Hope Street episode 1 cast: Who is in the BBC detective drama?

31 Jan 2022

Daily Express

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Hope Street episode 1 cast Who is in the BBC detective drama

HOPE STREET is a new detective drama set in Northern Ireland and it follows Detective Constable Leila Hussain. Who is in the cast?

Hope Street is making its debut on BBC One today (January 31) and the first episode is set in Port Devine. A detective appears to be fleeing serious danger in England and there is a struggle to hide the truth. Express.co.uk has all you need to know about who is in the cast.

Who is in the cast of Hope Street? DC Leila Hussain - Amara Karan

DC Leila Hussain is the first Muslim police officer in the town's history and she finds herself in a difficult situation regarding her personal safety.

The detective is played by Amara Karan, a 38-year-old English actress known for her roles in The Darjeeling Limited and St Trinian's.

On what attracted her to the role of Leila, she said: "I loved that this character is in a compromised situation in terms of her personal safety from the outset.

"And so she has to assimilate, hide, duck and dive personal questions, and yet she sticks out in her new environment like a sore thumb."

Inspector Finn O'Hare - Ciaran McMenamin

Finn is one of Leila's colleagues in the series and he is played by Ciaran McMenamin.

Ciaran is a 46-year-old Northern Irish actor and writer who has previously starred in Made in Belfast and Pulling Moves.

On researching for his role he said: "I spoke to two school friends who joined the PSNI about their basic training and what character traits and people skills are particularly useful in the job.

"We also had a co-ordinator from the PSNI on set at all times to keep us on our toes with all things, cop."

Concepta O'Hare - Brid Brennan

Concepta appears to be related to Finn in the drama and she is played by Brid Brennan.

Brid is a 67-year-old Northern Irish actress known for her theatre roles.

She has also starred in Shadow Dancer and Dancing at Lughnasa.

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Barry Pettigrew - Des McAleer

Barry is a retired cop in the series and he is played by Des McAleer.

The actor said he was keen to feature in a show with a "truly retired cop who, having known all about the dark side of society, must now readjust to being an average citizen finding a place in a community".

Des is a 69-year-old film and TV actor known for his roles in Butterfly Kiss and An Everlasting Piece.

Sgt Marlene - Kerri Quinn

Marlene is a character with "huge presence and grit", as described by actress Kerri Quinn.

The actress is best known for her role as Vicky Jeffries in the soap Coronation Street.

She also featured in the emotional series, Three Families, which was about abortion laws in Northern Ireland.

PC Callum McCarthy - Niall Wright

Callum is fresh out of police training and he has a lot of learning to do.

He provides some comic relief to the otherwise hard-hitting detective drama.

The character is played by Niall Wright, a 30-year-old actor who has previously starred in Danie's Castle, 6Degrees and James.

Speaking about his latest role he said: "Being from Belfast I was able to relate with the people and some of the characters quite well.

"However I can’t say I’ve ever arrested someone before so there was a bit of research to do there, learning about policing protocols and behaviours."

Clint Dunwoody - Aaron McCusker

Not much is known about Clint but actor Aaron McCusker said his character plays the guitar in the series.

He spent some time brushing up his guitar skills as it had been a long time since he had played.

Aaron is a 43-year-old Northern Irish actor who is known for playing Jamie Maguire in Channel 4's Shameless.

He also played Jim Hutton, Freddie Mercury's boyfriend, in the Bohemian Rhapsody film.

Nicole Devine - Niamh McGrady

Not much is known about Nicole but in promotional pictures for the series, she is sitting in a wedding car.

The bride-to-be looks happy as she holds her bouquet of flowers.

She is played by Niamh McGrady, a 39-year-old actress who plays Mary-Claire Carter in Holby City.

She also starred as PC Danielle Ferrington in the psychological thriller The Fall.

Siobhan O'Hare - Rachel Tucker

Actress Rachel Tucker actually auditioned for another role in the show, and the creators offered her Siobhan instead.

Rachel said Siobhan's entrance is one of her favourite scenes in the whole series.

She said: "I can’t say any more than that or I’ll spoil it for you! It was my first day on set so I was nervous.

"I hadn’t met the director or any of the cast or crew yet and I had to arrive dressed to the nines and act my high heeled shoes off!

"It was intense but I loved every second of it! This was an incredible first day in the job."

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Gerard Smith - Karl O'Neill

Gerard is played by Karl O'Neill, an actor known for playing Tim Carney in Fair City.

His other credits include Ripper Street, Life of Crime and Primeval.

Seamus Dempsey - Michael Shea

Seamus is played by Michael Shea, an actor who has previously starred in Derry Girls and Marcella.

His latest credits include Black Medicine and Stranger with Camera.

Dr James - Ash Rizi

Dr James is played by Ash Rizi, a Northern Irish actor, writer and voiceover artist.

He has starred in Three Families, The Duchess, Unforgotten and Lucifer.

Fans may also recognise him as Darius Kazemi from EastEnders back in 2018.

The rest of the cast is as follows:

Rona Kurti - Aiste Gramantaite