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Described by film producer Michael Deeley as "the very best eye in the business", director Ridley Scott was born on November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. His father was an officer in the Royal Engineers and the family followed him as his career posted him throughout the United Kingdom and Europe before they eventually returned to Teesside. Scott wanted to join the British Army (his elder brother Frank had already joined the Merchant Navy) but his father encouraged him to develop his artistic talents instead and so he went to West Hartlepool College of Art and then London's Royal College of Art where he helped found the film department.

In 1962, he joined the BBC as a trainee set designer working on several high profile series. He attended a trainee director's course while he was there and his first directing job was on an episode of the popular BBC police series Z Cars (1962), Error of Judgement (1965). More TV work followed until, frustrated by the poor financial rewards at the BBC, he went into advertising. With his younger brother, Tony Scott, he formed the advertising production company RSA (Ridley Scott Associates) in 1967 and spent the next 10 years making some of the best known and best loved TV adverts ever shown on British television, including a series of ads for Hovis bread set to the music of Dvorak's New World Symphony which are still talked about today ("'e were a great baker were our dad.")

He began working with producer David Puttnam in the 1970s developing ideas for feature films. Their first joint endeavor, The Duellists (1977) won the Jury Prize for Best First Work at Cannes in 1977 and was nominated for the Palm d'Or, more than successfully launching Scott's feature film career. The success of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) inspired Scott's interest in making science fiction and he accepted the offer to direct Dan O'Bannon's low budget science fiction horror movie Alien (1979), a critical and commercial success that firmly established his worldwide reputation as a movie director.

Blade Runner (1982) followed in 1982 to, at best, a lukewarm reception from public and critics but in the years that followed, its reputation grew - and Scott's with it - as one of the most important sci-fi movies ever made. Scott's next major project was back in the advertising world where he created another of the most talked-about advertising spots in broadcast history when his "1984"-inspired ad for the new Apple Macintosh computer was aired during the Super Bowl on January 22, 1984. Scott's movie career has seen a few flops (notably Legend (1985) and 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)), but with successes like Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001) to offset them, his reputation remains solidly intact.

Ridley Scott was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire at the 2003 Queen's New Year Honours for his "substantial contribution to the British film industry". On July 3, 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Royal College of Art in a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship in 2018. BAFTA described him as "a visionary director, one of the great British film-makers whose work has made an indelible mark on the history of cinema. Forty years since his directorial debut, his films continue to cross the boundaries of style and genre, engaging audiences and inspiring the next generation of film talent."

Jeremy Swift is an English actor born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham in 1960, who has most recently been seen in 'Mary Poppins Returns' directed by Rob Marshall for Disney. Jeremy has also worked with legendary film directors such as Roman Polanski (Oliver Twist), Robert Altman (Gosford Park) and The Wachowski Siblings (Jupiter Ascending). His professional career began touring a revue show to prisons and borstals and throughout his 20's Jeremy worked mainly in theatre including The National Theatre (What The Butler Saw) and the West End (Abigail's Party). Jeremy moved more into television in his 30's with roles in Vanity Fair and cult show The Smoking Room (BBC) then in his 40's into major feature films such as Gosford Park, Amazing Grace, Oliver Twist, Fred Claus and Jupiter Ascending. He is known internationally for his role in Downton Abbey, in which he played Mr. Spratt (Maggie Smiths butler) and Foyle's War, in which he played Glenvil Harris. Jeremy is married to the actress Mary Roscoe. (q v )They have 2 children and live in London.

Described by top film critic Mark Kermode as an "unbelievably versatile" actor, Jamie Bell was born in 1986 in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK, to Eileen (Matfin) and John Bell, a toolmaker. He comes from a family of dancers including his grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister. It was at his sister's dance practices that he would stand outside the door and imitate the movements of the dancers inside. At age six, he was encouraged to step inside the door and, thus, his dance career began. His own story parallels that of Billy Elliot (2000) in that Jamie kept his dancing a secret from his friends at school. His mother had him when she was 16 and, unfortunately, he never knew his father.

