Radio Drama Company: Familiar faces from the 1980s

Nicholas Courtney, better known as the Brigadier in Doctor Who, is an alumnus of the Radio Drama Company from the 1980s. Here he is pictured with Jon Pertwee as the Doctor.

The instantly recognisable Maggie McCarthy (Doctors and Call The Midwife) - pictured here in Berkley Sq from 1998, is another RDC veteran from the 1980s.

Alex Jennings is another familiar face, he's currently in The Crown on Netflix but has featured in many BBC dramas including Smiley's People, Hard Times (pictured from 1994) and Cranford, and he's a regular to the West End stage having been awarded three Olivier Awards. He also featured in many radio dramas (Casino Royale, The Way of the World, The Old Curiosity Shop) after a stint in the RDC in the 1980s.

Polly James, best known for her role as Beryl Hender in The Liver Birds, also joined the RDC in the 1980s.

RDC alumnus Donald Gee is known for roles in Killing Me Softly, and Doctor Who, here he is as Mr. Boynton in Born and Bred from 2002.

Zelah Clarke - who here plays Jane Eyre to Timothy Dalton's Mr Rochester from 1983 - also featured in the RDC. She went on to take roles in the original series of Poldark, How Green Was My Valley and Dombey and Son.

Radio 4 listeners will be very familiar with Alice Arnold's tones, as she is one of the network's announcers. But she started out in dramas on the radio, as part of the RDC in the 1980s.

Ballykissangel favourite Stephen Tompkinson was also in the RDC in the 1980s - here he is pictured as Graham in Mr Charity from November 2001.

Anna Cropper is another 1980s RDC alumnus, here playing Mrs St Clair in Sherlock Holmes from 1954.

Northern Irish actor James Greene - here pictured in the David Walliams/ Catherine Tate comedy Big School, also graced the radio waves in the 1980s as part of the RDC.