These celebrities are so respected - not just for their considerable talents, but for their winning personalities - that they have woven themselves into the fabric of British society.
They have achieved that rarest of honours - National Treasure status - a distinction worth more than any knighthood or damehood, because it is conferred upon them by the common people.
These distinguished characters from the worlds of TV, film and music, are pictured here long before they became National Treasures, when they were just starting out in their respective fields, or even earlier.
These are some of the earliest photos of them, in one case aged just six, along with details of their early careers and how the breakthroughs which helped establish them as household names.
Some of the famous faces pictured are almost unrecognisable in these early images, while others look like they’ve hardly changed.
How many of the stars in this retro gallery can you recognise from these early photos? And which other British celebrities do you think have earned National Treasure status?
9. Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen is pictured here in December 1965, aged 26, alongside Tina Packer in the BBC adaptation of David Copperfield. He made his stage debut in 1961 and has won six Olivier Awards. His movie roles include Magneto in the X-Men films, and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. | Getty Images Photo: Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive
10. Lenny Henry
Sir Lenny Henry is pictured here in November 1981, aged 23. He leapt to fame aged just 16, winning the New Faces talent show with his comic impersonations. Henry was a presenter on the children's show Tiswas during the late 70s and early 80s, and in 1984 got his own BBC show, The Lenny Henry Show, which ran for nearly two decades. In 1985, he co-founded the charity Comic Relief, and hosted the famous fundraising show for almost four decades. Having proved himself to be one of Britain's funniest men, he went on to show his acting chops, winning acclaim for his roles in the Shakespeare plays Othello and The Comedy of Errors. | Getty Images Photo: Michael Putland
11. Hugh Grant and director James Ivory filming 'Maurice' on location at King's College, Cambridge, 1986. (Photo by Michael Ward/Getty Images)
Hugh Grant is pictured here in 1986, aged 25 or 26, filming Maurice' on location at King's College, Cambridge, with director James Ivory. He made his feature film debut in 1982 but it was the 1994 romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral which made him a household name. Having built a reputation for playing affable but bumbling romantic leads, in recent years he has acted against type, playing a number of villains and appearing in horror and action films as well as dramas and comedies. | Getty Images Photo: Michael Ward
12. Julie Walters
Dame Julie Walters is pictured here in January 1976, aged 25, with Suzan Cameron and Richard Beckinsale, her co-stars in the West End production of Funny Peculiar. Walters trained as a student nurse before switching to acting. She and Victoria Wood were regular collaborators and appeared in their own Granada Television series, Wood and Walters, in 1981. But it was her role in the 1983 film Educating Rita that made her a household name. Other memorable movie appearances include major roles in Billy Elliot, the Harry Potter films, Calendar Girls, and Mamma Mia! | Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive