THIS week we take a look at the careers of television actors and actresses who were born in Burnley.

The first person who was born in Burnley who acted in a leading role in a television drama programme was Mary Mackenzie. In about 1949 she played the main role in the first television serialisation of Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre.

A later television serial that Mary starred in was The History of Mr Polly, which was an adaptation of an HG Wells novel.

She acted in several other television programmes before her death at the age of 44 in a car accident in 1966.

Sir Ian McKellen was born in Burnley in 1939. One of his earliest television roles was in a serialisation of David Copperfield, the novel by Charles Dickens. This serial was shown on television in January 1966. McKellen played the main part.

He has also starred on television in Hamlet, Craven Arms, Cold Comfort Farm, Richard II, Edward II, Walter and June, and several other productions.

Irene Sutcliffe was born in about 1930. Her father was Fred Sutcliffe who was an ironmonger. His shop was on Standish Street.

Irene's most famous television role has been that of Maggie Clegg in Coronation Street. She was in Coronation Street from 1968 until 1974. She still appears in television programmes.

Anna Cropper was born in Stacksteads near Burnley, in 1938. She was brought up by her parents in a house in Todmorden Road, Burnley. Her mother, Margaret Cropper, was an amateur stage actress.

Between 1961 and 1972, Anna was married to William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street. They lived in Rawtenstall when they were married.

She has acted in television programmes since about 1960. She was one of Britain's leading television actresses between about 1964 and about 1976. She was particularly impressive in a play called Robin Redbreast, which was shown in February 1971. In recent years she has appeared in productions such as The Moonstone, Heartbeat, Casualty and Poirot.

Malcolm Hebden currently plays the part of Norris Cole in Coronation Street. This is the second character that Malcolm has played in Coronation Street. In 1975 he played the part of Carlos.

Malcolm is about 60 and has acted on the stage quite a lot. In 1962 he acted at the Palace Theatre in Burnley in an amateur production of The Boy Friend. Recently he lived at Worsthorne for a while.

John Nightingale, who died aged 37 in 1980, appeared in several television productions including The Stars Look Down, Fall of Eagles and Crown Court. His most famous role was as Tom Seaton in When the Boat Comes In.

24-year-old Sally Jacks has acted on television in A Touch of Frost, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks. She is also a singer.

Philip Brock died in about 1981 at the age of 52. His real name was Philip Whittle. He acted on television in productions such as Doomwatch and A Family At War.

Kathy Jamieson was born in 1957. She has appeared in several television series including Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Cracker and Brookside. She is married to the television actor John McArdle.

In 2001 she was in the television series Mersey Beat, in which John McArdle played her screen husband.

Julia Haworth is 22. She has acted in television programmes such as Heartbeat, Peak Practice, The Grand and Where the Heart Is. She is an extremely promising dramatic actress.

In Mersey Beat Julia acted the part of the daughter of the character played by Kathy Jamieson.

Richard Moore was born in about 1934. He has been in several television programmes in the past. In 1984 he was in Coronation Street as a character called George Hepworth and in 1995 he was in Band of Gold as a character called Curley. These two roles have been his most famous roles.

Jane Horrocks, of Absolutely Fabulous fame, has family links with Burnley. She was born in 1964 in Rawtenstall.