Ridley Road cast: Who stars in BBC One’s new drama?
SET in the 1960s, Ridley Road follows the life of Vivien Epstein, a hairdresser living in London.
The show will premiere on October 3, 2021, on BBC One, and features a stellar line-up.
Who’s in the Ridley Road cast?
Agnes O’Casey
Newcomer Agnes O’Casey, 25, is starring as the BBC One show’s lead character, Vivien Epstein.
The fresh faced actress graduated from Lir Academy in 2020 and previously appeared in Pillow Queens' Holy Show music video.
Agnes is set to star in a screenplay adaptation of the novel Longbourn by Jo Baker which is yet to be released.
After attending a Steiner school and growing up in Finsbury Park, it appears her interest in acting may have been inherited from her great grandfather.
Sean O’Casey worked as an Irish dramatist before his death in 1964.
With the context of Ridley Road in mind, it will be intriguing to see how well the budding actress will embody a young, fearless Jew living undercover among vicious Nazi fascists.
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Eddie Marsan
Eddie Marsan, 53, who starred in Deadpool 2, Fast And Furious: Hobbs and Shaw and Sherlock Holmes will also be starring in Ridley Road as Soly Malinovsky.
Soly is the leader of antifascist organisation, 62 Group,
Eddie will be a familiar face to many wo have tuned in to watch Channel 4's Deceit and BBC's The Pact in 2021.
In April 2021, we revealed that Eddie has been cast as canoe man John Darwin in The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe, set to be released in early 2022.
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear, 43, is another actor with a confirmed role on the new drama.
His previous roles include appearances in James Bond’s Spectre, The Imitation Game and Skyfall.
In 2021 he was on our screens in ITV's Lucan.
Rory will play the important role of Colin Jordan, a real life neo-Nazi leader who has been described as the British grandfather of post-war National Socialism.
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Another familiar face appearing in the new drama is ex EastEnders actress .
Tracy-Ann will take the role of Nancy Malinovsky which suggests she will be acting alongside Eddie Marsan as a relative of Soly Malinovsky.
The actress shared with that she was allegedly advised by her drama teacher to change her surname as they didn’t believe she "looked enough like Anne Frank" to play Jewish roles.
Great to see she ignored the unwarranted suggestion and stuck to her roots.
Tamzin Outhwaite
Tamzin Outhwaite who also acted in EastEnders will star in the show as hairdresser Barbara Watson.
Tamzin, who played Mel Owen in the BBC soap, is also known for Hotel Babylon and Red Cap.
Tamzin told how thrilled she was that the drama was set in Ridley Road market.
She revealed: "It’s wonderful being back on set, although because of the pandemic we’re having to stay apart from each other which is very strange. I’m just so happy to be working again, though.
"And the fact that the backdrop is the Ridley Road market means a lot to me. My mum used to take me shopping there when I was a kid.”
But despite Ridley Road being a real location in East London, Tamzin didn't actually film there as the producers made a decision to film in Manchester.
Tom Varey
Jack Morris is played by Tom Varey, viewers might recognise him from his role in Game of Thrones and Ackley Bridge.
He had researched the role intensively in order to understand to understand the time frame - which would be to be a Jewish man in London at the time.
He told the BBC that why people should watch the series, he said: “People should watch Ridley Road because it’s so many different things in one. It’s not your average period drama,"
“There’s romance and it feels very contemporary, it doesn’t feel like a period drama. It’s about spies, it’s thrilling, it’s romantic, it’s really exciting. Underpinning it all is this really strong message that is relevant today, so I think it’s incredibly important and exciting.”
Samantha Spiro
You might recognise her from Me Before You and Sex Education.
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Samantha Spiro will be playing the role of the worried mother of Viven - Liza Epstein.
Speaking about the importance of female-led shows, she told the BBC: “It’s great to see strong women. What’s great about this is, there’s a young woman leading it but there’s some lovely parts for us more mature ladies as well,"