Paul Sykes (born 30 May 1943) is an English businessman, political donor, and philanthropist. He is a noted opponent of the European Union and a supporter of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He previously supported the Conservative Party, but left because of the party's support of the Maastricht Treaty.

Born in Barnsley, Sykes was the son of a miner and left school with no qualifications. He had various manual jobs before setting up a business at the age of 18 to dismantle old buses and sell the engines as scrap to developing countries in the Far East. He later moved into property development and built the Meadowhall shopping complex in Sheffield.

His internet firm Planet Online was for a time Britain's largest internet service provider. In 1998 Sykes sold it for £85 million to Energis. In 2004, his wealth was estimated at some £650 million.

After treatment for the disease at the hospital in 2000, he funded the construction of a specialist prostate cancer unit at St James's University Hospital, Leeds. Sykes also donated over £1m to the restoration of the Royal Hall in Harrogate. He funded Sir Ranulph Fiennes' expeditions on the Eiger for the British Heart Foundation, and the Everest Challenge for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Sir Kenneth Duncan “Ken” Morrison CBE (born 20 October 1931) is a British businessman, who is the Life President and former chairman of Morrisons (Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC), the fourth largest supermarket group in the UK.

He was born in Bradford, and was brought up by five elder sisters. Whilst at Bradford Grammar School, Morrison worked in the family provisions business in the school holidays. He was given jobs such as working on the market stalls or checking eggs against lamps for defects. By 1956 he was the Chairman and Managing Director of a small group of shops, the embryo of what was to become a formidable retail presence, a household name throughout the UK and the largest public company headquartered in Yorkshire.

Whilst the family business was named after his father, Morrisons' head office "Hilmore House" is named after his mother. The original Hilmore House was located in Thornton Road, but moved to larger premises at Gain Lane as a result of the takeover of Safeway.

In June 2006, Ken Morrison announced that he would relinquish executive control of the company, which came into effect from 4 September, making way for the appointment of Dutchman Marc Bolland as chief executive. He announced that it was his intention to stand down as the chairman and director of the company in January 2008, and take the honorary post of Life President. He eventually stood down on 13 March 2008.

Graham Kirkham, Baron Kirkham, CVO (born 14 December 1944 in Doncaster), is an English businessman, the founder and chairman of sofa retailer DFS.

Previously executive chairman of DFS Furniture Company Ltd, Kirkham is a strong political and financial supporter of the Conservative Party, and is one of South Yorkshire's richest men, with a personal fortune estimated at £1 billion. After selling DFS in April 2010 he now has a large share in Iceland supermarkets. He is also now involved in fish and chip shops having bought the Whitby chain.

By 1983, Darley Dale–based Direct Furnishing Supplies had become one of Northern Upholstery biggest suppliers. When Direct Furnishing Supplies went bankrupt with debts of £900,000 on a turnover of £3,000,000, Kirkham bought it. Northern Upholstery now renamed itself DFS and at the time had a total of 63 stores employing 2,000 staff. In 1993, DFS was floated on the stock market and valued at £271 million, with Kirkham and his family trusts owning just over half of the shares.

But the revival was short lived, and in light of the continuing prevalence for private equity, Kirkham took the chain private again, leveraging his family's own 9.46% stake with £150 million of family funds in an eventual £496 million deal. Kirkham told the Yorkshire Post: "It's something that's caused me fitful sleep in the time I've been thinking about it. I've no hobby, this is my hobby – it's what I do. I'm an entrepreneur. It's almost as if I can feel the adrenaline running through my veins."

On 23 April 2010, it was announced that DFS had been sold to private equity firm Advent International for a reported £500m.

Dean Hoyle is the founder and previous owner of Card Factory and the current chairman and owner of Football League Championship side Huddersfield Town and is based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Hoyle founded the Card Factory, a chain of greetings cards and gift stores, in 1997. As of 2009, the company had 500+ shops, employing over 5,000 people. Hoyle confirmed the sale of the Card Factory to Venture Capitalist Charterhouse was finally completed on 9 April 2010. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but financial commentators put the final selling price at in excess of £350m and would maintain a role in the business as Non-Executive Chairman.

Hoyle is a lifelong Huddersfield Town F.C. supporter. He joined the board of Huddersfield Town on 10 April 2008 and took over as chairman, and majority shareholder, of the Club on 3 June 2009. The outgoing chairman, Ken Davy, retains a minority holding

Eddie and Malcolm Healey are British entrepreneurs and currently the richest people in Yorkshire, making their money from property deals and a kitchen business.

Eddie, 76, started work in his family's paint company, and soon started a DIY chain, Status Discount, which grew to have 63 stores in the north of England. In 1980, Status was sold to MFI. Eddie then bought a derelict site in Sheffield, where he built Meadowhall Shopping Centre. In 1999, he sold it to British Land for £1.17 billion, a profit of £420 million.

Meanwhile Malcolm, 69, created and then sold Hygena Kitchens in 1987, earning him £200 million. He repeated the process with a similar firm in America, earning £800m from the sale.

Terence George Bramall CBE is a British philanthropist who graduated from Birmingham University with a BSc degree in Civil Engineering in 1964.

Bramall set up the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation with a £100 million endowment in 2008. He is a Trustee of the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation. Bramall is a director of Doncaster Rovers Football Club. Bramall was chief executive of the Keepmoat construction group, which specialised in social housing. Bramall donated £2 million for the completion of Birmingham University’s Bramall Music Building.

Terry Bramall was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Years Honours for services to charity. He was awarded The Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy in 2014. Bramall was awarded the honorary degree of DUniv by Birmingham University in 2011. Bramall won the National Masters Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2004.

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976. He won four general elections, and is the most recent British Prime Minister to have served non-consecutive terms.

First entering Parliament in 1945, Wilson was immediately appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and rose quickly through the ministerial ranks, becoming the Secretary for Overseas Trade in 1947 and being appointed to the Cabinet just months later as the President of the Board of Trade. Later, in the Labour Shadow Cabinet, he served first as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1955 to 1961 and then as the Shadow Foreign Secretary from 1961 to 1963, when he was elected Leader of the Labour Party after the sudden death of Hugh Gaitskell. Wilson narrowly won the 1964 election, going on to win a much increased majority in a snap 1966 election.

Wilson's first period as Prime Minister coincided with a period of low unemployment and relative economic prosperity, though also of significant problems with Britain's external balance of payments. In 1969 Wilson sent British troops to Northern Ireland. After losing the 1970 general election to Edward Heath, he spent four years as Leader of the Opposition before the February 1974 general election resulted in a hung parliament. After Heath's talks with the Liberals broke down, Wilson returned to power as leader of a minority government until there was a second general election in the autumn, which resulted in a narrow Labour victory. A period of economic crisis was now beginning to hit most Western countries, and in 1976 Wilson suddenly announced his resignation as Prime Minister.

Overall, Wilson is seen to have managed a number of difficult political issues with considerable tactical skill, including such potentially divisive issues for his party as the role of public ownership, British membership of the European Community, and the Vietnam War, in which he consistently resisted US pressure to involve Britain and send British troops, while continuing to maintain a costly military presence East of Suez. Nonetheless, his stated ambition of substantially improving Britain's long-term economic performance remained largely unfulfilled.

William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was an English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he became an Evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform.

In 1787, he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave-trade activists. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. His underlying conservatism led him to support politically and socially repressive legislation, and resulted in criticism that he was ignoring injustices at home while campaigning for the enslaved abroad.

