Career: In February 1985, Woodyatt appeared in the first-ever episode of EastEnders and has been with the show ever since - despite originally intending to stay with the soap for only a year. He is the only cast member who's been in the programme continuously since it began. Away from Walford, he has starred in a number of pantomimes, and regularly appears on TV game shows such as Celebrity Ready Steady Cook, A Question of TV and The Weakest Link (which he won). He has also presented Value For Money, Dreamhouse and National Lottery Live. He's an avid science fiction fan, and appeared in a BBC Two themed night dedicated to Star Trek.

Career: After graduating from Rada in 1987, he made his screen debut in TV film The Firm. He followed this with small roles in the movie Buster and TV series The Bill and Bergerac, before joining the cast of EastEnders as Phil Mitchell in 1990. Along with his on-screen brother Ross Kemp, he made a huge impression on soap fans, and quickly became a household name. Away from EastEnders, he's appeared in Murder in Mind, Kevin & Perry Go Large, and a number of pantomimes. He took a break from Walford in 2003 but returned in 2005; he's remained there ever since.

Career: Throughout the 1990s, Fenwick made guest appearances in the likes of Lovejoy, Minder, Pie in the Sky, Shine on Harvey Moon, Ellington, Casualty and The Bill. His big break came in 1998 when he joined the cast of EastEnders as Billy Mitchell.

Career: Ainsworth had guest appearances in a number of TV series, such as The Bill and A Touch of Frost, before landing the role of Little Mo in EastEnders. She stayed with the soap opera from 2000 until 2006. Since then, she has starred in such TV series as Holby Blue, The Wright Way and Call the Midwife. Her biggest role since appearing in EastEnders was as Cathy Keating in Granchester.

Career: Two major film roles in 1962 - Death Trap and Sparrows Can't Sing - resulted in greater recognition, but it wasn't until stage show Fings Ain't What They Used to Be that Windsor found true fame. Her career really took off after her appearance in the comedy film Carry On Spying. Stereotyped as a glamorous dolly bird, she was seen as the ultimate Carry On girl and appeared in nine of the classic movies. In recent years, she has appeared in the long-running soap EastEnders, playing Peggy Mitchell and becoming a genuine soap icon. She left Walford in 2010, and since then has done panto and regularly stood in for Elaine Paige when she's been unavailable to host her Radio 2 show.

Career: Richard's early TV roles included guest appearances in Hugh and I, The Arthur Haynes Show, The Likely Lads, Up Pompeii and On the Buses. She had a recurring role in the BBC's 1960s soap opera The Newcomers. Richard's big break came in 1972 when she began playing shop assistant Miss Brahms in the hugely popular sitcom Are You Being Served? She also featured in film versions of the sitcoms On The Buses (1971), Bless This House (1972) and Are You Being Served? (1977). Already a household name, Richard found further success as matriarch Pauline Fowler in BBC soap opera EastEnders, a role she played from the first episode in 1985 until her character's death in December 2006. Away from TV, Richard appeared regularly on the Radio 4 panel game Just a Minute. Richard died of breast cancer on February 26, 2009, at the age of 65. The last three months of her life were documented in the BBC programme Wendy Richard: To Tell You the Truth.