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One of the British theatre's most famous faces, Daniel Craig, who waited tables as a struggling teenage actor with the National Youth Theatre, has gone on to star as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021).

He was born Daniel Wroughton Craig on March 2, 1968, at 41 Liverpool Road, Chester, Cheshire, England. His father, Timothy John Wroughton Craig, was a merchant seaman turned steel erector, and then became landlord of the "Ring O'Bells" pub in Frodsham, Cheshire. His mother, Carol Olivia (Williams), was an art teacher. Craig has English, as well as Irish, Scottish and Welsh, ancestry. His parents split up in 1972, and young Daniel was raised with his older sister, Lea, in Liverpool, then in Hoylake, Wirral, in the home of his mother. His interest in acting was encouraged by visits to the Liverpool Everyman Theatre arranged by his mother. From the age of six, Craig started acting in school plays, making his debut in the Frodsham Primary School production of "Oliver!", and his mother was the driving force behind his artistic aspirations. The first Bond movie he ever saw at the cinema was Roger Moore's Live and Let Die (1973); young Daniel Craig saw it with his father, so it took a special place in his heart. He was also a good athlete and was a rugby player at Hoylake Rugby Club.

At age 14, Craig played roles in "Oliver", "Romeo and Juliet" and "Cinderella" at Hilbre High School in West Kirby, Wirral. He left Hilbre High School at age 16 to audition at the National Youth Theatre's (NYT) troupe on their tour in Manchester in 1984. He was accepted and moved down to London. There, his mother and father watched his stage debut as Agamemnon in Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida". As a struggling actor with the NYT, he was toiling in restaurant kitchens and as a waiter. Craig performed with NYT on tours to Valencia, Spain, and to Moscow, Russia, under the leadership of director Edward Wilson. He failed at repeated auditions at the Guildhall, but eventually his persistence paid off, and in 1988, he entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the Barbican. There, he studied alongside Ewan McGregor and Alistair McGowan, then later Damian Lewis and Joseph Fiennes, among others. He graduated in 1991, after a three-year course under the tutelage of Colin McCormack, the actor from the Royal Shakespeare Company. From 1992-1994, he was married to Scottish actress Fiona Loudon, their daughter, named Ella Craig (born 1992).

Craig made his film debut in The Power of One (1992). His film career continued on television, notably the BBC2 serial Our Friends in the North (1996). He shot to international fame after playing supporting roles in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Road to Perdition (2002). He was nominated for his performances in the leading role in Layer Cake (2004), and received other awards and nominations. Craig was named as the sixth actor to portray James Bond, in October 2005, weeks after he finished his work in Munich (2005), where he co-starred with Eric Bana under the directorship of Steven Spielberg. Craig's reserved demeanor and his avoidance of the showbiz-party-red-carpet milieu makes him a cool 007. He is the first blond actor to play Bond, and also the first to be born after the start of the film series, and also the first to be born after the death of author Ian Fleming in 1964. Four of the past Bond actors: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan have indicated that Craig is a good choice as Bond.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) by Queen Elizabeth II at the 2022 Queen's New Years Honours for his services to Film and Theatre.

Adrian Bower was born on 20 August 1970 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for The Last Kingdom (2015), Gangs of London (2020) and Dirty Filthy Love (2004).

Julia Ford is a Television/ Film Director and Actor. Director credits include Showtrial by Ben Richards, a 5 part series for World Productions/BBC starring Adeel Akhtar, Michael Socha, Natalie Armin and Joe Dempsie ; Until I Kill You by Nick Stevens, a 4 part mini-series starring Anna Maxwell Martin, Shaun Evans and Kevin Doyle for World Productions/BBC ; Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton for Working Title/ BBC starring Emma Appleton, Bel Powley, Marli Siu and Aliyah Odoffin; Grace & The Bay for Tallstory Pictures/ITV & Harlan Coben's Safe for Red/Netflix. She lives in Brighton with playwright Mike Packer and sons Frank and Jake.

Josh Whitehouse was born on 27 February 1990 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Knight Before Christmas (2019), Daisy Jones & The Six (2023) and Valley Girl (2020).

Raymond Coulthard was born on 3 September 1968 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), The English Patient (1996) and The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells (2001).

Ian Thompson was born on 11 August 1939 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Big Spender (1965), Poirot (1989) and Kidnapped (1956). He died on 16 July 2022 in England.

