On Air Now
Early Breakfast with Lindsey Russell 4am - 6:30am
25 October 2021, 13:00
See who is in the cast of The Long Call with Ben Aldridge, Juliet Stevenson and Pearl Mackie.
If you’re looking for another drama to get your teeth stuck into, The Long Call could be just the thing.
Inspired by the best-selling novel of the same name by Ann Cleeves, it follows Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, who has returned to live in North Devon after the death of his dad.
But when the body is found on the beach near Matthew’s home, the investigation puts the spotlight on the whole community.
So, who is in The Long Call and where have you seen them before? See the full cast below...
Ben Aldridge is starring as the main character Inspector Matthew Venn.
The star is best known for playing Thomas Wayne in Pennyworth, as well as Captain James in Our Girl and ‘A***hole Guy’ in Fleabag.
Opening up about his latest role, Ben - who is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community - told Heart.co.uk and other press that he connected to the character’s story on a personal level.
He said: “Things I’e encountered in my own family, the difficulty parents can have with gay children, these were very significant scenes for me to be doing and relating to.
“Sometimes our job is creative and we have to do research to gather tools to express and play that part, but this was very inward looking for me.”
He added: “It was very healing to be able to share that with other people in a work environment, it felt significant.”
Matthew’s mum is played by Juliet Stevenson, who viewers might know as Nina in the 1991 film Truly, Madly, Deeply, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress.
Her other film credits include Emma, Bend It Like Beckham and Infamous, while she has also starred in Lewis and Agatha Christie's Marple.
Declan Bennett is playing the role of Matthew’s husband, Jonathan.
EastEnders fans will recognise him as Charlie Cotton, the secret grandson of Dot Branning (June Brown).
He has also performed in London's West End in 2019 he starred in The View UpStairs playing the role of Dale at the Soho Theatre.
Pearl Mackie’s first major TV role came when she played Anne-Marie Frasier in Doctors in 2014.
But she is probably best known for playing Bill Potts in Doctor Who in 2017.
Martin Shaw has previously starred in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.
You may also recognise his voice as he has narrated many audiobooks, including Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Silmarillion; Swift's Gulliver's Travels; and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights.
EastEnders legend Anita Dobson is known for playing the role of Angie Watts from 1985 to 1988.
She has also starred in West End musicals such as Chicago and Hamlet and in 2003 Anita was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress for the National Theatre production of Frozen.
The star is also a singer and in 1986 she reached number four in the UK Singles Chart with ‘Anyone Can Fall in Love’ which is based on the theme tune to EastEnders.
Anita was married to Queen guitarist Brian May.
Before playing DC Ross Pritchard in The Long Call, Dylan Edwards made his major television debut in the sitcom Ideal.
He has since had roles in shows such as The Job Lot, Pramface and Shelf-Stackers.
Pearce Quigley has had many TV roles in shows such as New Tricks, The Virgin Queen, Inspector Morse, Cutting It, Midsomer Murders and Lead Balloon.
He also appeared as the dog trainer in Peter Kay's spoof talent show Britain's Got The Pop Factor ... And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice,.
TV fans will recognise Neil Morrissey MBE as the original Bob the Builder, he also voiced a string of other characters in the cartoon such as Roley, Lofty, Mr. Angelo Sabatini, Mr. Fothergill, Farmer Pickles and Scrufty.
Neil played Tony in Men Behaving Badly and Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in Waterloo Road, as well as Nigel Morton in Line of Duty, and Rocky in Boon.
Sarah Gordy, MBE is best known for her roles as Katie Thorne in The A Word, Orlando Quine in Strike: The Silkworm and Lady Pamela Holland in BBC’s Upstairs Downstairs.
The actress has also starred in Call the Midwife, Holby City and Doctors.
In 2018 she became the first woman with Down syndrome to be made an MBE.
Maurice Craddle actor Alan Williams has starred in films such as The Scold's Bridle, Touching Evil, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Vera Drake.
His TV credits include Coronation Street, Wire in the Blood, Luther, Father Brown and Doc Martin.
Amit Shah started his stage career in 2003 when he starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West-End musical Bombay Dreams.
Since then, he has played Sunny in Hospital People, Fred in Crashing, and recently Torque in The Witcher for Netflix.
His film roles include Johnny English Strikes Again, Ordinary Love, and Last Christmas.