When he met Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot (2000), Jamie adopted him as his father. Once the word about his dancing got out, he was harassed, but this only made him more determined to prove that dancing wasn't just for girls. He has proven a lot by landing the title role of Billy Elliot (2000), winning the role in an audition that included more than 2,000 boys from the northeast of England. His ensuing performance certainly justified the selection since he has not only won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world, he has also been nominated for and won a number of awards, including a Best Newcomer Award and then a Best Male Performance at the BAFTA awards.

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born on 6 January, 1955, in Consett, Co. Durham, UK, to Ella May (Bainbridge) and Eric Atkinson. His father owned a farm, where Rowan grew up with his two older brothers, Rupert and Rodney. He attended Newcastle University and Oxford University where he earned degrees in electrical engineering. During that time, he met screenwriter Richard Curtis, with whom he wrote and performed comedy revues.

Later, he co-wrote and appeared in Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979), which was a huge success and spawned several best-selling books. It won an International Emmy Award and the British Academy Award for "Best Light Entertainment Programme of 1980." He won the "British Academy Award" and was named "BBC Personality of the Year" for his performance in Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979).

Atkinson also appeared in several movies, including Dead on Time (1983), Pleasure at Her Majesty's (1976) (aka "Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe"), Never Say Never Again (1983), and The Tall Guy (1989). He played "Mr. Bean" in the TV series, Mr. Bean (1990) but, apart from that and Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979), he also appeared in several other series like Blackadder (1982) and Funny Business (1992), etc.

Atkinson enjoys nothing more than fast cars. He has two children, named Benjamin and Lily, with ex-wife Sunetra Sastry.

Alun Armstrong is a British actor who is known for playing Cardinal Jinette from the Van Helsing franchise, Baltus Hafez from The Mummy Returns, Uncle Garrow from Eragon, the High Constable from Sleepy Hollow and Maxwell Randall from Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire. He is married to Sue Bairstow and has three sons.

Simon Farnaby was born on 2 April 1973 in Darlington, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Paddington 2 (2017), Wonka (2023) and Mindhorn (2016). He is married to Claire Keelan. They have one child.

Daniel Casey was born on 1 June 1972 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Midsomer Murders (1997), Marchlands (2011) and Hex (2004). He has been married to Ellie since October 2005. They have two children.

Stephen Tompkinson was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham in October 1965. His grandad (who Stephen describes as "a comic genius") inspired him to take up acting and he attended the Central Drama School, which he left at the age of 23. He has rarely been out of work since and has worked on the stage, on radio, television and, on the big screen, notably in the movie Brassed Off (1996), for which he has gained many excellent reviews. His TV roles have included a psychopathic poisoner (A Very Open Prison (1995)), a psycho TV reporter (Drop the Dead Donkey (1990)), a yuppie (Downwardly Mobile (1994)), a priest (Ballykissangel (1996)), a veterinarian (Wild at Heart (2006)) and a detective inspector (DCI Banks (2010)). Stephen has also played "Demetruis" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for Radio 4. He is also a keen charity cricket player and once scored two more runs than Brian Lara, when they played on the same team. In 1994, he won a Best Comedy Actor award for his role as "Damien Day" in Drop the Dead Donkey (1990). In the future, he plans a trip to Australia (to do a report for the Holiday programme) before he begins filming a new series of Ballykissangel (1996) in March 1997.

Peter Straughan was born on 1 August 1968 in Gateshead, Durham, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for Conclave (2024), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) and Frank (2014). He was previously married to Bridget O'Connor.

Matt Stokoe was born on 13 January 1989 in Durham, Co. Durham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Hunt for Raoul Moat (2023), After the Flood (2024) and Bodyguard (2018).

