The list could never be exhaustive, and we are happy to receive further nominations from readers.
2. Kay Burley
Kay Burley has been a fixture on Sky News for well over three decades and these days presents her own breakfast show. Beech Hill-born, she started her journalistic career aged just 17 at the Wigan Evening Post and Chronicle before moving to regional and later national television. She has interviewed thousands of famous people, not without causing controversy sometimes, and has also enjoyed the occasional foray into novel writing and reality television. Photo: submit
3. Brian Finch
Like Kay Burley, Standish-born Brian Finch began his working life as a newspaper journalist but took a different turn into screenwriting. He became one of the most in-demand TV scribes in the business from the 1970s onwards, penning more than 150 episodes of Coronation Street while being a key contrubutor to other hit shows including All Creatures Great and Small, Bergerac, The Gentle Touch, The Tomorrow People. The Brothers and The Bill. He won a Bafta for the classic drama Goodnight Mr Tom, starring John Thaw Photo: NICK FAIRHURST
4. Shaun Edwards
A linchpin of Wigan RL's all-conquering team of the 1980s and '90s, Shaun Edwards was one of the greatest half-backs the sport has ever known. Such was his prowess as a schoolboy player that he was snaffled up by Wigan for a record sum on his 17th birthday and went on to help win his team unprecedented amounts of silverware. Since retirement he has forged a new career as an international rugby union coach. Photo: FRANK ORRELL