While he was at school, he had ambitions of being a pop star drummer. Although he was good at his school lessons, he failed his 'O' levels, resulting in his father locking his drums away and telling him he would only get them back if he passed his exams when he re- sat them. Fortunately for Russ, his mother had a spare key to the lock. Inspired by the Beatles and swept along by the Merseybeat-era. he formed the group The Black Abbots in his home town of Chester where they soon became a big name. Being on a raised platform behind his drums, he had a good view of the girls which is where he spotted the one that would become his wife. It was fortunate that after the show she went round to the stage door for autographs. Once established, the group got a recording contract but after they broke up in 1980, Russ formed a new group 'The New Black Abbotts', then later launched himself as a solo comedian to great success, being voted 3 years running as 'The Funniest Man on Television' by the readers of TV Times. To his surprise, when he made a record in the early 80's singing 'Atmosphere', it shot into the Top 10 earning him a Silver Disc. He has 4 children, Gary, the eldest (who had his own band, Alternative Colours), Richard, Christopher and Erica.

This tall, blond, thin British character actor portrayed some of the most memorable villains of Italian cinema during the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Cheshire, England in 1941, Steiner got his start in films after school with small parts in British productions. Among them was 'The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade' (1966), Bedazzled (1967), and Work is a 4-Letter Word (1968).

His big break came in portraying the sly-eyed, manipulative property tycoon Beauty Smith in Lucio Fulci's White Fang in 1973, a role he reprised in the sequel, Challenge to White Fang (1974) in 1974. Steiner worked for Fulci again in playing the comical vampire Count Dragalescu in Dracula in the Provinces (1975), in which he was both horrifying and hilarious as a homosexual Count Dracula vamp.

Steiner continued working in Italy through the 1970s, dabbling in some of the country's most controversial entertainment. He demonstrated an entirely un-British willingness to embrace the wild side of acting life by accepting a role as a Nazi officer in Rino Di Silvestro's Deported Women of the SS Special Section (1976). This set the sage for a series of roles as Nazi prison camp officers filmed in West Germany. Steiner made a similar themed role in Tinto Brass's Madam Kitty (1976) and later signed up for a role in Caligula (1979), in which he was a standout, playing the balding, gauntly hideous-looking treasurer and financial advisor, Longinus, to the mad Roman Emperor Caligula (Malcom McDowell). After a commendable performance in Paolo Cavara's 1976 thriller 'Plot of Fear', came Shock (1977), the last theatrical film directed by Mario Bava. Steiner's rare starring role in Shock was a nice change of pace for him as he played a sympathetic airline pilot and family man appearing alongside Daria Nicolodi. After that, he went back to tall and menacing looking villainous roles one of which occurred when Dario Argento hired him to appear as the eccentric Italian film journalist Cristiano Berti in Tenebrae (1982) which remains Steiner's most celebrated film credit in which he meets with a most memorable end with an ax to his head midway through.

As the business of Italian cinema diminished during the 1980s, Steiner's roles in Italian and West German productions were nothing more than brief cameos. One notable role was playing Simon the Magnes in the TV mini-series A.D. (1985). By the early 1990s Steiner had quit the acting industry and moved to Los Angeles, California, USA with his wife and teenage son where he became a successful real estate agent working out of Beverly Hills.

Hugh Lloyd was born on 22 April 1923 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for You Rang, M'Lord? (1988), Doctor Who (1963) and Alice in Wonderland (1999). He was married to Shän Davies, Carole Wilkinson, Anne Rodgers and José Stewart. He died on 14 July 2008 in Worthing, Sussex, England, UK.

Veddy, veddy British stage and film actor Basil Radford (once dubbed "The Eternal Englishman") would actually become best remembered for his droll work in a couple of US films. Specializing in playing stuffy, mustachioed, well bred gents, he was a delightful presence in light, sophisticated comedies and breezy whodunnits.

He was born Arthur Basil Radford in Chester, England on June 25, 1897. He entered military service in 1915 and would serve as a commissioned officer for the British Army during World War I. He suffered a facial wound in the trenches that would later be obscured by clever camerawork and makeup over the years. Following military duty in 1918, he pursued an acting career and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Making his stage debut in 1924 with "Collusion." he subsequently appeared in such shows as "The Ghost Train," "The Love Pirate," "Night Must Fall," "Spring Tide," "Blind Goddess," "The White Falcon" and "A Man's House." By 1929, Radford was adding film work to his acting resume with his debut in Ain't It the Truth (1929). He subsequently found upper-class support parts in both comedies and dramas -- Seven Days Leave (1930) starring a young Gary Cooper, Leave It to Smith (1933) Foreign Affaires (1935), Broken Blossoms (1936), Dishonour Bright (1936), When Thief Meets Thief (1937) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Alfred Hitchcock's murder mystery Young and Innocent (1937).