Charles Frederick Crisp (January 29, 1845 – October 23, 1896) was a United States political figure. A Democrat, he was elected as a Congressman from Georgia in 1882, and served until his death in 1896. From 1890 until his death, he was leader of the Democratic Party in the House, as either the House Minority Leader or the Speaker of the House. He was also the father of Charles R. Crisp who also served in Congress.

Crisp was born in Sheffield, England, January 29, 1845. Later in that year, his parents immigrated to the United States and settled in Georgia where he attended the common schools of Savannah and Macon, Georgia. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he was temporarily residing in Luray, Virginia, with his parents, who were in the middle of a Shakespearean play tour.

Crisp studied law at Americus, Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and commenced practice in Ellaville. He was appointed solicitor general of the southwestern judicial circuit in 1872 and reappointed in 1873 for a term of four years. Later, he was appointed judge of the superior court of the same circuit in June 1877. Crisp was elected by the general assembly to the same office in 1878 and reelected judge for a term of four years in 1880 when resigned that office in September 1882 to accept the Democratic nomination for the United States Congress.

Crisp served as president of the Democratic gubernatorial convention at Atlanta, Georgia, in April 1883. he was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1883, until his death. In Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Elections in the Fiftieth Congress, Committee on Rules in the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses, and Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses. He had been nominated for United States Senator in the Georgia primary of 1896, but he died in Atlanta on October 23, 1896, and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in his hometown of Americus. Georgia's Crisp County is named in his honour.

Sir Robert Michael Marshall, DL (21 June 1930 - 6 September 2006), usually known as Michael Marshall, was a British businessman, politician, cricketer and author. After a career in the steel industry, he was Conservative Member of Parliament for Arundel for 23 years, from the February 1974 general election until the constituency was abolished in 1997.

He was the first MP with an MBA from Harvard, and was a junior government minister in Margaret Thatcher's first government, from 1979 to 1981. He was heavily engaged with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and had interests in theatre, cricket, golf, and wrote a number of books. He joined the Young Conservatives in 1950, but remained relatively inactive in politics until 1970, when he contested The Hartlepools, a safe Labour seat. He became MP for Arundel in the February 1974 general election, and retained his seat until his retirement from politics in 1997.

In Parliament, his knowledge of the steel industry made him an effective critic of Sir Don Ryder's plan to nationalise British Leyland. He was a member of the Select Committee on Nationalised Industries, and realised that British Steel needed major reconstruction. He was able to implement his ideas when he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Industry in 1979, under Sir Keith Joseph, where his portfolio that included aerospace, information technology, telecommunications, the Post Office, shipbuilding, space and steel. He was a strong supporter of Japanese investment in British industry. He oversaw the denationalisation of Cable & Wireless and the launch of Teletext.

Marshall returned to the back benches in 1981. He took an interest in the fledgling British space industry, lobbying for British participation in Ariane. He retired at the 1997 general election, when the boundaries of his seat were changed. He continued his business interests in retirement. After converting to Roman Catholicism in later life, he became a non-executive director of The Catholic Herald in 2003.

Elaine Frances Burton, Baroness Burton of Coventry (2 March 1904 – 6 October 1991) was a politician in the United Kingdom. Burton stood twice to become a Member of Parliament, before being elected on her third candidacy. She lost as a Common Wealth Party candidate in the 1943 Hartlepool by-election, before switching to the Labour Party and losing as a candidate in Hendon South in the 1945 general election. In the 1950 general election, she was elected for the newly created constituency of Coventry South, holding the seat until 1959, when it was gained by the Conservative candidate Philip Hocking.

Burton was elevated to the peerage in April 1962 as Baroness Burton of Coventry, of Coventry in the County of Warwick, where she spoke on topics including women's opportunities in business and public life, and campaigned for the creation of an independent grant-supported body for sport, leading to her appointment to the newly formed Sports Council in 1965.

Burton left the Labour Party in 1981 to join the newly formed Social Democratic Party, and became their spokesman in the Lords on civil aviation and consumer affairs.

William Pickering (March 15, 1798 – April 22, 1873) was born in Yorkshire, England amd was also a Republican and the fifth governor of Washington territory, from (1862 - 1866).

He graduated from Oxford University in 1820. The following year he moved to Edwards County, Illinois, acquiring property and involving himself in various businesses in the area of Albion, Illinois. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1842 to 1852.

He was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1860. In 1862 President Lincoln offered him the choice of being either part of the United States Ministry in England or Governor of the Washington territory, known at the time as the territory of Columbia. Pickering chose the governorship, and he moved to the territorial capital, Olympia, in June 1862, and served as governor until 1866.

On September 4, 1864, he sent the first message over a transcontinental telegraph line. Under the leadership of Territorial Governor William Pickering, state government took responsibility for the care of the mentally ill. Lacking funds to build a hospital, the state contracted for the care of the mentally ill with the Sisters of Charity (now the Sisters of Providence), but, because of lack of funds, it was 19 months before the Sisters began to receive payment.

After his term, he moved back to Illinois, where he died in 1873.

Sir Fred Hoyle, (born June 24, 1915, Bingley, West Yorkshire, - died August 20, 2001, Bournemouth, Dorset), British mathematician and astronomer best known as the foremost proponent and defender of the steady-state theory of the universe. This theory holds both that the universe is expanding and that matter is being continuously created to keep the mean density of matter in space constant. Hoyle was educated at Emmanuel College and St. John’s College, Cambridge, and spent six years during World War II with the British Admiralty, working on radar development. In 1945 he returned to Cambridge as a lecturer in mathematics. Three years later, in collaboration with the astronomer Thomas Gold and the mathematician Hermann Bondi, he announced the steady-state theory. Within the framework of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, Hoyle formulated a mathematical basis for the steady-state theory, making the expansion of the universe and the creation of matter interdependent. Einstein assumed that the universe as a whole is static—i.e., its large-scale properties do not vary with time.

This assumption, made before American astronomer Edwin Hubble’s observational discovery of the expansion of the universe in 1927, was also natural; it was the simplest approach, as Aristotle had discovered, if one wished to avoid a discussion of a creation event. The notion that the universe on average is not only homogeneous and isotropic in space but also constant in time was philosophically attractive. Hoyle, Bondi, and Gold called it the perfect cosmological principle. In the late 1950s and early ’60s, controversy about the steady-state theory grew. New observations of distant galaxies and other phenomena, supporting the big-bang theory (a phrase that Hoyle had coined in derision in the 1940s), weakened the steady-state theory, and it has since fallen out of favour with most cosmologists. Although Hoyle was forced to alter some of his conclusions, he tenaciously tried to make his theory consistent with new evidence.

Hoyle was elected to the Royal Society in 1957, a year after joining the staff of the Hale Observatories (now the Mount Wilson and Palomar observatories). In collaboration with William Fowler and others in the United States, he formulated theories about the origins of stars as well as about the origins of elements within stars. Hoyle was director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Cambridge (1967–73), an institution he was instrumental in founding. He received a knighthood in 1972. Hoyle is known for his popular science works, including The Nature of the Universe (1951), Astronomy and Cosmology (1975), and The Origin of the Universe and the Origin of Religion (1993). He also wrote novels, plays, short stories, and an autobiography, The Small World of Fred Hoyle (1986).