Peter McPherson was born on 22 July 1983 in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Years and Years (2019), In from the Side (2022) and The Chair (2019).

Flora Robson knew she was no beauty, but her wise and sympathetic face would become a familiar - indeed, shining - ornament of the 1930s and '40s silver screen. Though not sure of acting as a career in her early years, she first appeared on stage when 5 years old. She was educated at Palmer's Green High School and went on still in her teens to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, winning a Bronze Medal in 1921. Between 1921-23 she performed in London and Oxford, but both uncertainty and the unstable income of acting convinced her to spend the next few years working at a factory welfare officer in east London.

Still, her versatility, even in her youth, as a budding character actress of the first water, was noticed. In 1929 a friend urged her to join the Cambridge Festival Theatre where she remained two years.

By 1931 she was in residence at the Old Vic with as varied roles as Herodias in "Salome" (1931), a drunken prostitute in Bridie's "The Anatomist", Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth", and Gwendolen in "The Importance of Being Earnest" (both in 1933).

She stayed with the Old Vic until 1934, but she was already turning to the film with her debut in A Gentleman of Paris (1931).

Her dexterity as screen monarchs began shortly thereafter as Russian Empress Elisabeth in The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934). Flora even had a place in television history in the pre-WWII British TV production of Anna Christie (1937).

She was a forceful Livia in Josef von Sternberg's ill-fated and unfinished I, Claudius (1937), but gave a hint of her future potential with her rousing Queen Elizabeth I in Alexander Korda's Fire Over England (1937) with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.

The year 1939 was extremely busy for Robson. It marked her first association with British director Michael Powell in his The Lion Has Wings (1939) and Smith (1939) and the unsurprising call from Hollywood.

There she was lauded quickly for 2 roles that year: as the domineering wife of Paul Muni in We Are Not Alone (1939) and opposite fellow British stars Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, and David Niven as narrator and housekeeper Ellen Dean in the haunting Wuthering Heights (1939). Her compelling Elizabeth marked her for a reprise of the role in the Errol Flynn swashbuckler The Sea Hawk (1940) in which she played the role to the hilt.

Among early screen Elizabeth standouts, Florence Eldridge in Mary of Scotland (1936) resembled the historical queen and the more famous Bette Davis displayed the manner and temperament with her usual command (though it is hard not to feel it's Bette playing her - albeit - brilliant self and not Elizabeth) in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), but Robson seemed to best personify the total person and spirit of 'good Queen Bess'.

Flora's film career was marked with a character versatility which had and continued to mark precious time for stage work (as in her murderess Ellen Creed in "Ladies in Retirement" (Broadway, 1950). In 1941, she returned to war-torn London to boldly continue theater performances to a grateful country. After the war, it was a full life of crisscrossing the Atlantic. Though some British critics were not impressed with her return to Hollywood to play the overly protective mulatto servant of Ingrid Bergman in Saratoga Trunk (1945), it was an outstanding tour-de-force character performance honored with an Oscar nomination.

Among other memorable roles in the late 1940s, even her reflective Anglican Sister Philippa in Powell's visually stunning and provocative Black Narcissus (1947) displays her depth as a solid character actress. Another quarter of a century of roles was accented with memorable theatrical performances as Lady Macbeth on Broadway (1949) and as Paulina in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" (1951), production by John Gielgud, to add to a kaleidoscope mix of movies from 1948 to 1981 and a sprinkling of character pieces on British TV, when she retired from the stage in 1969.

The material success of Hollywood played a part in her much deserved honor as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1952 and her ascension as Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1960. Kenneth Barrow wrote a biography Flora: The Life of Dame Flora Robson (1981). Flora had the further honor of rating 2 portraits in London's National Portrait Gallery for her full and distinguished life.

Mark Stobbart was born on 20 March 1978 in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Line of Duty (2012), The Devil Outside (2018) and The Silence (2010).