Films became an even stronger focus when Hitchcock rehired Radford and memorably teamed him with actor Naunton Wayne. In one of his early cinematic masterpieces The Lady Vanishes (1938), the dry twosome hilariously portrayed a pair of cricket enthusiasts (Charters and Caldicott) who seem much more interested in reading and commenting on their favorite sport than they are concerned with the alarming number of bodies piling up aboard their train. They clicked so well with audiences in this classic whodunnit that they were asked to successfully reprise their roles in two more films: Night Train to Munich (1940) and Crook's Tour (1940) (in the latter the pair were top billed). Radford and Wayne would pair up again in seven more film outings: Millions Like Us (1943), Dead of Night (1945), Quartet (1948), Passport to Pimlico (1949), It's Not Cricket (1949) and Stop Press Girl (1949). They also showed up together in wartime shorts and radio programs.

Appearances sans Mr. Wayne include the films Dead of Night (1945), Johnny in the Clouds (1945), The Captive Heart (1946), The Winslow Boy (1948) and the comedy Whisky Galore! (1949), the last finding himself top billed. Following two top-billed character parts as a pompous boss in the working class comedy Chance of a Lifetime (1950) and the major in the racehorse yarn The Galloping Major (1951), the latter which he also co-wrote, Radford's health went into a severe decline and, by the summer of 1951, was forced to leave the screen. On the verge of a modest return in 1952, he suddenly collapsed from a heart attack on the set of the radio adventure "Rogues' Gallery" (which happened to pair him again with Naunton Wayne. He was taken to a London hospital where he died on October 20, 1952.

Only 55, a marvelous character career was lost much too soon. Long married (from 1926) to Shirley Deuchars, the couple had one son.

Malcolm Hebden is an English television and stage actor known for his role as Norris Cole in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Hebden was born in Chester before his family moved to Burnley, Lancashire, three weeks later. He was educated at West Gate High School and began his career as a window dresser in Burnley. He was involved in amateur dramatics groups, one of which included Richard Moore, called The Highcliffe Players. When aged 28, he attended the Rose Bruford Drama School in London before beginning a career in theatre.

Hebden first appeared in Coronation Street in 1974, as Mavis Riley's Spanish boyfriend Carlos.

He first appeared as Norris Cole in Coronation Street (1960) in 1994 and left in 1997, before returning to the role in December 1999 for his current stint in the show.

Hebden appeared as a shopkeeper in the film Lost for Words (1999) starring Thora Hird and Pete Postlethwaite.

Along with his on-screen business partner Barbara Knox (Rita Sullivan), Hebden won the 'Best Onscreen Partnership' award at the British Soap Awards in May 2006. Additionally he won the 'Funniest Character' title for two consecutive years at the 2001 and 2002 Inside Soap Awards. He also made an appearance in Last of the Summer Wine.

In April 2008, Malcolm Hebden suggested to Coronation Street producers that Andrew Sachs should have a guest role in the soap playing Norris's brother, an idea they accepted.

Nigel Wooll was born in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is an assistant director and producer, known for G.I. Jane (1997), White Squall (1996) and Tár (2022).

Sandy Welch was born on 6 December 1953 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. She is a writer, known for Jane Eyre (2006), Our Mutual Friend (1998) and A Dark Adapted Eye (1994). She has been married to Stephen Poliakoff since 1983.

Tim Firth began writing when he was eighteen on an Arvon Foundation course in Yorkshire, run by Willy Russell and Danny Hiller. After studying at Cambridge for three years, his first professional commissions were "Heartlands" for Chichester, directed by Sam Mendes, and "A Man of Letters" for the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. Tim's subsequent work included "Neville's Island" (1993) and "The End of the Food Chain" (1994), both for the Stephen Joseph Theatre. The Nottingham Playhouse production of "Neville's Island" went on to the Apollo Theatre in London's West End where it was nominated for an Evening Standard award and four Laurence Olivier awards. It has since been produced regularly in the UK and all over the world, and translated into several languages. The television film of Neville's Island (1998) (directed by Terry Johnson and starring Timothy Spall and Martin Clunes) was screened on ITV.

Tim's first play for television was the BBC film, Money for Nothing (1993). It was shot in New York and Tim's hometown, Frodsham, and, in 1994, won the Writer's Guild Award for best film. His first series, All Quiet on the Preston Front (1994), ran for three series between 1994-7, winning the British Comedy Awards Best Comedy Drama, the Royal Television Society Best Drama, the San Francisco Television Festival, the Writer's Guild Best Drama and a BAFTA nomination.