Known For: Mathematics and astronomy. Defender of the steady-state-theory

Sir Edward Victor Appleton, (born September 6, 1892, Bradford, Yorkshire, England—died April 21, 1965, Edinburgh, Scotland), British winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1947 for his discovery of the so-called Appleton layer of the ionosphere, which is a dependable reflector of radio waves and as such is useful in communication. Other ionospheric layers reflect radio waves sporadically, depending upon temperature and time of day.

Educated at St. John’s College, Cambridge, Appleton worked at the Cavendish Laboratory from 1920 until he was appointed Wheatstone professor of physics at King’s College, University of London, in 1924. There he attained international repute with his research into the propagation of electromagnetic waves and the characteristics of the ionosphere. He showed that radio waves of wavelength sufficiently short to penetrate the lower region of the ionosphere are reflected by an upper region (now known as the Appleton layer, or F2 layer). This discovery made possible more reliable long-range radio communication and aided in the development of radar.

In 1936 Appleton returned to Cambridge as Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy and in 1939 became secretary of the government’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, where he worked on radar and the atomic bomb during World War II. He was knighted in 1941 and became principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh in 1949.

Known For: Discovering the ionosphere

Abraham Sharp was born in 1653 at Horton Hall in Little Horton, Bradford, the son of well-to-do merchant John Sharp and Mary (née Clarkson) Sharp and was educated at Bradford Grammar School. In 1669 he became a merchant's apprentice before becoming a schoolmaster in Liverpool and subsequently a bookkeeper in London. His wide knowledge of mathematics and astronomy attracted Flamsteed's attention and it was through Flamsteed that Sharp was invited, in 1688, to enter theGreenwich Royal Observatory. There he did notable work, improving instruments and showing great skill as a calculator, publishing Geometry Improved and logarithmic tables.

Sharp calculated pi to 72 decimal places using an arctan sequence, briefly holding the record until John Machin calculated 100 digits in 1706. He returned to Little Horton in 1694. When the Atlas Coelestis - the largest star map at the time was published it contained 26 maps of the major constellations visible from Greenwich and two planispheres designed by Sharp. Sharp died in Little Horton in 1742. He never married. He was a great-uncle of Jesse Ramsden, the scientific instrument maker. The crater Sharp on the Moon is named after him.

Known For: Mathematician and astrononmer

Percy Shaw, OBE (15 April 1890 – 1 September 1976) was an English inventor and businessman. He patented the reflective road stud or "cat's eye" in 1934, and set up a company to manufacture his invention in 1935. Percy Shaw inventor of the world renowned invention, the cats eye, was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the fourth child and second son of James Shaw. In 1892, his parents moved their large family to Boothtown in Halifax, where Shaw lived for the rest of his life.

Shaw was inventive, even at an early age, but his most famous invention was the cat's eye for lighting the way along roads in the dark. There are several stories about how he came up with the idea. The most famous involves him driving down the difficult road from the Old Dolphin public house in Clayton Heights to his home in Halifax, when a cat on a fence along the edge of the road looked at the car, reflected his headlights back to him, allowing him to take corrective action and remain on the road. In an interview with Alan Whicker, however, he told a different story of being inspired on a foggy night to think of a way of moving the reflective studs on a road sign to the road surface.

Further, local school children who were taken on visits to the factory in the late 1970s were told that the idea came from Shaw seeing light reflected from his car headlamps by tram tracks in the road on a foggy night. The tram tracks were polished by the passing of trams and by following the advancing reflection, it was possible to maintain the correct position in the road.

Known For: Inventor (Cat's eye) and businessman

Harry Brearley (18 February 1871 – 14 July 1948) was an English metallurgist, usually credited with the invention of "rustless steel" (later to be called "stainless steel" in the anglophone world).

In the troubled years immediately before World War I, arms manufacturing increased significantly in the UK, but practical problems were encountered due to erosion (excessive wear) of the internal surfaces of gun barrels. Brearley began to research new steels which could better resist the erosion caused by high temperatures (rather than corrosion, as is often mentioned in this regard). He began to examine the addition of chromium to steel, which was known to raise the material’s melting point, as compared to the standard carbon steels.

Known For: Inventing Stainless Steel

Jack Peter Shepherd (born 14 January 1988) is an English actor. He has portrayed the character of David Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street since April 2000.

Before taking on the role of David, Shepherd had appeared in episodes of TV's Where the Heart Is and Clocking Off where he starred with his future Coronation Street screen sister Tina O'Brien. Shepherd has taken time out of Coronation Street to do theatre work, including the role of Riff in a production of West Side Story as part of Stage 84 The Yorkshire School of Performing Arts. He has also appeared in Oliver! at Bradford's Alhambra theatre.

In 2008, Shepherd appeared in Ghosthunting with Coronation Street on the Isle of Man. In 2007, Shepherd won the Best Bad Boy Award at the Inside Soap Awards and in 2008, he won 'Best Villain' at the British Soap Awards. Shepherd uses his middle initial in his stage name as there is already a well-known British actor named Jack Shepherd.

He is also a contributor to the topical show Grouchy Young Men, a spin-off of the show Grumpy Old Men, on the British version of Comedy Central. Shepherd is engaged to his long-term girlfriend Lauren with whom he has two children, Nyla and Reuben

Notable Works: Coronation Street

James Dominic Frain (born 14th March 1968) is an English stage and screen actor. His best known roles include those of Thomas Cromwell in the TV series The Tudors, and Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama True Blood.

Frain was born in Leeds, the eldest of eight children of a teacher mother and a stockbroker father.

Notable Works: Tron: Legacy, Where the Heart is, The Tudors

Twitter: @britjfrain

Leigh Francis was born in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, on 30 April 1973 and brought up on a council estate in Old Farnley, Leeds. He attended Farnley Park High School (now The Farnley Academy). He later studied at the Leeds College of Art and received a qualification in graphic design. Before making his major television breakthrough, he was discovered and encouraged by television presenter Davina McCall, performing in-role stand up comedy in a southern comedy club.

Keith Ian Lemon is a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Leigh Francis. Lemon is easily distinguished by his Yorkshire accent, bleached hair, ginger moustache and fake tan. According to Francis, Lemon’s background is that of a failed businessman who was most successful in 1993, when he won the prestigious Businessman of the Year award for his innovative creation, the “securi-pole”.

Known For: Character Comedy, TV Presenting

Facebook: /officialkeithlemon
Twitter: @lemontwittor

Matthew David “Matt” Lewis (born 27 June 1989) is an English film, television and stage actor, best known for playing Neville Longbottom. He was born in Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, the son of Lynda and Adrian Lewis. In 2012 it was announced that Lewis was to receive an honorary Master of Arts degree from Leeds Metropolitan University for his contribution to the arts and charity work on 24 July 2012.

Notable Works: Harry Potter, The Syndicate

Facebook: /Matthew-Lewis
Twitter: @Mattdavelewis

Ralph Michael Ineson (born 15 December 1969) is an English actor. He played Chris Finch on the BBC television programme The Office. Ineson was born in Leeds. He was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire and Pocklington School,

In the early 1990s, after studying Theatre Studies at Lancaster University, Ineson was a teacher at York Sixth Form College where he was also a cricket coach.

Notable Works: The Office, Game of Thrones. Harry Potter

Twitter: @ralphineson

Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English film, television, and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career on stage and screen. He is most widely known for his film and TV roles, as well as his prolific stage roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and his many voice acting roles. In 1993, TV Guide named him the best dramatic television actor of the 1980s. Patrick Stewart was in Mirfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Having lived in Los Angeles for many years, Stewart moved back to England in 2004, in part to return to work in the theatre. In the same year, Stewart was appointed Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield and subsequently as a Professor of Performing Arts in July 2008. In this role, Stewart regularly attends graduation ceremonies in the UK and Hong Kong and teaches master classes for drama students.

