Get to Know the Cast of Nolly
Learn about the talented ensemble cast of Nolly and the real-life characters they portray. From award-winning stars like Helena Bonham Carter to the familiar faces of Mark Gatiss and Antonia Bernath for MASTERPIECE fans, find out where you may have seen the cast before, a fun fact about each, and their behind-the-scenes insights
- 1.
Helena Bonham Carter
Character: Noele “Nolly” Gordon (1919-1985) famously played the redheaded Meg Richardson in the long-running, British soap opera Crossroads for over 18 years. At the peak of the show’s success in 1981, she was unceremoniously fired without any warning or explanation.
Where You May Have Seen Her Before: Bonham Carter has been in quite a number of award-winning films and series, including the Harry Potter films as villainous witch Bellatrix Lestrange; The Crown (Seasons 3 and 4) as the late Princess Margaret; The King’s Speech as King George VI’s wife Queen Elizabeth; Fight Club as Marla Singer; and many, many more.
Fun Fact: Her great-grandfather, Herbert Henry “H.H.” Asquith, was UK Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, notably serving in that role during the early years of World War I before resigning in 1916. Asquith’s daughter and Bonham Carter’s paternal grandmother, Helen Violet Asquith, became the first female President of the Liberal Party in 1945, as well as President of the Women’s Liberal Federation twice, serving in 1923-25 and again in 1939-45.
What She Hopes People Take Away From the Series: “[Executive Producer] Russell T [Davies] thought [Nolly] was treated appallingly and wanted to bring her back into people’s minds and give her the send-off she deserved. …I hope it inspires the Nolly within all of us – somebody who won’t go quietly and won’t brook any mistreatment. Hopefully it’ll make people laugh and also make them cry. At the end of the day, I hope it takes people out of the grayness of their day.”
- 2.
Con O'Neill
Character: Jack Barton, producer (and former director) of Crossroads, who in real life is credited with tackling serious subjects on the soap, including racism, bigamy, test-tube pregnancies, physical disabilities, and more. Barton also directed Nolly’s earlier series, Tea with Noele Gordon (1956), and was an associate producer on her midday talk-show series, Lunchbox (1957).
Where You May Have Seen Him Before: O’Neill is known for his portrayal of Neil Ackroyd in Happy Valley (Seasons 2 and 3) and as Viktor Bryukhanov in Chernobyl. He also appeared in Our Flag Means Death as Blackbeard’s first mate, the pirate known as Izzy Hands; in Uncle as Val; among other roles.
Fun Fact: The multi-talented actor won the 1988 Laurence Olivier Award, (which recognizes excellence in professional theater in London), for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. O’Neill was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Blood Brothers in 1993.
- 3.
Augustus Prew
Character: Tony Adams, Nolly’s Crossroads co-star, devoted friend, confidante, and occasional chauffeur. Adams played accountant Adam Chance in the beloved soap opera from 1966-1988. “In terms of Noele Gordon’s story, Tony is so important,” Prew explained. “He was her rock. … They were a platonic couple, and on the set of Crossroads they were kind of the power couple; the ones who ran the show. I think that’s quite progressive at that time in the early 80s, to have this younger man and an older woman love each other that much.”
Where You May Have Seen Him Before: Television fans may recognize Prew from hit series such as The Morning Show, in which he played Sean, assistant to Alex (Jennifer Anniston); The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power as warrior elf Médhor; Prison Break as one of the series’ main characters, David “Whip” Martin; among other roles.
On Meeting the Real Tony Adams: In an interview, Prew revealed, “I spoke with Mr. Adams twice. He’s so warm and so playful, and so loving, so silly and caring. He is just full of stories. This man is in his mid-80s and a lot of the stories my character tells in the show are direct transcriptions from his own stories.”
- 4.
Mark Gatiss
Character: Inimitable entertainer Larry Grayson, who also shared a close and enduring real-life relationship with Noele Gordon. Grayson was best known for hosting the BBC’s Saturday night gameshow The Generation Game in the 1970s and 1980s.
Where You May Have Seen Him Before: Gatiss thrilled Sherlock fans as Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), a role for which he won a number of awards including an Emmy and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award. In Wolf Hall on MASTERPIECE, Gatiss played Stephen Gardiner, King Henry VIII’s Master Secretary and foreign envoy. Gatiss is also known for roles such as Lord Marlborough in The Favourite; as antagonist Giles Winslow Jr. in Christopher Robin; and as numerous characters in both The League of Gentlemen and Doctor Who.
Fun Fact: Gatiss was a Crossroads fan himself! “I used to watch it when I was a kid,” he said. “I re-watched Crossroads before I did Nolly…just to reacquaint myself with the style.” And as for preparing to play Larry Grayson, Gatiss said, “I loved him when I was younger, particularly from The Generation Game, and it was a real privilege to do this role because I fell in love with him all over again. I watched a documentary about him four years ago and I’d forgotten how funny he was. Then he turned out to be Noele Gordon’s best friend.”
- 5.
Bethany Antonia
Character: Antonia plays the fictional Poppy Ngomo, a young actor thrown into the Crossroads world as newcomer Honor, joining a cast who had (mostly) been working together for nearly 18 years.
Where You May Have Seen Her Before: Fantasy fans may recognize Antonia from her recent role as Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon, one of two daughters of Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and granddaughter to Rhaenys, played by Eve Best (MaryLand). She has also appeared in television series such as Stay Close and Get Even.
Fun Fact: Nolly creator Russell T Davies told iNews (UK) that he invented the character of Poppy Ngomo. “There wasn’t an actress called Poppy,” says Davies. “I just had to invent someone to come in as a newcomer.” And while Poppy may be a fictionalized character in Nolly, she is “based on actor Cleo Sylvestre, who played Melanie Harper, Meg’s adopted daughter in Crossroads,” according to The Royal Television Society. (Learn more about what is fact and what is fiction in Nolly with our episode-by-episode breakdowns, starting with Episode 1.)
- 6.
Antonia Bernath
Character: Jane Rossington starred in Crossroads from 1964-1988 as Jill, Meg Richardson’s daughter. Not only did Rossington play Nolly’s on-screen child, but “there was an overlap between the show and life in that Jane and Nolly were very much like mother and daughter – Nolly left things to Jane in her will,” Bernath told Country & Townhouse in an interview.
Where You May Have Seen Her Before: Eagle-eyed MASTERPIECE fans may recall Bernath from Season 6 of Downton Abbey, when she played Laura Edmunds, a woman assisting Lady Edith Crawley with her publishing company as co-editor and later befriending her. Bernath has also appeared in series such as Dickensian as Sally Compeyson; in Holby City as Nikki Brown; in The Astronaut Wives Club as Susan Borman; and as Priscilla Presley in the 2005 Emmy-nominated mini-series Elvis, opposite actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Fun Fact: “I took six years off before I did Nolly to have children, which was a big gamble,” Bernath confessed to Country & Townhouse. But the experience was well worth the wait. “I loved Nolly. … It was a really, really, really special project for me. I showed my children – I mean, they wouldn’t watch the whole thing, they’re like two-years-old – but I showed them my clips, and now they’ve got a little keyboard and they hold it like a briefcase and they go around saying, ‘we’re going off to work at Nolly, mummy. We’re going off to Nolly today to work.’ It’s really cute. So I feel proud, as well.”