His first series for children, Roger and the Rottentrolls (1996), was on for four series, winning the BAFTA for best children's entertainment. Series 3 was nominated for a BAFTA and Series 4 was nominated for two BAFTAs.

His feature film, Calendar Girls (2003), starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, was filmed in the summer of 2002 for Buena Vista, followed in the autumn by his second, Blackball (2003), for Icon, starring Paul Kaye, James Cromwell and Vince Vaughn. Cruise of the Gods (2002), his latest comedy film for BBC2, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, was broadcast on Christmas 2002.

His most recent stage work includes the musical, "Our House", the book by Tim, music and lyrics by Madness featuring the music of Madness, which opened at the Cambridge Theatre in October 2002 and received three Laurence Olivier nominations including Best Musical.

Tim lives and works in North Cheshire with his wife, Katy, and children Jack, Joe and Georgia.

UK-born Dennis Davidson's first introduction to Public Relations came when he was recruited to the TV-Radio publicity department at the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) Group in March 1968. Prior to that he had served as an assistant cinema manager, starting in his home town of Chester.

The TV-Radio publicity department serviced the exhibition, distribution and production interests of ABPC in London. These included the ABC Theatre Circuit, Warner-Pathe Film Distributors and Elstree Film Studios.

Davidson resigned this position, following the restructuring of the distribution interests into MGM-EMI, to form Davidson Dalling Associates Limited, as a specialist entertainment PR consultancy, in August 1970.

Since that time, dda (the name was changed to dda Public Relations Limited in 2003) has become the most successful entertainment industry public relations consultancy operating on a global basis.

dda Group companies are now involved with event management, marketing and creative services.

Davidson served on one of the six committees that formed New Labour's Film Policy Review.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Relations,the Institute of Directors and the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, of BAFTA UK and LA, and the Variety Club of Great Britain (he held the pro-bono position of Press Guy for Variety Clubs International for a six year term).

Married to Janette Day, a film producer, Davidson has one daughter and three sons.

Born in Chester, Lisa moved to Sydney, Australia at 10 years old where she ultimately completed her BA (Television Production) in the country town of Wagga Wagga. The next few years were spent working coordinating and editing travel documentaries with international documentary company Grainger Television Australia.

In 2008 Lisa moved to London where she joined travel company Big Earth which saw her coordinate then produce international travel adventure series. In 2011 Lisa made the move to work for herself, directing her first feature film, Just Ate (2012)

This continued into developing additional features, both documentary and scripted, as well as large scale charity events such as the 35th Anniversary "Flash Gordon" Reunion at 195 Piccadilly Home of BAFTA. In 2019, her first feature documentary Life After Flash (2017) was released, with the second in the "Life After..." series, Life After the Navigator (2020) released November 2020.

Peter Newbrook was born on 29 June 1920 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and producer, known for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Gonks Go Beat (1964). He died on 19 June 2009 in Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK.

Bob Mills was born on 30 June 1957 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Christmas Lights (2004), Northern Lights (2006) and Stan the Man (2002). He is married to Jan. They have two children.

Matt Barbet was born on 8 June 1976 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK.

Meryl Hampton was born on 26 August 1952 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Life on Mars (2006), Casualty 1909 (2009) and Prey (2014).

Geoffrey Reed was born on 14 November 1921 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Avengers (1961), Z Cars (1962) and The File of the Golden Goose (1969). He was married to Joan Francis. He died on 5 September 2008 in Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England, UK.

Philip Goodhew was born in 1960 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Another Life (2001), Paper, Scissors, Stone. (2013) and Intimate Relations (1996).

Martin Tyler was born on 14 September 1945 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Goal! The Dream Begins (2005), Next Goal Wins (2023) and Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001).

Kate Henry was born in Chester in Cheshire on September 9th 1977 to an English mother and an Irish father.

Kate began an Acting Studies degree in 1997 at The Arden School of Theatre, Manchester - graduating in 2000 with a B.A. degree (distinction).

Kate completed a post graduate course in the works of Shakespeare at The Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art, London in 2005.

She has 2 sons, 1 brother, 2 half brothers and 4 half sisters. 1 of her half brother's is ex professional footballer Nick Henry who played for Oldham Athletic, Sheffield United and Tranmere Rovers.

Geoffrey Morris was born on 28 June 1902 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Doctor Who (1963), Jean's Plan (1946) and BBC Play of the Month (1965). He died on 1 March 1989 in Ealing, London, England, UK.