Stewart was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours list, and was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to drama. In July 2011, Stewart received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (Hon.Litt.D.) from the University of East Anglia.

In July 2012, Stewart carried the Olympic torch as part of the official relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics and stated it was an experience he will 'never forget', adding that it was better than any movie première. In July 2014, Stewart received an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Leeds.

Notable Works: Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men, Dune

Facebook: /patrickstewart
Twitter: @SirPatStew

Dominic Gerard Fe West (born 15 October 1969) is an English TV actor. He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Sheffield, Yorkshire, the son of Moya, a housewife, and George West, who owned a plastics factory. West attended Eton College and Trinity College, Dublin. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, in 1995.

Notable Works: The Wire, Chicago

Twitter: @DominicWest

Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. In a career spanning over 40 years, he has won an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA, two Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards. He is known for his starring role as Mohandas Gandhi in the 1982 film Gandhi, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2013 he received the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles ‘Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment’.

Kingsley was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000, and was made a Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. In 2010, Kingsley was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Notable Works: Gandhi, Schindler’s List, Hugo

Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson OBE (born 5 February 1948) is an English actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award, for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton. In 2009, he won Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Film for playing Benjamin Franklin in John Adams.

Wilkinson was born in Wharfedale, Yorkshire, England, the son of Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer. At the age of four, he moved with his family to Canada, where they lived for several years before returning to England and running a pub in Cornwall. Wilkinson graduated from the University of Kent, where he was a member of T24 Drama Society (then named UKCD) and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Known For: Actor

Dame Judith Olivia “Judi” Dench, CH DBE FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress and author. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of Shakespeare’s plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. She branched into film work, and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer; however, most of her work during this period was in theatre. She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical Cabaret in 1968.

Dench was born in Heworth, York, England. Her mother, Eleanora Olive, was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor, was born in Dorset, South West England, and later moved to Dublin, where he was raised.

Notable Works: James Bond, Shakespeare in Love, Mrs. Brown

Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, (29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United States in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. There he soon neglected his managerial duties, and in 1886 returned to Europe. Having been influenced by African-American music during his short stay in Florida, he began composing. After a brief period of formal musical study in Germany beginning in 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as a composer in Paris and then in nearby Grez-sur-Loing, where he and his wife Jelka lived for the rest of their lives, except during the First World War.

Delius's first successes came in Germany, where Hans Haym and other conductors promoted his music from the late 1890s. In Delius's native Britain, it was 1907 before his music made regular appearances in concert programmes, after Thomas Beecham took it up. Beecham conducted the full premiere of A Mass of Life in London in 1909 (he had premiered Part II in Germany in 1908); he staged the opera A Village Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden in 1910; and he mounted a six-day Delius festival in London in 1929, as well as making gramophone recordings of many of Delius's works. After 1918 Delius began to suffer the effects of syphilis, contracted during his earlier years in Paris. He became paralysed and blind, but completed some late compositions between 1928 and 1932 with the aid of an amanuensis, Eric Fenby.

The lyricism in Delius's early compositions reflected the music he had heard in America and the influences of European composers such as Edvard Grieg and Richard Wagner. As his skills matured, he developed a style uniquely his own, characterised by his individual orchestration and his uses of chromatic harmony. Delius's music has been only intermittently popular, and often subject to critical attacks. The Delius Society, formed in 1962 by his more dedicated followers, continues to promote knowledge of the composer's life and works, and sponsors the annual Delius Prize competition for young musicians

Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. She was the first white, female, blue-eyed soul singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. She is best known for her 1976 duet with Elton John, entitled "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which went to Number 1 both in the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1993 she performed another duet with Elton John for his Duets album, a cover version of Cole Porter's "True Love", which reached No. 2 in the UK. During her career, she has released 40 singles, three EPs and 12 albums.

Kiki Dee began singing with a local band in Bradford in the early 1960s. Her recording career began as a session singer. She sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, among others, and was well regarded by other singers but did not achieve solo success in the UK for many years. In the days before BBC Radio 1, Dee was a regular performer of cover versions on BBC Radio, and she starred with a group of session singers in the BBC Two singalong series, One More Time. She also appeared in an early episode of The Benny Hill Show in January 1971.

Zain Javadd “Zayn” Malik, born 12 January 1993, is from Bradford, West Yorkshire. He grew up in East Bowling, was a pupil at Lower Fields Primary School, and went to Tong High School. He has one older sister, and two younger sisters.

Malik quit the band on 25 March 2015, citing his desire to live as a “normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight”, after signing off from the band’s On the Road Again Tour for an indefinite period six days prior due to stress. He denied rumors of any rift between the members, explaining that the band had been supportive of the decision.

Twitter: @zaynmalik

Edward Christopher “Ed” Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Hebden Bridge, he moved to London in 2008 to pursue a musical career. In early 2011, Sheeran released an independent extended play, No. 5 Collaborations Project, which caught the attention of both Elton John and Jamie Foxx. He then signed to Asylum Records. His debut album, +, containing the singles “The A Team” and “Lego House”, was certified quintuple platinum in the UK. In 2012, he won two Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. In 2014 he was nominated for Best New Artist at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

Sheeran’s popularity abroad began in 2012. In the US he made a guest appearance on Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album, Red, and wrote songs for One Direction. “The A Team” was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards and he performed the song in duet with Elton John during the ceremony. His second studio album titled X (read as “multiply”) was released worldwide on 23 June 2014, charting at number one in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. As part of his X world tour, Sheeran will play three concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium in July 2015, his biggest solo shows to date.

Facebook: /EdSheeranMusic
Twitter: @edsheeran

Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), better known as Mel B or Melanie B, is a British recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress, author, television presenter, talent competition judge and model. Brown rose to fame as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Scary Spice. She is known as Mel B to distinguish her from her Spice Girls bandmate, Melanie C.

The Spice Girls signed to Virgin Records and in 1996 they released their debut single, "Wannabe", which hit number one in more than 30 countries and helped establish the group as a "global phenomenon". It was followed by their debut album, Spice, which has sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in music history. The band's second album, Spiceworld, went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide. As of 2013, the Spice Girls have sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making them the biggest selling female group in history and also one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Brown is also known for supporting girl power and earlier global tours, which grossed an estimated $500–800 million between 1996 and 2001. The Return of the Spice Girls was the band's comeback tour throughout 2007 and 2008, having grossed US$200 million and winning the Billboard 2008 Touring Award. As of July 2013, Brown's net worth is estimated to be $85 million.

Brown began her solo career when she released "I Want You Back" with Missy Elliott on Virgin Records. The single charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, followed by the release of her debut album, Hot (2000). The album also saw the release of two top 10 singles "Tell Me" and "Feels So Good". L.A. State of Mind was Brown's second studio album, released in 2005 on the independent label Amber Café, which saw the release of one single, "Today" in June that year. In mid-2012, Brown announced a return to her solo recording career with the release of her third studio album by signing with EMI Music Australia. The scope of the deal with EMI office includes concessions for global partnering with EMI. The first single from the album, "For Once in My Life" was released in September 2013, becoming Brown's first record to be released after eight years.

