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Thanks loge. Yes, I'd done that - but what I meant was that the four from the clues hadn't achieved that distinction, so what was the link between them and the four in the grid. (Apart from the missing letters providing the abbreviation.)

Sorry, it must just be me.

The four in the grid have achieved that distinction, which is why they're a "complete" set and the others are not. It's a bit of twist on the word complete as of course only some of the achievers are to be found.

Nelson, to give one example, the first named, recently departed, is missing an E, and if you look them up you will see it’s the only one absent from their CV

The four in the grid have no such absences, and in that sense they are complete

That's more or less what I meant. The four non-achievers weren't significant in any way - there must be many thousands in that category.
(And JBTW, for a while I thought the theme was 'Stephen', given the first two thematics from the clues.)
Anyway, many thanks for your help and point of view.

Sorry quisling that last post was meant for loge.

Yes, I get it now. Fiendish!

All fair and above board.....once the PDM has clunked!! I'm enjoying the current discussion on The Listener thread. I liked the astronaut analogy - we don't get good at these things overnight.

If the astronaut was in as good shape on lift-off as the average Listener solver we'd need a spacecraft travelling faster than the speed of light.

Got there today, amazing what a rested pair of eyes can do. :o)

I was originally enticed up the proverbial gum tree by the appearance of someone who may be an English Jeremy and is qualified to have appeared in the first group.

Fun puzzle but stuck on some in lower half. A tip for 30a would be nice.
Meat hamper filled with moisture prior to going off ? (7)
Can't see how this one will work!