Full name: Tiberius Claudius Nero

Thumbnail sketch: Second Emperor of Rome, reigned for 22 years. Son of Livia by her first husband Tiberius Nero; stepson and adopted son and son-in-law of Augustus; brother of Drusus; brother-in-law of Antonia; uncle to Claudius, Germanicus, and Livilla; husband of Vipsania and Julia; father to Castor; father-in-law to Livilla; grandfather to Tiberius Gemellus, among others.

Risk factors: Unpopularity due to his vicious nature and perverted and brutal excesses.

Portrayed by: George Baker

Whom you may also remember from: "The Prisoner", "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", "Z Cars", "Robin of Sherwood", and as Detective Chief Inspector Reg Wexford in the Ruth Rendell mysteries!

Full name: Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (born Decimus Claudius Drusus, aka Drusus the Elder)

Thumbnail sketch: Son of Livia by her first husband Tiberius Nero; stepson of Augustus; brother of Tiberius; brother-in-law of Vipsania and Julia; uncle to Castor; husband of Agrippina; father of Claudius, Germanicus, and Livilla; consul of Rome.

Risk factors: Republican sentiments and a mother who will stop at nothing to put them down.

Portrayed by: Ian Ogilvy

Whom you may also remember from: "The She-Beast", "Upstairs, Downstairs", "Ripping Yarns", "Return of The Saint", "Murder, She Wrote".

Full name:Antonia Minor, or Antonia the Younger

Thumbnail sketch: Daughter of Octavia and Marc Antony; niece to Augustus; sister-in-law to Tiberius; wife of Drusus; mother of Claudius, Germanicus, and Livilla; grandmother to Caligula and Drusilla, among others.

Risk factors: An old-fashioned sensibility in a Rome going mad; a blindness to plots going on under her own roof.

Portrayed by: Margaret Tyzack

Whom you may also remember from: "2001: A Space Odyssey", "The Forsyte Saga", "A Clockwork Orange", "Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story".

Full name: Nero (or Tiberius) Claudius Drusus Germanicus

Thumbnail sketch: Son of Drusus and Antonia; brother of Claudius and Livilla; husband of Agrippina; father to Nero, Drusus, Caligula, Drusilla, Lesbia, and Agrippina; nephew and adopted son of Tiberius; popular military hero of Rome.

Risk factors: Republican sentiments and a hate-filled son.

Portrayed by: David Robb

Whom you may also remember from: "Highlander", "Robin Hood" (TV), "Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story", "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers", "The Bill", "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan" / "Star Wars: Battlefront" & "The Sith Lords" (voice!).

Full name: Vipsania Agrippina, or Agrippina the Elder

Thumbnail sketch: Daughter of Julia and Agrippa; sister of Gaius, Lucius, Postumus, and Julilla; half-sister of Vipsania; wife of Germanicus; mother of Nero, Drusus, Caligula, Drusilla, Lesbia, and Agrippinilla.

Risk factors: A martyr complex and a dangerously brave and big mouth during a time of Imperial brutality.

Portrayed by: Fiona Walker

Whom you may also remember from: "The Norman Conquests", "Dr. Who", "Bleak House".

Full name: Claudia Livia Julia

Thumbnail sketch: Daughter of Drusus and Antonia; brother of Claudius and Germanicus; wife of Castor; daughter-in-law of Tiberius; mother to Gemellus and Helen; aunt to Nero, Drusus, Caligula, Drusilla, Lesbia, and Agrippina; lover of Sejanus.

Risk factors: Spiteful and manipulative, she allows her passions to rule over her good sense.

Portrayed by: Patricia Quinn

Whom you may also remember from: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Shoulder to Shoulder", "The Box of Delights".

Full name: Tiberius Drusus Claudius Julius Caesar Nero, or Drusus the Younger

Thumbnail sketch: Son of Tiberius and Vipsania; stepson of Julia; grandson of Livia; husband to Livilla; father of Gemellus and Helen.

Risk factors: Enmity with his father; a wife who secretly wants to be rid of him.

Portrayed by: Kevin McNally

Whom you may also remember from: "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", "The Spy Who Loved Me", "Johnny English", "Life on Mars".

Full name: Lucius Aelius Sejanus

Thumbnail sketch: Tiberius' chief crony, his Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, and Livilla's lover.

Risk factors: Boundless ambition.

Portrayed by: Patrick Stewart

Whom you may also remember from: "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", "Dune", "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "Smiley's People", "X-Men".