Facebook: /MelBOfficial
Twitter: @OfficialMelB

John William Peter Newman (born 16 June 1990) is an English singer and musician. He is best known for the track "Love Me Again" which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in July 2013 as well as being a featured artist on Rudimental's 2012 singles "Feel the Love" and "Not Giving In", which peaked at number one and number fourteen on the chart, respectively. In 2014 he featured in the Calvin Harris single "Blame" which topped the UK charts.

At the 2014 Brit Awards, Newman was nominated for three Brit Awards, including for British Male Solo Artist. As of February 2014, Newman has sold over 1.3 million records in the UK alone.

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), and Vivian Campbell (guitar, backing vocals). This is the band's longest-standing line-up. The band's strongest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Their 1981 album High 'n' Dry was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who helped them begin to define their style.

As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Def Leppard have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and have two albums with RIAA diamond certification, Pyromania and Hysteria. They are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. The band were ranked No. 31 in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and ranked No. 70 in "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

Twitter: @DefLeppard

Arthur Brown (born Arthur Wilton Brown on 24 June 1942) is an English rock musician best known for his flamboyant theatrical performances, powerful wide-ranging operatic voice and his number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart and Canada, “Fire”, in 1968. Brown has been lead singer of various groups, most notably The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Kingdom Come, followed by a varied solo career as well as associations with Hawkwind, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa.

Though Brown has had limited commercial success and has never released another recording as commercially successful as “Fire”, he has been a significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond and Bruce Dickinson among others, and his songs have been covered or sampled by a range of artists including Ozzy Osbourne, The Prodigy and The Who.

Facebook: /arthurbrownmusic

John Barry Prendergast, OBE (3 November 1933 – 30 January 2011) was an English composer and conductor of film music. He composed the soundtracks for 11 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, and also arranged and performed the “James Bond Theme” to the first film in the series, 1962’s Dr. No. He wrote the scores to the award winning films Midnight Cowboy, Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa, in a career spanning over 50 years. In 1999 he was appointed OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music.

Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed his own band in 1957, The John Barry Seven. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. This started a successful association between Barry and Eon Productions which lasted for 25 years.

Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, OBE (born 19 April 1933, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England), is a retired English international cricket umpire. In February 2014, Yorkshire announced that Bird is to be voted in as the club's president at their Annual General Meeting on 29 March. The son of a miner, he gained the nickname 'Dickie' at school. He lives in the South Yorkshire village of Staincross. When a knee injury put paid to playing football professionally, he followed his second love, cricket. In his early career in Barnsley, he played club cricket in the same team as Geoff Boycott, and journalist and chat show host Michael Parkinson, who became a lifelong friend. In 1956, Bird signed up with his home county, Yorkshire. After his county career, he coached and played league cricket before becoming an umpire.

He stood in his first county game in 1970. Three years later, he officiated at his first Test match, England v New Zealand at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. The other umpire was Charlie Eliott as England won by an innings and one run. He gained a reputation for stopping play for weather and not giving batsmen out LBW. Bird's attention to detail was placed under scrutiny at the Centenary Test between England and Australia at Lord's in 1980. One of Bird's strengths was that he was able to manage and earn the respect of some of the more volatile players in the game, sometimes by using his infectious humour. He was also known as being eccentric, famously arriving at a ground five hours early as the Queen was to visit that day.

Bird umpired in 66 Test matches (at the time a world record) and 69 One Day Internationals including 3 World Cup Finals. He came out of retirement in January 2007 to umpire in the XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series involving cricketing legends from England, the West Indies, and Australia, which partly took place at Scarborough Beach in Perth, Australia.

Known For: Cricket and umpiring

Steven Frayne (born 17 December 1982), commonly known by his stage name “Dynamo”, is an English magician, best known for his show Dynamo: Magician Impossible. Dynamo was born in Bradford, England. He has appeared in ads for Adidas, Nokia, and Pepsi and appeared on the catwalk for Naomi Campbell’s: Fashion for Relief.

On 5 July 2012, Dynamo was promoted by the magicians’ society, The Magic Circle, to Associate of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star for Performance. In the same year, Dynamo: Magician Impossible won the Best Entertainment Programme award at the Broadcast Awards. Series 2 of Dynamo: Magician Impossible won the Broadcast Award for Best Entertainment Programme for the second year in a row and won TV show of the year at the Virgin Media Awards.

Known For: Magic, TV Presenting

Facebook: /dynamomagician
Twitter: @Dynamomagician

Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English sculptor and artist. He is best known for his abstract bronze sculptures which are located in various prominent public places. He became the most influential and famous sculptor of his generation. Henry Moore was born on 30 July, 1898, in Castleford, Yorkshire. He was the seventh child in a family of 8 children. His father worked in a colliery in Castleford but wanted his children to avoid working down the mines, so as much as possible given the family’s poverty, the children were educated at a local school. It was in his teenage years that he developed an interest and talent in art. This helped him to get a scholarship to Castleford Secondary school. Aged 18 he was called up to the army and in 1917 was injured during a gas attack at the Battle of Cambrai. After his injury, he spent the remainder of the war behind the line training new recruits. Moore later said the war was for him not a traumatic experience – unlike that of many of his contemporaries.

After the war, he continued his education and in 1921 won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art. He didn’t regret his late opportunity to attend art school. He was a talented student, but already he was experimenting with new styles and this often conflicted with his teachers who were trying to teach the classic style – of perfection in form and composition. Moore was attracted to a more spontaneous art form with imperfections evident in the sculpting. In 1924, he spent time travelling in Italy and later Paris. Here he could view the great Masters such as Michelangelo and Giovanni Pisano. But, Moore was also influenced by his studies of primitive art, and at the Louvre he was particularly influenced by the Toltec-Maya sculptural form, the Chac Mool.

On his return to London, he took up a teaching post at the Royal College of art. This part time post enabled him to work on his own art, leading to his first commissions such as the West Wind – 1928-29. In the 1930s, Moore became an active member of the informal modern art movement, centred around the ideas and innovation of people like Pablo Picasso and Jean Arp. He also briefly flirted with the surrealist movement. The Second World War led to more traditional commissions and Moore worked as a war artist producing memorable pictures such as images of civilians fleeing the Blitz in the London underground. This helped Moore’s reputation and after the war led to numerous awards and opportunities in America. In 1948 he was awarded the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale. Significant commissions included. A reclining figure for UNESCO building in Paris 1956. A Nuclear energy sculpture at the University of Chicago. (to commemorate 25th anniversary of nuclear reaction) and Knife Edge – Two Piece in 1962 for College Green, London around Houses of parliament.

In 1972, Henry Moore established his Henry Moore Foundation – a charitable trust to promote art education and the support of young artists. He was a man of modest means. Despite his wealth and fame he lived frugally remembering his Yorkshire roots. He even turned down a knighthood in 1951 because he didn’t want to be seen as an establishment figure. Yet, during his lifetime he became one of the most influential sculptors of his generation.

Known For: Leading Sculptor and artist

Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May. He also writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. Clarkson was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire to travelling salesman Edward Grenville Clarkson and teacher Shirley Gabrielle Ward.

His opinionated but humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and presenting style has often provoked public reaction. His actions both privately and as a Top Gear presenter have also sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public. He has also garnered a significant public following, being credited as a major factor in the resurgence of Top Gear as one of the most popular shows on the BBC.

On 25 March 2015, the BBC announced it would not renew Clarkson's contract after he verbally and physically attacked a Top Gear producer over a dispute at a hotel while filming on location.

