Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre

Landing the part of Jane Eyre – one of the most iconic characters any female actor could hope to play – was a bit of a coup for Ruth Wilson. After all, the young performer had only appeared on telly once before, in the Channel Five sitcom Suburban Shootout.

"I say I'm lucky," she says, "but I also know you make your own luck, you fight for your luck." Fiercely ambitious from a young age, Ruth helped set up a theatre production company while still at university and went onto audition for any TV and film role she could find – even for projects she didn't particularly like (such as Suburban Shootout). Playing Jane Eyre instantly established her reputation, and she recently appeared opposite David Walliams in Capturing Mary, the acclaimed drama by Stephen Poliakoff.

Toby Stephens as Edward Rochester

It takes some doing to make your mark on a character that's been played by great stars like Orson Welles and William Hurt, but Toby Stephens manages to deliver what may be the definitive (and tastiest) Mr Rochester.

All that talent must be in the genes, as Toby is the son of the great Dame Maggie Smith. Growing up in a showbiz family gave young Toby the acting bug, and he got his big break in the raunchy 1992 drama The Camomile Lawn. He's since established himself as a top costume drama star, appearing in everything from the Virginia Woolf adaptation Orlando to Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. But let's face it – despite such worthy productions, he's probably best known to the world as Gustav Graves, the Bond baddie from Die Another Day.

Francesca Annis as Lady Ingram

In the role of scheming aristocrat Lady Ingram we a true acting royal: Francesca Annis. Since beginning her career as a child star (she played one of Elizabeth Taylor's handmaidens in the classic Hollywood epic, Cleopatra), Francesca has starred in everything from the David Lynch sci-fi film Dune to Dalziel and Pascoe.

Francesca became an unlikely tabloid target when Ralph Fiennes (almost 20 years her junior) left his wife for her after they met while playing mother and son in a stage production of Hamlet. Still, it's ultimately the work that counts for Francesca and her fans, and she'll perhaps always be best known for her stunning portrayal of a seductive, haunting Lady Macbeth in Roman Polanski's 1971 film of Shakespeare's play.

Pam Ferris as Grace Poole

Rochester's servant Grace Poole is as mysterious as her master, appearing to conceal secrets and revelations from Jane Eyre. And, for Pam Ferris, it's certainly miles away from the hearty, down to earth role she played in The Darling Buds of May.

Of course, there's far more to Pam's CV than Ma Larkin. The versatile star – who is German by birth but Welsh by blood – gave us one of the greatest screen villains as the delightfully diabolical headmistress in Danny DeVito's 1996 film Matilda, and she showed her gentle side again in the cosy crime series Rosemary & Thyme. The upcoming big screen musical Telstar will see Pam in one of the most eclectic casts of all time – she'll be featuring alongside Kevin Spacey, Martine McCutcheon, EastEnders' Nigel Harman, rock stars Justin Hawkins and Carl Barat, and 60s film star Rita Tushingham.

Tara Fitzgerald as Mrs Reed

Jane Eyre's young life is made miserable by her wealthy aunt, and clearly relishing the wicked role is Tara Fitzgerald – the ethereal beauty who first leapt to worldwide fame in the 1994 Hugh Grant film Sirens.

That triumph came after years of hard graft by Tara, who was almost turned off acting when she failed an audition for RADA. She soon regained her resolve, though, and bagged a place at the Drama Centre – where the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Colin Firth also trained. She's since worked on films like Brassed Off and shows like Waking the Dead, and has a bit of a screen history with Toby Stephens. Jane Eyre is actually their third project together, both having starred in The Camomile Lawn and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Christina Cole as Blanche Ingram

Jane Eyre has a rival for Rochester's affections in the form of Blanche Ingram – a society beauty who has been played on screen by such appropriately ravishing women as Stephanie Beacham and Elle Macpherson.

In this adaptation we have the no less beautiful Christina Cole, a rising British star who first made her mark with The Project, the 2002 drama about the creation of New Labour. Parts in Marple and the supernatural series Hex soon followed, and in 2006 – the year of Jane Eyre – she also played a receptionist in the Bond film Casino Royale. Though with her looks, she really ought to have been a Bond girl proper.