor, during the 1990s he was also a founder member of the rock band Magic Alex.

Quote: On why he chose to make Life on Mars: 'The mad twist at the start appealed to me. I thought, if I can make that believable I can make anything believable.'

Trivia: He's also played alongside his friend, Echo and the Bunnymen star Ian McCulloch, on albums and live on stage.

Harry Lloyd (Actor) .. DCI Hector Morgan

Gemma Jones (Actor) .. Rose Wright

James Wilby (Actor) .. Max Preston

Born: February 20, 1958 in Rangoon, Burma

Best Known For: His performances in Merchant Ivory films.

Early-life: Born in 1958 in Rangoon, Burma (his father was an executive with the British Oxygen Company), but raised in England. He attended school in Cumbria and gained a maths degree from Durham University before studing at RADA. While there he starred in the 1982 film Privileged alongside Hugh Grant and Imogen Stubbs. After graduating he gained experience on stage, which led to the lead role in Ismail Merchant and James Ivory's adaptation of EM Forster's novel Maurice, again opposite Hugh Grant.

Career: After impressing in his breakthrough role, Wilby subsequently appeared in a miniseries based on A Tale of Two Cities, and co-starred with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in another acclaimed Merchant/Ivory adaptation of EM Forster, Howards End. Though the rest of Wilby's 1990s movies were not as impressively received, he continued to work regularly, turning up in Immaculate Conception, the First World War drama Regeneration, the children's movie Tom's Midnight Garden, and as the bitter lord of the manor in Ken Russell's TV project Lady Chatterley. Wilby reunited with Ismail Merchant in the producer's directorial effort Cotton Mary. He subsequently appeared among the distinguished ensemble populating Robert Altman's Oscar-winning period piece Gosford Park, Midsomer Murders, Poirot and The Great Train Robbery. He also continues to work on stage.

Quote: 'I am lucky enough to find learning my lines really easy. The trouble is that I can't remember anything else, and as soon as I start preparing for a role, telephone numbers, children's birthdays and the names of favourite wines just fly out of the window. It's a real curse.'

Trivia: In his spare time, he enjoys yachting.

Daniel Rigby (Actor) .. John Wright

Ruby Ashbourne Serkis (Actor) .. Emily Wright

Callum Adams (Actor) .. Kyle

Chris Lang (Writer)

Nickie Sault (Producer)

Tom Vaughan (Series director)

I, Jack Wright: A Tougher Love

9:15 pm - 10:00 pm, Monday, July 13 on BBC One London (1)

About this Broadcast

A Tougher Love
Season 1, Episode 3

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