Known For: TV Presenting, Journalism

Facebook: /PowerHungryClarkson
Twitter: @JeremyClarkson

Ernest Wiseman, OBE (27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became a national institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.

Known For: Comedian, Actor, Entertainer

Edward James "Ted" Hughes, OM (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death. Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath from 1956 until her suicide in 1963 at age 30. His part in the relationship became controversial to some feminists and some American admirers of Plath. His last poetic work, Birthday Letters (1998), explored their complex relationship. These poems make reference to Plath's suicide, but none addresses directly the circumstances of her death. A poem discovered in October 2010, Last letter, describes what happened during the three days before her death.

In 2008 The Times ranked Hughes fourth on their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

A memorial walk was inaugurated in 2005, leading from the Devon village of Belstone to Hughes's memorial stone above the River Taw, on Dartmoor. In 2009 the Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry was established with the permission of Carol Hughes. The Poetry Society notes "the award is named in honour of Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate, and one of the greatest twentieth century poets for both children and adults”. Members of the Poetry Society and Poetry Book Society recommend a living UK poet who has completed the newest and most innovative work that year, "highlighting outstanding contributions made by poets to our cultural life."

Known For: Poetry and children's writer

JCT600 Ltd is a privately owned franchise motor firm that operates primarily in the north of England, with 50 dealerships between Boston and Newcastle. The company represents 19 car marques, and in 2014 achieved a turnover of over £1billion. The company was established in 1946 as Tordoff Motors, with one showroom that housed Standard and Triumph vehicles. Founded Jack Tordoff, a successful rally driver in the 1960s and 70s and winning the Circuit of Ireland Rally in 1973, built the business over 44 years before his son and current CEO, John Tordoff, took over in 2002. The elder Tordoff remains chairman.

The JCT600 company name came from the personal number plate of a Mercedes-Benz 600 that Jack Tordoff owned. The company began to acquire Gilder Group dealer sites came in 2009, with York and Hull Audi joining the JCT600 group. In 2013, Gilder CEO Garry Scotting agreed to sell all but three Honda dealerships to John Tordoff thanks to an earlier agreement that JCT600 had first refusal should Scotting decide to sell.

The company had 47 sites in the north-east of England by 2013, rising to 50 in 2015.

Known For: Being a nationing motor sales firm that sells dozens of brands of cars

Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. The business has 35 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Ireland and serves around four million meals annually.

The business was started by Harry Ramsden (1888–1963) in 1928 in a wooden hut in White Cross, Guiseley, West Yorkshire, northern England. Three years later he moved into a new premises, complete with fitted carpets, oak panelled walls and chandeliers. The original hut still stands on the same site adjacent to the main restaurant, which once held the Guinness World Record for the largest fish and chip shop in the world, seating 250 people, serving nearly a million customers a year.

Known For: Serving world famous fish and chips

Facebook: /harryramsdens
Twitter: @HarryRamsdensUK

Yorkshire Tea is a black tea blend produced by ‘Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate’ while trading as Taylors of Harrogate. This company was founded in 1886 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, before the purchase of Taylors by Bettys. The company is now owned by the group (Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate) with two subsidiaries, Bettys and Taylors.

The company is one of the few remaining family tea and coffee merchants in the country. Yorkshire Tea uses varieties of tea grown in Assam, Sri Lanka, and Kenya blended to form five varieties:

• Original Yorkshire Tea
• Yorkshire Tea for Hard Water
• Luxury blend Yorkshire Gold
• Yorkshire Seasonal
• Decaffeinated

Known For: Being mixed with hot water, dropped into a cup, enjoyed by people around the world

Facebook: /yorkshiretea
Twitter: @YorkshireTea

Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S) is a major British multinational retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London. It specialises in the selling of clothing, home products and luxury food products. M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds. In 1998, the company became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion,

The company was founded by a partnership between Michael Marks, a Polish Jew from Słonim (Marks was born into a Polish-Jewish family, a Polish refugee living in the Russian Empire, now in Belarus), and Thomas Spencer, a cashier from the English market town of Skipton in North Yorkshire. On his arrival in England, Marks worked for a company in Leeds, called Barran, which employed refugees (see Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet). In 1884 he met Isaac Jowitt Dewhirst while looking for work. Dewhirst lent Marks £5 which he used to establish his Penny Bazaar on Kirkgate Market, in Leeds. Dewhirst also taught him a little English. Dewhirst's cashier was Tom Spencer, a bookkeeper, whose second wife, Agnes, helped improve Marks' English. In 1894, when Marks acquired a permanent stall in Leeds' covered market, he invited Spencer to become his partner.

In 1901 Marks moved to the Birkenhead open market where he amalgamated with Spencer. The pair were allocated stall numbers 11 & 12 in the centre aisle in 1903, and there they opened the famous Penny Bazaar. The next few years saw Michael Marks and Tom Spencer open market stalls in many locations around the North West of England and move the original Leeds Penny Bazaar to 20, Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester.

Known For: Selling clothes and gifts across the UK for over 100 years

Henderson's Relish, known locally as Hendo's or 'Hendies' is a spicy and fruity condiment, similar in appearance to Worcestershire sauce, but contains no anchovies. It is essentially made of water, sugar and spirit vinegar with a selection of spices and colouring. Some adherents favour it due to its unique taste, and some out of regional loyalty. It was Henry Henderson who first began manufacturing his own special type of sauce back in the latter part of the 19th century. Originally manufactured at 35 Broad Lane in Sheffield, Henderson’s Relish is still being made and was in uninterrupted production within half a mile of the site from which the first bottle was filled until the move to a new food production factory in 2013.

It can be found in local fish and chip shops and almost every supermarket and grocers in the city, yet is almost unavailable anywhere outside South Yorkshire (although it can now be ordered online). The company has made little effort to market outside Yorkshire, instead preferring to encourage a loyal following nationally through this sense of exclusivity. Although often available throughout the UK, this has been due to the efforts of individual shops, and loyal Yorkshiremen smugglers, to obtain small quantities for their local clientele.

It is produced in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The product's slogan is, "Made in Sheffield for over a 100 years". A gold-label version was produced to commemorate home girl Jessica Ennis winning the Heptathlon in the 2012 Olympics.

Known For: Being a spicy and fruity condiment, produced and sold in Sheffield

Thorntons is a UK chocolate company established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911. Turnover in its annual report of 2013 was reported at £221 million with 249 shops and 186 franchises together with internet, mail order and commercial services. When Cadburys became part of a non-confectionery specific group, Thorntons became the largest confectionery-only parent corporation in the United Kingdom.

The Thornton family lived in Leeds, West Yorkshire for many years having various occupations from shopkeeper to innkeeper until eventually Joseph Thornton, born 1832, moved south to become a railway shopkeeper in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He then opened his first Thorntons Chocolate Kabin shop in October 1911, on the corner of Norfolk Street and Howard Street in Sheffield.

Known For: Continental, Swiss and Belgian Chocolates, Toffee, Fudge

Facebook: /Thorntons.Official
Twitter: @thorntonschocs

In 1862, Rowntree’s was founded at Castlegate, York by Henry Isaac Rowntree, as the company manager bought out the Tuke family. Rowntree developed the Kit Kat, Smarties and Aero brands in the 1930s, and the Rolo and Quality Street brands when it merged with Mackintosh’s in 1969.

