By David Craig

Published: Monday, 25 October 2021 at 12:00 am

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Stephen Merchant’s brand new series The Outlaws kicks off on BBC One tonight, telling the story of a group of community service workers who find themselves targeted by the world of organised crime.

While it does contain some comedic characters and light moments, the show is certainly a touch darker than Merchant’s previous writing work, which includes legendary sitcoms The Office (UK) and Extras.

The latter show featured a number of high-profile celebrity cameos, so perhaps its no surprise that Merchant has assembled an impressive cast for this latest project.

As well as reserving a supporting role for himself, he has also enlisted the talents of Hollywood legend Christopher Walken, Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson, and Loki‘s Richard E Grant, among many others.

Get to know the cast of BBC One’s The Outlaws with our complete guide below, which introduces the core characters and the actors playing them.

Rhianne Barreto plays Rani

Who is Rani? Rani is an intelligent A-Level student who has recently secured a full scholarship to study at Oxford University. However, this exciting opportunity is put at risk when she is caught shoplifting and sentenced with a community service order. She’ll have to be on her very best behaviour if she stands any chance of holding onto her place at the prestigious institution, but that won’t be easy when one of her new friends is drawn into a dangerous situation.

What else has Rhianne Barreto been in? Last year, Barreto appeared opposite Keeley Hawes in ITV’s hard-hitting factual drama Honour. She has also appeared in Amazon Prime Video’s Hanna and early lockdown experiment Isolation Stories.

Stephen Merchant plays Greg

Who is Greg? Greg is a lawyer who is part of Rani’s group of offenders, who have been tasked with turning a dilapidated old building into a community centre for the people of Bristol. He is socially awkward and is currently going through a divorce.

What else has Stephen Merchant been in? Merchant rose to fame for his collaborations with former writing partner Rickey Gervais, with whom he co-created The Office, Extras and Life’s Too Short. Since they went their separate ways, he has had starring roles in HBO’s Hello Ladies, Marvel’s Logan and awards contender Jojo Rabbit.

Christopher Walken plays Frank

Who is Frank? Frank is a veteran criminal who has been in and out of the prison system for much of his life, which has made him a very absent father to daughter, Margaret. This time, he insists that he really does wish to change for the better and repair their relationship, but she doesn’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth.

What else has Christopher Walken been in? Walken is a very prolific actor who has worked on some iconic Hollywood movies, including The Deer Hunter, Pulp Fiction and Catch Me If You Can. More recently, he lent his voice to King Louie in Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book, and appeared opposite Robert DeNiro in The War with Grandpa.

Gamba Cole plays Christian

Who is Christian? Christian is another member of the community service group, who is desperately trying to keep himself and his younger sister out of the dangerous criminal gangs that operate near his apartment building. He quickly forms a friendship with Rani.

What else has Gamba Cole been in? Cole’s previous projects include Amazon Prime Video’s streaming remake of Hanna, Netflix’s acclaimed horror flick His House, and Sky fantasy series A Discovery of Witches.

Darren Boyd plays John

Who is John? John is a local businessman who is under a lot of pressure to secure investment for his struggling company, which employs more than 50 people in total. He considers community service to be beneath him and this causes him to lash out at his co-workers and parole officer.

What else has Darren Boyd been in? Boyd is a familiar face on British television, having previously starred in several projects for Sky, including Spy, Fortitude and Stan Lee’s Lucky Man. More recently, he has appeared in Killing Eve and The Salisbury Poisonings, while his big screen work includes Bridget Jones’s Baby and The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Clare Perkins plays Myrna

BBC

Who is Myrna? Myrna is another member of the community service group. She has left-wing political values and so often clashes with John, whose own beliefs skew further to the right.

What else has Clare Perkins been in? Perkins is known for her soap opera work, having played Denise Boulter in Channel 5’s Family Affairs and Ava Hartman in BBC One’s EastEnders. She will soon be seen in Amazon Prime Video’s fantasy drama The Wheel of Time.

Eleanor Tomlinson plays Gabby

BBC

Who is Gabby? Gabby is the wild daughter of a British Earl, who has become a tabloid sensation for her appearances on reality television shows and frequent scandals, the latest of which has landed her in this community service programme.

What else has Eleanor Tomlinson been in? Tomlinson is best known for playing Demelza in BBC One’s recent Poldark adaptation, where she starred opposite Aidan Turner. This has been a busy year for her, having already starred in Sky Atlantic’s The Nevers and sci-fi drama Intergalactic.

Jessica Gunning plays Diana

BBC

Who is Diana? Diana is the probation officer who supervises the group as they put in their community service hours. She’s determined to keep them in line and is willing to use some harsh punishments in order to do so.

What else has Jessica Gunning been in? Earlier this year, Gunning returned as pub barmaid Jan in the second series of David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s sitcom Back. Her other projects include Prime Suspect 1973, Fortitude, Inside No. 9 and Law & Order: UK.

Dolly Wells plays Margaret

BBC

Who is Margaret? Margaret is the daughter of Frank, who has had a difficult life due to his complete lack of support over the years. She reluctantly lets him stay at her home for the duration of his community service, but has little interest in repairing their broken relationship.

What else has Dolly Wells been in? Wells earned praise last year for her performance as Van Helsing in Steven Moffat’s reimagined version of Dracula, following it up with the role of Aunt Sadie in BBC One’s The Pursuit of Love. Previously, she has made appearances in hit sitcoms Peep Show and The IT Crowd.

Nina Wadia plays Shanthi

BBC

Who is Shanthi? Shanthi is Rani’s mother, who loves her dearly and is incredibly proud of her for getting into Oxford University on a full scholarship. When her daughter gets in trouble for shoplifting, she becomes extremely concerned that this brilliant opportunity will slip away from her.

What else has Nina Wadia been in? Wadia is known for her work on BBC soap opera EastEnders, where she played Zainab Masood for a period of six years. She has also worked in several comedy projects including Goodness Gracious Me and Still Open All Hours, as well as having a small role in Disney’s recent live-action remake of Aladdin. In 2021, she competed in Strictly Come Dancing but was the first celebrity to be voted off.

Ian McElhinney plays John Snr

BBC

Who is John Snr? John Snr is the father of John, who founded their family business many years ago to pass onto his son, but it now finds itself in a critical position.

What else has Ian McElhinney been in? McElhinney portrayed Ser Barristan Selmy in the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones, while he also plays Granda Joe in acclaimed Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls. His other recent projects include divorce drama The Split and Jed Mercurio-produced thriller Bloodlands.

Charles Babalola plays Malaki

Who is Malaki? Malaki is involved in one of Bristol’s criminal gangs. He lives in the same apartment block as Christian, who has worked for him in the past but is now attempting to stay on the straight and narrow.

What else has Charles Babalola been in? Babalola’s previous projects include BBC One’s Silent Witness and ITV’s Bancroft.

Claes Bang plays Dean

BBC

Who is Dean? Dean is a mysterious and dangerous London crime boss, who the group has the misfortune of crossing paths with.

What else has Claes Bang been in? The Danish actor will be best known to British viewers for playing the eponymous role of Dracula in Steven Moffat’s three-part adaptation. He has also appeared in drama series The Affair and Claire Foy thriller The Girl in the Spider’s Web.

Richard E Grant plays The Earl

BBC

Who is The Earl? The Earl is Gabby’s father.

What else has Richard E Grant been in? Earlier this year, Grant joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Classic Loki in Tom Hiddleston’s mega-hit Disney Plus series. On the big screen, he is known for Logan, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Can You Ever Forgive Me, the last of which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

The Outlaws premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on Monday 25th October. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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