HAIR THEY ARE
Where Cutting It cast are now… from secret co-star romance to freak backstage accident and hunk who looks unrecognisable
WHEN it comes to iconic Noughties TV shows, there's a BBC classic which is a cut above the rest.
Set in Manchester, hit drama Cutting It – which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005 – followed the lives of a team in a hairdressing salon.
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There was love, rivalry, betrayal – and a brilliant cast, many of whom are now established stars.
Here we take a look at what happened to them after they left the salon.
Sarah Parish – Allie Henshall
Sarah played leading role Allie, who ran the Henshall Ferraday salon and often found herself embroiled in love triangles.
The actress – who first found fame in The Bill in 1994 – went on to appear in TV hits including Doctor Who, Mistresses, Broadchurch, Bancroft and Stay Close.
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She also starred in Christmas classic The Holiday, playing Kate Winslet’s best friend.
Sarah, 55, has been married to actor husband James Murray, who she met on Cutting It, since 2007.
She was living with boyfriend Dan Fredenburgh when James joined Cutting It, and fell for him after they split.
They tragically lost their daughter Ella-Jayne to a congenital heart defect in 2009 when she was just eight months old.
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They raised £5.1m to build a paediatric A&;E unit at University Hospital South Hampton in memory of her.
The couple are also parents to 13-year-old daughter Nell.
In March 2018, Sarah was rushed to hospital after breaking her leg while attempting to snowboard on a "cheap plastic sledge".
And in 2021, accident-prone Sarah revealed she'd fractured her spine and broken a rib while on holiday in Turkey.
Jason Merrells – Gavin Ferraday
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Jason was known for his roles in Causalty and Queer as Folk before Cutting It.
He played Gavin, who co-owned the salon with wife Allie before losing her to Finn - on multiple occasions.
In 2006, he starred as Jack Rimmer in Waterloo Road and later joined Emmerdale as bad boy Declan Macey.
More recently Jason, 54, starred in ITV dramas Endeavour and Finding Alice, as well as BBC’s Happy Valley.
Earlier this year he starred in the stage adaptation of Barry Reed's 1980 novel The Verdict.
The heartthrob actor has been married three times; he wed first wife Judith Hurley in 1991, but they divorced in 1999.
He went on to marry Zerlina Hughes in 2002, but they split in 2010.
He’s now loved-up with actress wife Emma Lowndes, who he met in 2009 while touring in a production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. The couple share a daughter called Martha.
Jason also has son Jackson and daughter Katya with Zerlina, and two daughters Camille and Gina from his first marriage to Judith.
Amanda Holden – Mia Bevan
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Amanda has become a huge household name since Cutting It, where she starred as Allie’s rival Mia, who was Finn’s partner and co-owner of another salon across the road.
The 52-year-old continued to act in shows like Wild at Heart and her own sitcom Mad About Alice.
She also appeared in The Worst Witch in 2017, and last year she made a guest appearance on Neighbours.
Amanda's arguably best known as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, which she joined in 2007.
She's also a presenter on Heart Radio alongside Jamie Theakston, and has stepped in to present This Morning and Lorraine.
Amanda is married to record producer Chris Hughes and the couple are parents to daughters Alexa, 17, and Hollie, 11.
In February 2011, they sadly lost their baby son Theo when he was stillborn at seven months.
Chris is Amanda’s second husband - she was previously married to Les Dennis.
Ben Daniels – Finn Bevan
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Actor Ben played bad boy Finn, Allie’s on-off lover and rival.
He appeared in Law & Order, The Paradise and Merlin before heading to America, where he featured in dramas like House of Cards and The Exorcist.
He made his Broadway debut in a revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 2008 and was nominated for a Tony Award.
In 2019, he bagged the role of Antony Armstrong-Jones in The Crown. He’s also recently been cast in season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Ben, 59, has been in a long-term relationship with Game of Thrones star Ian Gelder since 1993. They met during a production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane.
In his spare time he is an amateur painter and is an avid practitioner of Ashtanga yoga.
Sian Reeves – Syd Henshall
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Allie’s quirky sister Syd was played by Sian. After the show the now 57-year-old joined EastEnders as Elaine Jarvis for five episodes.
In 2007 she suffered a freak backstage accident while rehearsing for stage play Vernon God Little.
She broke five ribs after she fell through a stage trapdoor that had been left open.
Sian, who has also featured in Hope Springs and City Lights, continued to appear in soaps.
She starred in Emmerdale as Sally Spode for six months in 2009, and in 2019 she played the role of Charlie Wood on Coronation Street.
She also provided voices for video game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
Sian is married to husband Jeremy Campbell and is mum to daughter Bessie.
Angela Griffin – Darcey Henshall
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Following her stints on Coronation Street and Holby City, Angela played Darcey – the youngest of the Henshall sisters.
She’s since become a regular face on our screens, starring in popular shows like Waterloo Road, in which she recently reprised her role as Kim Campbell, Mount Pleasant, Brief Encounters and Ordinary Lies.
She also provided the voice of several characters in iconic children’s TV show Postman Pat.
Angela, 47, married actor Jason Milligan in July 2006 and they have two daughters together, Tallulah, 19, and Melissa, 16.
The family live in Leeds, where Angela is from.
Lucy Gaskell – Ruby Ferris
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Lucy played Allie’s daughter Ruby in the drama, and was nominated for a Best Newcomer Award by the Royal Television Society.
She went on to star in Doctor Who, Causality and Misfits.
Lucy, 43, also had a role in James Corden's movie Lesbian Vampire Killers in 2009.
She tied the knot to actor Mark Bonnar – who has starred in Catastrophe and Line of Duty – in 2007 and they have two children.
They welcomed daughter Martha in 2011 and son Samuel in 2015.
James Murray – Liam Carney
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James joined in series three as Liam, who was an investor in the Henshall Ferraday hairdressing academy.
The 48-year-old, who originally found fame in Coronation Street, later appeared in ITV's Primeval as Stephen Hart, before going on to land roles in Cucumber, Defiance and Suspects.
James looks completely different from his appearance in Cutting It, having ditched his long 90s-esque locks for a shorter crop and stubble which shows off his chiselled jaw.
In 2022, he was cast in the fifth season of The Crown as Prince Andrew.
On playing the disgraced Duke of York, he said: “I’m very honoured and privileged to have been offered the role. And it was great fun playing it.”
Christine Stephen-Daly – Melissa Devereux
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Australian actress Christine joined the cast in the show’s final season as Melissa, another one of Allie’s rivals.
Christine, 49, who came to the UK in 2000, appeared in EastEnders and Causality before Cutting It.
She also starred in The Bill and CBBC series The Sarah Jane Adventures.
More recently she appeared in the final run of Neighbours last year as Danielle Pendlebury.
James Midgley – Shane Ince
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James played senior stylist Shane in the salon, who had a reputation for being catty.
He then went on to appear in shows The Bill, Heartbeat, Casualty and Coronation Street.
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As well as being in front of the camera, James, 48, has also worked for UK production houses and edited shows for BBC, Channel 4 and Sky.
He’s been married to Jenni Falconer since 2010 and they welcomed daughter Ella the following year.
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