大象传媒

What were your thoughts when you read the scripts?
I adore Russell T Davies’s work, so to be asked to audition for one of his dramas was already an honour but then I read more about Rosie. Her relationship and the way she carries herself - I loved her. When I met the rest of the cast, it just made it feel even more special. For me it was the whole package: the story, the writing and the character.

Tell us about your character and your role within the story.
Rosie is the youngest of the Lyons siblings, she’s a little bit reckless and wild, which I love playing. She’s free spirited but independent at the same time. She’s a daughter, granddaughter, sibling and mother as well, so it’s been fun to play all of those different roles within one character. She’s got a lot of layers to her, she was an incredible character to play.

How is Rosie’s relationship with her siblings?
The siblings are incredibly close. She and Stephen are the most different age-wise and they’re quite different people and that's not to say for one second that they don’t get on. Rosie and Danny love poking fun at each other and have typical brother-sister banter, which is lovely, and they all get on really well when Edith comes home.

You filmed some great family scenes over the course of the series, what were they like to film?
It felt so natural, which in turn made it harder when you weren’t filming because you genuinely missed all of them. It was very much a family feel throughout the whole series. Shooting those scenes was like you were just around a table at your own house with your own family, eating, laughing and drinking and having a great time just being together.

Did you do anything in particular to prepare for the role?
I became more politically minded. It was really interesting to look at that side of the world a little bit deeper and see how it affects me and my life in general.

What do you think audiences will take away from the series?
Hope. It’s not always easy to be in this family - they have a lot of trials and tribulations and a lot of drama - but they are always as one, and I think that’s something that I took away from it when I became immersed in this world. It will give people hope that no matter how bad the world may get, you still have each other. Even though there are incredibly difficult parts to the story, there’s a lot of humour, love and a lot of comfort in there.

Vivienne Rook (Emma Thompson)

Businesswoman and entrepreneur, Viv’s a familiar face on modern media, always ready with a quote. But when she stands for Parliament and forms her own party, she begins an inexorable rise to power. She’s adored for speaking her mind, but what are her actual policies? And how far will she go to achieve them?

Muriel Deacon (Anne Reid)

Muriel Deacon (Anne Reid). Sharp as a knife. Wise, but opinionated. Proud and independent and defying the passing of time. She doesn’t sleep much. Enjoys a whisky. Her house is large, rambling and dilapidated. Mother to the late and much-missed Jennifer, she’s a devoted (and critical) grandmother to her beloved Lyons clan.

Stephen (Rory Kinnear)

Stephen Lyons (Rory Kinnear). The eldest. Lives in London while the rest of the Lyons stayed in Manchester. A financial adviser, he worked at home to bring up the kids while his wife Celeste went out to work. He’s the peacemaker, a calm, smiling man. Though he can afford to be - he’s rich. What will he become when his world is rocked?

Edith Lyons (Jessica Hynes)

The second child, she’s tough, wry, earthy, a bit of a hippy as a teenager. Always knew where to get hold of some weed. As an adult she’s become a fearless campaigner and something of an anarchist, with skills her family would find dodgy. She’s been travelling the world, but shocking events bring her home for good.

Daniel Lyons (Russell Tovey)

A housing officer in Manchester. He’s friendly, diligent and hardworking. Loves his family. Has a strong social conscience, but finds that hard to maintain in an ever-changing world. Daniels is going out with Ralph, and they’re about to get married, but maybe Daniel said yes too soon...

Rosie Lyons (Ruth Madeley)

The youngest Lyons, spirited, sharp, born with spina bifida. Single mother to Lee and Lincoln, by two different dads. Works as a chef manager in a local comprehensive school. She’s great fun and binds the family together, but Rosie will never forgive her dad for walking out on the Lyons family when she was young.

Celeste Bisme-Lyons (T’Nia Miller)

Married to Stephen. Chief Accountant, smart, stylish. A marvellous snob. Exasperated by modern technology. But she’s a proud mum to two daughters, Bethany and Ruby, and they have a comfortable life in a nice house in Barnsbury. One day, that life will feel like a distant dream.

Ralph Cousins (Dino Fetscher)

Primary school teacher. Always on his phone. Ralph’s the fun one, Daniel’s his straight man. They’ve been together for 18 months, married two years later. The end comes quicker and more brutally than Ralph could ever have predicted, and he takes a terrible revenge.

Viktor Goraya (Maxim Baldry)

Ukrainian refugee. Tortured in Ukraine for information about his friends. Nevertheless, he’s a kind, smiling man, a great survivor of his hardships, always looking for the positive side. Full of strength and laughter, Viktor is a source of great joy to Daniel, and will become the love of his life.

Bethany Bisme-Lyons (Lydia West)

Bethany Bisme-Lyons (Lydia West). Daughter to Stephen and Celeste. A brilliant student, Bethany is shy, quiet, withdrawn. But her introspection hides her secret passion. She’s obsessed with transhumanism, the culture of integrating humans with technology. But her ambition is in danger of taking her too far.

Ruby Bisme-Lyons (Jade Alleyne)

Daughter to Stephen and Celeste. Ruby’s fun and great company, enjoying everything the 21st Century has to offer. She’s a bit spoilt, unaware that her world is about to come crashing down.

Lee Lyons (Noah Wride, Blake Woods, Callum Woolford and Adam Little)

Rosie’s first-born son, his dad now lives in Slough with a new family, though that doesn’t cause Lee any grief. He’s a nice, home-loving lad, but as the estate he lives on gets rougher, Lee finds himself going outside the law.

Lincoln Lyons (Jett Moises, Aaron Ansari & Aiden Li)

Rosie’s half-Chinese son. Lincoln is born in episode one. And as he grows up and watched the Lyons family changing around him, his story, over the next 15 years, is set to be the most radical and exciting of all.

Cast and Crew

Vivienne Rook - Emma Thompson
Muriel Deacon - Anne Reid
Stephen Lyons - Rory Kinnear
Daniel Lyons - Russell Tovey
Rosie Lyons - Ruth Madeley
Edith Lyons - Jessica Hynes
Celeste Bisme-Lyons T’Nia Miller
Bethany Bisme-Lyons Lydia West
Ruby Bisme-Lyons - Jade Alleyne
Lee - Callum Woolford
Lincoln - Jett Moises, Aaron Ansari and Aiden Li
Ralph Cousins - Dino Fetscher
Viktor Goraya - Maxim Baldry

Nicola Shindler - Executive Producer
Michaela Fereday - Executive Producer & Head of Production
Russell T Davies - Executive Producer, Creator & Writer
Karen Lewis - Producer
Simon Cellan Jones - Director, Executive Producer
Lisa Mulcahy - Director

KS

Related Programme Information

• Episode one
• Episode two