Sarah Ann Akers, known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. Known for her numerous collaborations with screenwriter Sally Wainwright, she rose to prominence playing Karen McDonald on ITV's Coronation Street between 2000 and 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered her television career in drama series such as Vincent (2005–2006), Strictly Confidential (2006), Harley Street (2008), and Unforgiven (2009).
Vincent Ebrahim is a South African actor and comedian. He is known for portraying the roles of Ashwin in the BBC later Sky One comedy series The Kumars at No. 42, pub landlord Bobby in the BBC One comedy series After You've Gone (2007–2008), Robert "Big Bob" Gupta in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2014) and Hashim Elamin in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2021).
Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film, and television actress whose roles on British television include Clocking Off (2000–2001), Bob & Rose (2001) and Afterlife (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1997 film The Full Monty. Her other film appearances include Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1986), Naked (1993), Priest (1994), From Hell (2001), and Vera Drake (2004). Between 2011 and 2016, she starred as DC Janet Scott in the ITV drama Scott & Bailey.
Michelle Holmes is an English actress who has appeared in several television serials.
Victoria Entwistle is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Janice Battersby in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Gerard Paul Greenhalgh, known professionally as Paul Nicholls, is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Joe Wicks in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, DS Sam Casey in the ITV drama Law & Order: UK, and Steve Bell in the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge.
Christopher Ryan Fountain is an English actor and DJ. He is known for his roles as Justin Burton in Hollyoaks and Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street.
Robert James-Collier, sometimes billed as Rob James-Collier, is a British actor widely known for his roles as Liam Connor in Coronation Street and as Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey.
Andrea Dunbar was an English playwright. She wrote The Arbor (1980) and Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1982), an autobiographical drama about the sexual adventures of teenage girls living in a run-down part of Bradford, West Yorkshire. She wrote most of the adaptation for the film Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987).
Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark is a British theatre director.
Siobhan Margaret Finneran is an English actress. She made her screen debut in the 1987 independent film Rita, Sue and Bob Too, and subsequently worked consistently in television drama including roles in Coronation Street (1989–1990), Clocking Off (2000–2002) and The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006). In 2005, Finneran originated the lead female role in the stage play On the Shore of the Wide World and was awarded the Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Also a comedy performer, Finneran appeared as Janice Garvey, a leading character in the first seven series of ITV sitcom Benidorm (2007–2015).
Emily Head is an English actress. Her breakout role was as Carli D'Amato in E4's sitcom The Inbetweeners and she later played Rebecca White in ITV soap opera Emmerdale and Colette Andrews in BBC drama, The Syndicate.
Robin Soans is a British actor, and a playwright specialising in verbatim and documentary plays. These plays include Across the Divide (2007); A State Affair (2000) which looked at life on a Bradford estate, produced by Out of Joint Theatre Company; The Arab Israeli Cookbook ; Talking to Terrorists ; Life After Scandal ; and Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage. Other plays include Bet Noir ; Sinners and Saints and Will and Testament.
Rita May is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Mags in the ITV children's drama Children's Ward, Margaret in the Sky One sitcom Trollied, as well as Julie "Nana" Booth in the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge.
Samantha Robinson is an English actress.
Natalie Gavin is an English actress from Bradford, known for her roles in the BBC dramas Prisoners' Wives and The Syndicate, and the ITV drama Jericho.
Ackley Bridge is a British comedy-drama series set in a multicultural academy school of the same name. The series is set in the fictional town of Ackley, and filmed in Halifax, West Yorkshire and it began broadcasting on Channel 4 on 7 June 2017. In the fourth series, Ackley Bridge saw a major overhaul, including different time slots, a shortened runtime, several new characters to replace cast exits and moving the series onto streaming platform All 4.
Siobhan Finneran is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Finneran made her film debut starring as Rita in the 1987 film release Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Over the following decade, Finneran established herself as a television actress appearing frequently in both comedic and dramatic guest roles. Into the 21st century, Finneran began appearing in more regular and leading roles in returning and standalone television series. Her more prolific work includes Benidorm (2007–2015), Downton Abbey (2010–2012) and Happy Valley (2014–2023).
Sam Retford is an Australian-English actor, known for portraying the role of Cory Wilson on the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge. As well as starring in various stage productions, he has also made appearances in television series such as Casualty and Death in Paradise. In 2021, he joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street as Curtis Delamere.
Taj Atwal is a British actress from Norwich, who has appeared in Stella, In the Club, Line of Duty, TV drama The Syndicate and comedy Hullraisers.