Founded in 1862, the company developed strong associations with Quaker philanthropy. Throughout much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it was one of the big three confectionery manufacturers in the United Kingdom, alongside Cadbury and Fry. By the time the company was acquired by Nestlé in 1988, it was the fourth largest confectionery manufacturer in the world. The Rowntree brand continues to be used to market Nestlé’s jelly sweet brands, such as Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums.

Known For: Producing famous chocolates and sweets like: Kit Kat, Smarties, Aero, Rolo, Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums

Facebook: /rowntrees

Katherine Sarah Copeland MBE (born 1 December 1990) is an English rower. In 2012, she was selected to represent Great Britain in the 2012 London Olympics in the Women's lightweight double sculls with Sophie Hosking, winning the gold medal. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to rowing.

She was born in Ashington, and was 14 when she first learnt to row at Yarm School. She is a member of Tees Rowing Club, Stockton-on-Tees. As a teacher, she also runs an after school art club for autistic children in conjunction with the Three Wings Trust.

Known For: 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist

Twitter: @kate_copeland

Edward "Ed" Clancy MBE (born Edward Clancy, 12 March 1985) is an English professional track and road bicycle racer who rides for the JLT-Condor team. On the track his specialist discipline is the team pursuit, in which he is the reigning Olympic and European champion.

In the London 2012 Olympics, he also participated in the Omnium, claiming a bronze medal. In total, Clancy is a four-time world champion (in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2012) and triple European champion (in 2010, 2011 and 2014) in team pursuit; he has also won World (2010) and European (2011) titles at Omnium. On the road, he won the first stage of the 2005 Tour of Berlin.

Known For: 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist

Twitter: @Ed_Clancy

Fabian Delph (born 21 November 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester City and the England national team.

He was on the books of Bradford City as a youngster until he moved to Leeds United aged 11. Having played 45 games for Leeds at League One level and once in the Championship, he transferred to Premier League side Aston Villa in August 2009 for £6 million. In 2012, he returned to Leeds United for a short loan spell. Delph had a successful start to the 2012–13 Premier League season, leading Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert to call for his inclusion in the England squad.

Delph has represented his country at under-19 and under-21 level and made his senior debut in a friendly against Norway on 3 September 2014.

Known For: Footballing (Midfielder)

Twitter: @FabianDelph16

Paul 'Baloo' Anderson (born 25 October 1971) is an English rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s, and current Head Coach of the Huddersfield Giants. He was caretaker head coach for the Huddersfield Giants for the end of 2008's Super League XIII. He is currently the Head Coach at the Huddersfield Giants starting in 2013.

Paul began his playing career in 1991 playing as a Prop for Leeds. He made two appearances for Great Britain under-21's between 1992 and 1993 while at Leeds. He spent the majority of his career at the Bradford Bulls, where he established himself as a Bradford and Great Britain stalwart. In 2005, Anderson moved to St. Helens. On 10 May 2006, the BBC announced that Paul Anderson would retire from playing in order to be an assistant coach with Huddersfield Giants beginning in the 2007 season. On 16 July 2012 Anderson was announced as the new Head Coach.

Known For: Rugby (Prop)

Sam Burgess (born 14 December 1988) is an English professional rugby union player for Bath Rugby of the Aviva Premiership. He previously played rugby league as a Great Britain and England international representative forward and in the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League and in Super League for English club Bradford Bulls. Burgess was persuaded by Russell Crowe, co-owner of NRL club, South Sydney Rabbitohs to sign and move to Australia to play.

Since doing so Burgess has been selected to play for the NRL All Stars, named captain of the Rabbitohs and had his brothers Luke, Tom and George move over to play professionally in Australia as well. In 2014 Burgess won an NRL Premiership with the Rabbitohs before returning to England to play rugby union.

Burgess made his Super League début against Leeds in 2006 after already being dubbed by Shontayne Hape as "Great Britain's Sonny Bill". After a highly successful début season with the Bulls, Burgess was awarded the Senior Academy Player of the Year Award by the club. In 2007 Burgess has established himself as a first team regular. After a great full season he was called up for the Great Britain squad for the 2007 Test series with New Zealand, and was named as young player of the year in Super League.

Known For: Rugby (Second-Row/Prop)

Twitter: @SamBurgess8

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE (born 14th February 1951) is an English former football player and manager. He played for several clubs including Liverpool and Hamburger SV. He went on to manage Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City, winning promotion as champions in his first full season at all three clubs. He also managed the England national team.

As a player in the 1970s and 1980s, he has been described as "arguably the first superstar English player to attract the modern media spotlight". He began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before moving to Liverpool in 1971. At Liverpool, Keegan won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup and the European Cup. He also gained his first England cap in 1972, and moved to German club Hamburg in the summer of 1977. At Hamburg he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978–79, and reached the European Cup final in 1980.

He moved into management at Newcastle in 1992, winning promotion as First Division champions. Newcastle then finished second in the Premier League in 1995–96, after leading for most of the season.

Known For: Footballer for Liverpool, manager for Newcastle United, Fulham and Manchester City

Richard Dunn (19 January 1945) was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England and was a heavyweight boxer who fought Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1976. Dunn was defeated by many top boxers of the time, losing to Muhammad Ali, Joe Bugner, Jimmy Young, and Kallie Knoetze. However, he did defeat some professional fighters such as Johnny Griffin, Neville Meade, Bunny Johnson and Danny McAlinden.

Dunn is also notable as the only Yorkshireman ever to fight Ali, who knocked him out 2:05 minutes into the fifth round; this was to be the last knockout Ali ever achieved in his professional career. Although he was seriously overmatched, many British fans have said that Dunn made one of the most courageous showings of any British fighter when he faced Ali.

A sports centre is named after Dunn in his home town of Bradford in honour of his achievements. Richard Dunn is now retired and living in Scarborough.

Known For: Boxing

Dean Windass (born 1 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is best known for his spells at Bradford City and contributing to his hometown team Hull City's promotion to the Premier League in 2008. Windass started his footballing career as a trainee at his hometown club, Hull City, and signed his first professional contract there. He scored 64 goals in 205 games for Hull, and, when he left, he brought the club a record transfer fee at the time, going on to play in the top divisions in both English and Scottish football. Later in his career, he returned to Hull City, and scored the only goal of the 2008 Football League Championship play-off final to take them to the top flight for the first time in their history.

Windass also had two spells at Bradford City, where he became the club's third-highest scorer of all time. He has also played for Aberdeen, Oxford United, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, and Oldham Athletic.

Known For: Footballing (Midfielder/Striker)

Twitter: @DWindass10

James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liverpool FC and the England national team. He previously played for Leeds United, Swindon Town, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Manchester City. He is mainly a winger but in the 2009–10 season he was utilised in a more central position by Aston Villa.

Milner's talent in football, cricket, and long-distance running was recognised at a very young age. He represented his school in these sports and played football for amateur teams from Rawdon and Horsforth. He supported Leeds United from a young age and was a season ticket holder at the club. In 1996, he joined the Leeds United youth academy. He made his debut for the first team in 2002, aged only 16, and gained prominence as the youngest player to score in the Premier League.

He made more than 100 appearances for Newcastle, as well as making a record number of appearances for the England under-21 team. He made his debut for the full team against the Netherlands in August 2009 and also played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012, 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Known For: Footballing (Midfielder/Winger)

Jonathan Callum Brownlee (born 30th April 1990) is an English professional duathlete and triathlete. He was the 2012 Triathlon World Champion, and the silver medalist in 2013 Brownlee is also a two-time, and the reigning, World Sprint Triathlon Champion and is the former Under 23 Triathlon World Champion (2010).