Chelsea Halfpenny Stell (born 1993) is an English actress, best known for her role in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, as Amy Wyatt.

Halfpenny's career began in 2004, when she appeared in the 2004 Casualty episode "What Parents Do", playing an eleven-year-old girl called Karine. She played Lucy Summerbee in the television series Byker Grove from 2004 until 2006, and her most recent and noteable role is Amy Wyatt in Emmerdale, which she took on in 2010.

Halfpenny is is the niece of Geordie actress Jill Halfpenny, who played Kate Morton in EastEnders from 2002-2005.

Her parents, George and Anne were originally farmers in the Sacriston area of County Durham where she started her education at a village school and eventually attended Durham High School. Her family eventually gave up farming and became haulage contractors in Darlington where she then attended Darlington High School and then Yarm Grammar School where she had parts in school plays., The headmistress, who was very keen on drama encouraged her. While performing in one play she was seen by the aunt of director Anthony Asquith who recommended her to the Central School of Speech and Drama which she joined when 17. After training she made her theatre debut with the Ipswich Repertory Company and eventually her West End debut in 'Mr Kettle and Mr Moon' which was later followed by such as The Constant Wife, Ride a Cock Horse and Peter Pan.She later moved into television series, for which she became best known, such as Butterflies, Not in Front of the Children, And Mother Makes Three,Laura and Disorder and Nanny, which was based on her own idea .but submitted under a pen name so that it could be judged on it's own merit and not on her name. She has always liked writing and with knowing her characters she finds it very fulfilling and creative while acting is just interpretive. She's won numerous awards including Variety Club BBC TV Personality (69), Variety Club ITV TV Personality (73), TV Times Award for Funniest Woman on TV 72/73/74 and Variety Club Woman of the Year 84 and an Honorary Doctorate from Teeside University 94. She was married to journalist Jack Bentley, who died in 1994 and had two sons, Alastair, born 1957 who became an oboist with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Ross, born 1960 who is a writer. All this from seeing her first pantomime at 3 which made her determined to be on the stage.

Although there was no theatrical background in the family acting was all he wanted to do despite being destined for the civil service. His mother allowed him to play the odd boys role with the local repertory company in Newcastle and he belonged to a small theatre group which had attached to it an 'Academy of Dramatic Art' run by Madame St. John. When he left school he worked in a Newcastle office of an investment trust until war broke out and he joined the army at 20 but because of poor eyesight he was attached to RASC division in France. He spent 72 hours on the beach at Dunkirk where he was seriously wounded in both legs. At the end of the war he was posted to Egypt where he kept being promoted until he was offered a post in the war office but took demob as Lt Colonel. While with friends for a weekend in Penzance he went to a local repertory theatre and was impressed by the acting standard that he asked the company's director for a job but there were no vacancies. He tried again a few months later and became stage manager at £7 a week and was there 2 years. His first part was as a policeman in a play by Michael Pertwee.He went to 3 other repertory companies then joined London's Old Vic and toured round the world with them appearing many times with Vivien Leigh. He had a few small parts in such as Otley, Barry Lyndon an The Island with Michael Caine. On television he was best known as the Headmaster in To Serve Them All of My Days and as Robin Ellis's uncle in Poldark, while on radio he played the 4th Dan Archer in the radio serial The Archers

Neil Fingleton was born on 18 December 1980 in Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for X-Men: First Class (2011), 47 Ronin (2013) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). He died on 25 February 2017 in London, England, UK.

Denise Welch is married to the artist Lincoln Townley. Between them they have 3 children, Matthew Healy: lead singer of the 1975, Louis Healy who is an Actor and Lewis Townley who works in post production. She is an actress and TV presenter, known for her work on Loose Women, Waterloo Road and Hollyoaks.

Howard Davies was born on 26 April 1945 in Durham, Newcastle, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for The Secret Rapture (1993), The Last of the Haussmans (2012) and National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard (2011). He was married to Clare Holman and Susan Wall. He died on 25 October 2016 in the UK.

