Famous Salopians - Part One

Charles Darwin, Robert Clive, Wilfred Owen and Mary Webb... We can all name the noble pioneers, poets and notaries who helped shape and colour the county of Shropshire, but what about modern-day famous Salopians?

Take our photo gallery tour of the county's rising stars and best-known faces of film, television and music.

See also: Part Two: Shrewsbury Scholars

See also: Part Three: Sporting Heroes

Hollywood actor Pete Postlethwaite is one of the county's most recognisable faces. The star, who's graced the silver screen in blockbusters including Jurassic Park, The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off and Dragonheart, has lived with his family in an eco-friendly home near Bishops Castle for several years.

Pete's appeared several times at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms and has been an active campaigner in the county, helping to raise awareness on a range of issues including crime prevention and autism. Read more here...

Albrighton's Helen Soraya hit screens last year when she appeared as a stunt performer in Christmas blockbuster The Golden Compass alongside Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman.

At 28, Helen's hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow British actresses like Kate Winslet and Sienna Miller, and has recently been filming a movie version of the acclaimed Abba musical Mamma Mia, with Hollywood heavyweights Colin Firth, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. Read more here...nextpage

Oswestry-born singer and guitarist Ian Hunter shot to fame in the early 1970s with his band Mott the Hoople, best known for the iconic song All the Young Dudes.

Since the band split in 1974, Ian has continued a successful solo career, releasing hits such as Once Bitten Twice Shy, and working with rock royalty from David Bowie to Ringo Starr and Queen. nextpage

Edith Mary Pargeter, aka Ellis Peters, was born in Horsehay, Telford, in 1913. Under her pseudonym she penned the hugely popular Brother Cadfael series, about a Benedictine monk at Shrewsbury Abbey who had a propensity for unravelling mysterious medieval murders and scandals.

The book series was adapted for television in 1994 starring Sir Derek Jacobi as Cadfael. Under her real name, Edith also wrote The Haven Tree Trilogy and The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet series.nextpage

Much Wenlock-born opera soprano singer Isobel 'Izzy' Cooper has enjoyed a series of hit releases since her debut CD Libera Me in 1998.

Reaching the top spot in Classic FM's classical music chart with two of her CD's, Izzy also shot to number one in the UK dance chart in 2004 when her voice was featured on the hit Now We Are Free, a remix of the theme song from the film Gladiator.nextpage

K. K. Downing, pictured here second from left with The Darkness a few years ago, is best known as the guitarist, songwriter and founding member of successful 1980s British heavy metal band Judas Priest.

Although originally from West Bromwich, K.K Downing has lived near Bridgnorth for many years, in a secluded mansion called Astbury Hall.nextpage

Rising Hollywood star Max Brown now splits his time between LA and London, but the actor is from Porthill in Shrewsbury, where his family still live, and he attended Shrewsbury Sixth Form College.

Max has appeared in a host of well-known TV shows, playing heart-throb student Kristian Hargreaves in Hollyoaks and starring in both Grange Hill and Crossroads. More recently, Max shot to fame in last year's Hollywood horror flick Paradise Lost (below, second from left), and narrowly lost out on playing the new Superman. Read more here...

Ludlow-born actress Jade Davidson is based in London but still regularly visits her family's home in Stanton Lacy. She also has a famous stepsister, the fashion designer Sadie Frost.

Jade's big break came last August with her role in action film Flood in which she played the character Mel alongside Robert Carlyle in a disaster movie about a 25-meter tidal wave engulfing London. Read more here...nextpage

Wizard guitarist Roy Wood, best known for the relentless Christmas song I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and the re-recording the Wombles' hit Wombling Merry Christmas, lives on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire but has a bolt hole in Wem.nextpage

Dance music mastermind and prolific international DJ Lange (real name Stuart Langelaan), was one of the pioneering producers of the UK trance scene and has enjoyed years of chart success with club hits like Drifting Away and Follow Me, which featured in the film Kevin and Perry Go Large.

Lange lives in Cardiff but grew up in Belvidere, Shrewsbury, and visits his parents there whenever he can. He once played Shrewsbury's Buttermarket and even attended Shrewsbury Sixth Form college, where his music career kicked off. Read more here...nextpage

Wellington-based songstress Carol Decker was the front woman in 1980s band T'Pau, belting out a string of Top 40 power ballads including China in Your Hand and Heart and Soul, alongside Shropshire-born band members Ronnie rogers and Michael Chetwood.

Carol's also appeared on various TV shows in recent years, including Just The Two Of Us, Making Your Mind Up and Hit Me Baby One More Time alongside Shakin' Stevens. Carol and Ronnie reunited last year to begin work on new material. Read more here...

Compiled by Lara Page