Brownlee won the bronze medal in the Olympic triathlon at the London 2012 Olympic Games. His brother, Alistair Brownlee, is also a triathlon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.

Known For: 2012 Triathlon World Champion

Twitter: @jonny_brownlee

Andrew Stuart Murray McCall (born 10 June 1964), usually known as Stuart McCall, is a football player and manager, who is currently the manager of Rangers. He made a total of 763 league games and in 40 full international matches for Scotland during his playing career.

McCall started his professional career with Bradford City, where he made his senior debut in 1982. He played six seasons at Valley Parade, during which time he won the Division Three championship. After missing out on promotion in 1987–88, McCall moved to Everton F.C., for whom he scored twice but finished on the losing side in the 1989 FA Cup Final. In 1991, he moved to Rangers, with whom he spent seven seasons and won six league titles, three Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups.

Despite being born in Leeds, England, McCall qualified to play for Scotland through his Scottish father. He won 40 international caps and scored one goal in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He also played in two European Championships but his international career ended after he was left out of the 1998 World Cup squad.

Known For: Footballing (Midfielder)

Twitter: @Stuart_McCall

Alan Hinkes OBE (born 26th April 1954) is an English mountaineer from Northallerton in North Yorkshire. Hinkes is the first British mountaineer to have claimed all 14 mountains with elevations greater than 8000 metres, the so-called Eight-thousanders; however, this claim is disputed.

He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University of Sunderland in 1999, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of York in 2007.In 2011, Hinkes teamed up with UK tours operator Best of Britain Holidays to lead the 3 Peaks Challenge UK Tour. Hinkes presented awards with Gemma Merna at Kirkby Suite for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in 2009

Known For: Mountaineering

Robert Burrow is an English professional rugby league footballer with the Leeds Rhinos of Super League. He has represented both England and Great Britain as a hooker/half. He has spent his whole career to date at Leeds, having won the Super League championship with them five times. He weighs less than 11st (70 kg), extremely small by rugby league standards, and is known by the nickname of "Tattoo" due to his small stature.

Burrow played for the Leeds Rhinos from the interchange bench in their 2004 Super League Grand Final victory against the Bradford Bulls. As Super League IX champions, the Rhinos faced 2004 NRL season premiers, the Bulldogs in the 2005 World Club Challenge. Burrow played from the interchange bench, scoring a try in Leeds' 39-32 victory.

In June 2007 he was called up to the Great Britain squad for the Test match against France.[4] He was named as Leeds Rhinos Player of the Year for his performance throughout the 2007 season, and was named in the Super League Dream Team for the same year along with team mates Scott Donald, Jamie Peacock and Gareth Ellis.

Known For: Rugby (Halfback/Hooker)

Twitter: @Rob7Burrow

David Andrew Seaman MBE (born 19 September 1963) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury. He was appointed an MBE in 1997 for services to the sport.

The peak of his career was during his period as Arsenal and England goalkeeper in the 1990s and early 2000s; during his time at Arsenal he won many medals including three league championships (1991, 1998, 2002), four FA Cups (1993, 1998, 2002, 2003), the League Cup in 1993 and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994. During this time he also played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Euro 96 and Euro 2000, and is England's second-most capped goalkeeper with 75 caps, after Peter Shilton.

Known For: Footballing (Goalkeeper)

Twitter: @thedavidseaman

Gordon Banks, OBE (born 30 December 1937) is a former England international football goalkeeper. He made 628 appearances during a 15-year career in the Football League, and won 73 caps for his country. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, the IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin (1st) and ahead of Dino Zoff (3rd).

He was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1972, and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions.

He joined Chesterfield in March 1953, and played for the youth team in the 1956 FA Youth Cup final. He made his first team debut in November 1958, and was sold to Leicester City for £7,000 in July 1959. He played in four cup finals for the club, as they were beaten in the 1961 and 1963 FA Cup finals, before winning the League Cup in 1964 and finishing as finalists in 1965. During this time he established himself as England's number one goalkeeper, and played every game of the nation's 1966 World Cup victory. Despite this success, he was dropped by Leicester and sold on to Stoke City for £50,000 in April 1967. He made one of the game's great saves to prevent a Pelé goal in the 1970 World Cup, but was absent due to illness as England were beaten by West Germany at the quarter-final stage.

Known For: Goalkeeper, Footballer

James Richard "Jamie" Vardy (born 11 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Leicester City and the England national team. He plays as a striker, but can also play as a winger.

After being released by Sheffield Wednesday at the age of sixteen, Vardy began his senior career with Stocksbridge Park Steels, breaking into the first team in 2007 and spending three seasons before joining Northern Premier League side F.C. Halifax Town in 2010. Scoring 26 goals in his debut season, he won the club's "Player's Player of the Year" award, then moved to Conference Premier side Fleetwood Town in August 2011 for an undisclosed fee. He scored 31 league goals in his first season at his new team, winning the team's "Player of the Year" award as they won the division.

In May 2012, Vardy signed for Leicester City in the Football League Championship for a non-league record transfer fee of £1 million, and represented the club in the Premier League after winning the Championship in 2014. He scored in a record eleven consecutive Premier League matches in 2015, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's record, and made his international debut earlier in the same year.

Known For: Striker, Footballer

Twitter: @vardy7

Joseph Edward "Joe" Root (born 30 December 1990) is an English cricketer, who plays for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England. He was originally a right-handed opening batsman and occasional off-spinner, with a similar playing style to former England captain Michael Vaughan. However, he has played the majority of his cricket for England in the middle order. He made his debut for England in the 2012 Test series in India and made his ODI and Twenty20 International debuts on the same tour, before scoring his maiden Test century at his home ground of Headingley the following Spring against New Zealand.

Root followed in his father's footsteps by joining Sheffield Collegiate C.C. Former Yorkshire batsman and England captain, Michael Vaughan also learnt his trade at Collegiate and was a source of inspiration for Root who became a protégé of his. After success at second team level, Root was given an opportunity in the first team in Yorkshire's final Pro40 match of the season at Headingley, against Essex. Root scored 63 and was top-scorer in Yorkshire's 187–7. Although his half-century could not inspire Yorkshire to victory, Root described his debut as a "dream come true".

Root was selected for the Under 19 Cricket World Cup, in New Zealand, making an unbeaten 70 in a victory against Hong Kong as England progressed to the quarter finals before being eliminated by the West Indies. Later that Winter, he was sent to the Darren Lehmann Academy in Adelaide, South Australia, to fine tune his game.

Known For: Cricketing (Batsman)

Twitter: @joeroot05

Brian G. McDermott (born 16 March 1970 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Leeds Rhinos club of Super League, having started his coaching career at Harlequins in 2006. A Great Britain international representative forward, McDermott played his club football for Bradford Northern, winning Grand Finals and Challenge Cups with them.

McDermott joined Bradford Northern in 1994, where he stayed for 10 years. He played for Bradford at prop forward in their 1996 Challenge Cup Final loss to St Helens. McDermott won a cap for England while at Bradford Bulls in 2001 against Wales, and won caps for Great Britain while at Bradford in 1996 against Fiji, and in 1997 against Australia (SL) (3 matches). In the 1997 post season, McDermott was selected to play for Great Britain at prop forward in all three matches of the Super League Test series against Australia.

Known For: Rugby (Prop)