Cast

Cast from 5 January 2024

Lauren

Vera Chok

Vera (she/they) was most recently seen on screen as series regular Honour Chen-Williams, head of the first ever East Asian family in a UK continuing drama (Hollyoaks, Channel 4).

Further television credits include: Shen in Chimerica (Channel 4); Penelope in Chewing Gum (Channel 4); Maria in Cobra (Sky); Shen in Fortitude 3 (Sky).

Theatre includes: Burnt at the Stake, or The Whole of the Truth (Shakespeare’s Globe); Winter’s Tale and Harlequinade (Garrick Theatre); Chimerica (Almeida and West End transfer); The Hard Problem and World of Extreme Happiness (National Theatre); Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); L’Etranger (Coronet); The Paper Man (European tour).

Radio includes: Inspector Hong in Red Mandarin Dress (BBC 4); Anh in Brief Lives (BBC 4); Ming Ming in Rhinoceros in Love (BBC 3); and Nieu in Dostoevsky and the Chickens (BBC 3) for which they were nominated for Best Debut Performance in an Audio Drama.

Vera played the lead in award-winning independent feature film, Dream Agency, produced by Forest Fringe, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2022.

Ben

Jay McGuiness

Jay McGuiness is best known as a vocalist in the boy band The Wanted. Their debut single, “All Time Low,” hit the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles chart and the band went on to have a further 2 No. 1 singles and 5 Top 10 singles including the global hit ‘Glad You Came’. The Wanted toured the world notching up hit after hit appearing on the biggest TV shows and winning awards aplenty. In 2021, they reformed, releasing their greatest hits album, Most Wanted, and embarked on a 12 date UK arena tour in the spring of 2022.

Jay has a song and dance background, starting with dance classes in his early teens, Jay later attended The Midlands academy of Dance and Drama in Nottingham, close to his home town of Newark. After taking a break from The Wanted in 2013, Jay was confirmed as a celebrity contestant in Strictly Come Dancing 2015 and was partnered with professional dancer Aliona Vilani. The couple stole the public’s hearts with their graceful and energetic routines, becoming the runaway series winners and gaining the coveted Glitterball trophy. Their now infamous Jive to the music from Pulp Fiction has become the show’s most watched routine ever amassing over 8 million hits on You Tube. The routine was also voted Strictly’s BEST EVER dance by BBC Strictly viewers in December 2020

In 2016, Jay starred in the musical version of the Tom Hanks movie ‘Big! in Dublin playing the lead role of Josh Baskin. Jay reprised the role in 2019 in the West End at the Dominion Theatre to rave reviews.  In 2020, Jay again took the lead role of Sam in the West End production of Sleepless, A Musical Romance at London’s Troubadour theatre based on the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Jay’s other theatre work includes starring in Rip It Up, a 60’s song and dance show at London’s Garrick Theatre and most recently taking the lead role of Bob Wallace in the touring production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas in 2022.

In May 2023, Jay announced that he was now adding yet another string to his bow as a published author. His debut fantasy novel ‘Blood Flowers’, published worldwide by Scholastic, is slated for release in February 2024.

Jay has also done his fair share of TV work competing in (and winning) a celebrity version of the Channel 4 show, Hunted, raising money for Stand Up To Cancer alongside one of his former band mates. Earlier this year, Jay took part in Richard Osman’s House of Games where he again won the weekly battle to take the champion’s trophy. Jay has also presented regular features for BBC’s The One Show fronting films on topics as diverse as Music education in schools and Veganism.

Sam

George Rainsford

George Rainsford is most known for playing series regular Ethan Hardy in Casualty for BBC1, for which he won the Inside Soap Award Best Drama Star 2017. He has also been nominated for both National Television Awards and TV Choice Awards for Best Actor on several occasions.

Other Television credits include Holby City (BBC), Jimmy (Semi Regular) in two series of Call the Midwife (BBC), Law & Order UK (ITV), Secret Diary of a Call Girl (ITV), Luke Boyd (Semi Regular) in Waking the Dead (BBC) & JJ Bell (Semi Regular) in Doctors (BBC).

Film credits include The Monkey’s Paw, Waiting for Dawn, Wild Target and Souvenirs.

Theatre credits include Wish You Were Dead, UK Tour, Love, Love, Love and The Changing Room at the Royal Court, All’s Well That Ends Well (*Ian Charleson Award Commendation) and Chatroom / Citizenship at the Royal National Theatre, Roald Dahl’s Twisted Tales for the Lyric Hammersmith / Liverpool Playhouse, Days of Significance for the RSC, The Man and Men Without Shadows at the Finborough Theatre, Carrot/Playlist and Miles to Go at Latitude Festival, Polar Bear at the Birmingham Rep, The Three Musketeers at the Bristol Old Vic and The 24 Hour Plays at the Old Vic.

Jenny

Fiona Wade

Fiona Wade is a talented and accomplished actress, widely recognised for her remarkable contributions to British television. With a career spanning over two decades, Fiona has become a household name in the UK. She is best known for her role as Priya Sharma in the long-running and beloved soap opera “Emmerdale”. Fiona Wade has also showcased her talent on various other television programs, including appearances on popular shows such as; “Grange Hill”, “Where the Heart Is” and “Waterloo Road”.

Aaron Dart

Company

Aaron Dart

Aaron trained at East 15 Acting School. Screen credits include Doc Martin (ITV) and The Stand-Up Sketch Show (ITV) as well as commercials for Taco Bell, Samsung and Uber. For the last 2 years Aaron has toured the UK and the USA as the title role in Tall Stories’ The Gruffalo.

Rachel Morris

Company

Rachel Morris

Training: Mountview Academy of Arts

Stage credits: Black Theatre Making and Censorship in The Archive: At What Price (Leeds Playhouse)
Screen credits: Vera (ITV)