Born 25 December 1957 (Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England)
Dentally challenged singer-songwriter who used to front the Pogues. Constantly rumoured to be on the brink of death due to non-stop drinking, smoking and drug-taking. But he's still going...
Oddball Hollywood actress who has starred in countless films, such as 'Some Came Running' (1958), 'The Apartment' (1960), 'Sweet Charity' (1969) , 'Being There' (1979) and 'Postcards from the Edge' (1990). Sister of Warren Beatty.
English-born Welsh actress, famous in the 80s for 'Hi-de-Hi', but more recently as the mum of "the only gay in the village", Dafydd Thomas, in 'Little Britain'.
British actor who starred in TV series such as 'The Singing Detective' and 'Minder'. Also starred in films including 'Comfort and Joy' and 'A Month in the Country'.
Member of "Easy" Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Played by actor Scott Grimes in the TV series 'Band of Brothers'.
U.S. Soldier held in solitary confinement for the alleged passing of confidential information to the WikiLeaks website. Sentence communted by outgoing US President Obama in 2017.
Actress who was a child star in the 1920s, before becoming best known for playing the part of Sally Rogers on 'The Dick Van Dyke'. Her real name is Rose Marie Mazzetta, and she is of Italian/Polish extraction.
Novelist and creator of the 'Game of Thrones' series of fantasy novels, now a succesful TV series which the Man In Black will get round to watching. One day...
Big-haired guitarist, both with Queen and as a solo artist. Virtually every song he's ever done has a guitar riff from him in. Sometimes it works, often it fails miserably, but credit for perseverance.
Pioneering blues artist who encouraged the likes of Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac in the "Blues Boom" of the late 60s. Perhaps the notable Rock musician to come out of Macclesfield after Ian Curtis…
Born 16 August 1939 (Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies)
Recently-retired ITN newsreader. Once reckoned by Viz comic to be the news anchorman most able to take his beer, in complete contrast to the lightweight Nicholas Witchell.
Born 19 September 1940 (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Singer with the Righteous Brothers before teaming up with Jennifer Warnes with 'I'm Having The Time of My Life', made famous by the hit film 'Dirty Dancing' in 1987.
Former Olympic track athlete who later commentated for ITV in the days when the channel used to show athletics. And boxing. And wrestling. And snooker!
Born in Gillingham, Kent, England (exact date unknown)
Senior BBC sound engineer, who worked on 'Quatermass and the Pit', 'The Two Ronnies' and 'Doctor Who', among many other TV and radio programmes. Born 1936.
Daughter of Judy Garland, and moderately successful singer/stage actress in her own right. Has suffered from ill health in recent years as a result of drug abuse, and has been a regular visitor to rehab clinics.
Leading lady of TV, stage & film of Russian origin. More recently portrayed the Queen in the film of the same name, but also known for her role in 'Prime Suspect'.
Born 12 March 1943 (Kalinovik, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Leader of the Bosnian Serb Army during the 1992-95 war. Responsible for the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica in July 1995 - the worst atrocity in Europe since WWII.
Motor-racing driver, said to be the greatest driver never to win the Formula 1 World Championship; in fact, he came second 4 times in a row, from 1955-58.
President of Egypt from 1981-2011. Sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2012 for ordering the deaths of scores of protestors during the "Arab Spring" of 2011 which saw him ejected from office.
Born 22 February 1924 (Kutama, Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe)
President of Zimbabwe, constantly immersed in allegations of vote-rigging and incitement to violence, whose primary gift to the world is the idea that "it's OK to be the president and wear a baseball cap".
Born 11 March 1931 (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Australian-born media tycoon. The "Dirty Digger" now finds his media empire in retreat after a series of revelations regarding phone-hacking by his Sunday newspaper the News of the World, which was made defunct in July 2011.
Veteran radio DJ - one of Radio 1's original presenters when it started up in 1967. Had previously worked for Radio Luxembourg, as indeed they all seemed to do in those days.