| HOWARD | Commander of England's fleet against the Spanish Armada and a patron of the troupe who became known as the Admiral's Men (6) |
| ELIZABETHI | Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's daughter whose reign as the last Tudor monarch saw the defeat of the Spanish Armada and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (9,1) |
| FRANCISDRAKE | Explorer who sailed around the world and was viceadmiral in England's fleet against the Spanish Armada (7,5) |
| INTERNALAUDITION | Tryout limited to current members of the troupe? |
| STAGEHAND | One of the troupe |
| NAVIES | Vines twining around first armada and groups of ships |
| LUCREZIABORGIA | Italian noblewoman who became a patron of the arts and science after her third marriage, to the Duke of Ferrara |
| ESTE | Italian dynasty of rulers including Isabella, a patron of the arts depicted in a portrait drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, exhibited in the Louvre (4) |
| PLAYSATRICK | "Oh, now I understand the significance of the troupe's performance in 'Hamlet'!" |
| AMUSE | Divert a patron of the liberal arts (5) |
| VESSELS | Armadas and arteries |
| ARKROYAL | The flaghip of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada commanded by Lord Howard of Effingham (3,5) |
| DRAKE | Francis ___, navigator who was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in |
| WILLIAMS | One of the Carry On troupe who was the narrator of Willo the Wisp (8) |
| IDLE | Member of the Python troupe who wrote a Life of Brian song based on keeping a "stiff upper lip" (4) |
| BATEMAN | Surname of the contestant on the first ever series of Big Brother in 2000 who became known as Nasty Nick (7) |
| BANJO | Surname of Ashley, part of the dance troupe who won BGT in 2009 and a judge on Dancing On Ice since 2018 (5) |
| JOHNCLEESE | Member of the Monty Python comedy troupe who co-wrote and starred in the sitcom Fawlty Towers (4,6) |
| WICKED | Desmond Barrit, a patron of Gorleston Pavilion, played The Wizard in this West End musical based upon a character in The Wizard of Oz (6) |
| JENNER | Edward -; smallpox vaccine discoverer who became known as the "father of immunology" (6) |