Malcolm Dixon was born on 1 September 1934 in Auckland, County Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Time Bandits (1981), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Flash Gordon (1980). He was married to Anita B. Senior. He died on 9 April 2020 in the UK.

John Alderson led a colorful life considering his origins in a mining village in the north of England. After spending all of two weeks as a miner, he lied about his age, joined the British Army and attained the rank of Major. Leaving for the US, he married a General's secretary and got into the movies, often playing villains. He played (uncredited) the Gum Chewer in Blazing Saddles (1974).

James Garbutt was born in 1925 in Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Superman (1978), When the Boat Comes In (1976) and The Onedin Line (1971). He died on 5 April 2020 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK.

At one time he was playing in three bands and at the same time holding down a job as a tax inspector. He and Eric Burdon used to go round the clubs as if they were in a Western. Eric used to sit in the band and sing the blues while Alan would play the piano and before long the five piece Alan Price Combo had started a regular R & B night at the Downbeat club in Newcastle. The first night there were only six people there then the word spread and the next night there were about 600 and it wasn't long before the fans were referring to them as 'the animals' because of their wild antics on stage. In 1963 The Animals, as they'd renamed themselves moved to the larger Club A -Go-Go and within a year they'd topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their version of House of the Rising Sun which Alan had heard on a Bob Dylan album

Aptly nicknamed "Warrior", Daniel Singh's life story is a heroic tale in itself. Born in Durham, England, Singh played rugby during 2001 at the age of 14. It was then that he suffered a broken neck injury resulting in paralysis. Despite having no guarantees of ever recovering any mobility, Singh committed himself to an 8-month rehabilitation program that was rewarded with total recovery from his injury. Although mobile once more, Singh was a victim of another plaguing obstacle in the form of obesity. With immense determination and dedication, Singh took up healthy exercise through basketball and weight-lifting. He spent 3 or 4 years working in health clubs and earned many qualifications during that time. Around the age of 20 in 2007, Singh began a career in professional wrestling, having trained with the likes of Elix Skipper and Mr. Hughes. He also contacted Sky 1 for a role on its revival of the Gladiators series. Initially, he was assigned as a reservist, with the stage name of "Thunder", before joining the 2008 series, where in he appeared under the stage name "Warrior". Standing an impressive and athletic 6'3" and weighing a strict 238 lbs (or 17 stones), Singh excelled in the show's Suspension Bridge and Earthquake competitions. During 2010, he signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. After a year, he returned home to the UK where he continued to wrestle for the remainder of November 2011. Home in the UK, Singh signed with MMA promotion Super Fight League (SFL) to compete as a heavyweight (265 lbs). Professional wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts competition was only the tip of the iceberg for this warrior. In 2014, Singh made his acting debut in the action drama series 24: Live Another Day. True to his nickname, Singh's warrior spirit exemplifies the rewards of determination and dedication to accomplish any goal he sets for himself.

Mike grew up in a working-class family in Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire on the North East coast. A versatile character actor with an extensive body of work across both stage and screen. He studied Meisner technique under the tuition of Eva Pope, as well as attending Anthony Meindl's Actors Workshop, Drama Studio London and Redroof's Film and Television School.

On screen he has appeared in "The Genius of Turner" for the BBC; Series 2 of American crime docudrama "Suspicion" by the award winning October Films; the multi award-winning short film "Falsified" (Taba Productions); "Easy Virtue" for Ealing Studios and the Oscar-winning "The Kings Speech".

Mike is also Creative Director for Old Lamp, the award nominated production company he set up with British / Portuguese actress Luisa Guerreiro. In 2015, the company released "The Journey of Alfred Small" which picked up award nominations for 'Best Ensemble Cast'. Following this, the company then produced a live immersive production of "The Crystal Egg Live" to critical praise and a sell out run.