Looking for Bookish cast details? With the arrival of Mark Gatiss’s new sleuthing series, an array of top names and recognisable faces join him on screen.

The Sherlock co-creator is in detective mode once more, appearing in this new post-war crime series that sees him take on cases as a bookshop owner turned impromptu investigator. 

The League of Gentleman actor co-wrote the six-part show alongside author Matthew Sweet. 

And it’s a winner. Read on for his cast mates…

Read more: Bookish: Plot, cast, release date and all we know about new Mark Gatiss crime drama

The Bookish cast – Mark Gatiss leads as Gabriel Book

Mark Gatiss of course heads up Bookish as its titular character.

Gabriel Book is the owner of an antiquarian book shop in 1946 post-war London. Described as “whip-smart and debonair”, he combines the clandestine skills that he utilised during the war effort with the extensive information found in his beloved book shop back home to help the local police solve some of their toughest cases. 

However, we soon discover that this makeshift detective is no stranger to flirting with danger. By all appearances, Gabriel is in a loving marriage to his sweetheart and fellow store-owner Trottie.  That said, this is in fact a ‘lavender marriage’ to help hide his true sexual orientation at a time where being gay could land you behind bars. 

Bookish is the latest addition to a long and varied career enjoyed by Mark. For many, he’ll perhaps be best known as one fourth of The League of Gentleman. This darkly funny BBC comedy sketch series shot him to fame in the late 1990s alongside co-creators Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson. 

Where else you’ve seen Mark Gatiss before Bookish

In addition to writing and starring in a number of Doctor Who episodes, Gatiss is also famed for rebooting Sherlock Holmes. Together with Steven Moffat, he cast Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Sherlock and Watson respectively. Mark starred in it too, playing Sherlock’s brother Mycroft.

He has also popped up in a range of big and small screen productions. He played Tycho Nestoris in Game of Thrones, Leonard Boynton in ITV’s 2008’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot and appeared as Henry VIII’s secretary in 2015’s Wolf Hall. Earlier this year, he reprised his character Angstrom alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Next, Mark will be seen in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

As well as co-writing episodes of Bookish, Mark has also written numerous episodes of BBC One’s A Ghost Story For Christmas, including 2024’s Woman of Stone. In 2020, he re-teamed with his Sherlock co-scribe Stephen Moffat for a retelling of Dracula with Danish actor Claes Bang as the legendary neck biter. 

Elsewhere, his work has  spilled over onto the stage where he recently won a Best Actor Olivier award for his turn as Sir John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue.

Polly Walker plays Trottie

Starring alongside Mark Gatiss is Polly Walker as Gabriel’s loyal wife Trottie. She owns a wallpaper store right next door to her husband’s antiquarian book shop. She’s been described as a colourful and “charismatic adventuress”. 

While the pair are deeply in love, their relationship is more platonic than physical to conceal her husband’s true sexual orientation. With clothing that suits the sleuthing she and her husband so enjoy, Polly certainly looks the part for this nostalgic series. 

Born in Lancashire, Polly pivoted into acting when a leg injury impacted a potential dancing career at the age of 18. She graduated from the Royal Shakespeare Academy and went on to star in the rival role of Jane Fairfax in 1996’s Emma alongside Gwyneth Paltrow. Big screen roles followed, with appearances as Cassiopeia in the big budget action reboot of Clash of the Titans arriving in 2010.

Cut to 2025 and fans may recognise her best from TV. Since 2020, she’s played Lady Portia Featherington in Shondaland’s Netflix series Bridgerton. She also appeared in series 3 and 5 of Line of Duty as a lawyer living under a new identity.

Last year, Polly made a guest appearance in an episode three of Dune: Prophecy, the small screen spin-off of director Denis Villeneuve’s epic sci-fi films. And now you find her as part of the Bookish cast!

Connor Finch stars as Jack

Adding an extra layer of complexity to Gabriel and Trottie’s relationship is Jack, played by Connor Finch. Little is known about this ominous Bookish cast member other than a few tantalising details hinting that he could play a large role in the show’s first series. 

Glimpsed briefly to the far right of the above image, this dark-haired stranger has been described as a “young jailbird” looking for a second chance. That opportunity arrives when Gabriel and Trottie take him into their home, with the former inviting him to help with not only his book shop duties but also with his police cases as his new assistant.

However, as Bookish progresses, it sounds like Gabriel shouldn’t be so quick to judge this particular book by its cover. Could there be more to Jack than meets the eye? It sure sounds like it. 

Essex-born Connor graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2020 before hitting the ground running with a promising TV career. Before we see him as part of the Bookish cast, fans can catch him as Street Baxter in the BBC’s recent adaptation of British author Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love which aired in 2022.

He also had a small role in the British comedy series The Larkins which screened on ITV between 2021 and 2022 and starred Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan. Joining the Bookish cast looks set to be his largest gig to date. 

Buket Kömür as Nora

Buket Kömür is also set to star in the Bookish cast list as Nora although details of her role are few and far between. As part of the series’ core players, it’s clear she’ll have a sizeable part to play – and her character will also be the focus of a new tie-in book which has been written by series co-scribe Matthew Sweet. 

Also titled Bookish, it’ll chronicle season 1’s 1946-set cases but from Nora’s perspective. Surely, this implies that she’ll have a key role in the show. 

After starting her career as a YouTube content creator, Buket transitioned into bigger things. Perhaps her most notable role to date was in 2020’s Honour, a gripping ITV two-parter which told a dramatised version of the real-life honour killing of Banaz Mahmod. Here, Buket took centre stage as the murdered woman at the story’s centre.

Other notable roles for this rising star include appearing as part of the ensemble cast in director Ben Wheatley’s comedy miniseries Generation Z which aired on Channel 4 in late 2024.

Elliot Levey will play Inspector Bliss

Rounding out the core Bookish cast players is Elliot Levey as Inspector Bliss. Dressed in his inspector coat and and hat, he looks ready to crack London’s trickiest cases. That said, we’re sure he’ll rely on the help of Gabriel more than once before the show’s first series is done and dusted. 

Having carved out an enviable career in British theatre, Elliot is best known for his work on stage. It has so far won him two Olivier awards for his work in 2022’s Cabaret and 2025’s Giant.

Bookish isn’t the first time he’s starred opposite Mark Gatiss either. Together, the pair appeared in a production of Coriolanus in 2013 alongside Hollywood actor Tom Hiddleston.

Off-screen. Elliot’s extended family is well known too. Having met his future wife Emma Loach while reading philosophy at Oxford University, the pair married and the iconic Ken Loach, director of British classics such as 1969’s Kes and 2016’s politically powerful I, Daniel Blake, became his father-in-law.

Joely Richardson as Sandra Dara, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Stewart Howard

As seen in the picture above, Joely Richardson and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd will share the screen in an upcoming episode. Starring as Sandra Dare and Stewart Howard, the exact nature of the pair’s appearance remains a mystery but they certainly appear to be close. 

Joely has a storied screen career behind her. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s she appeared in a range of big-budget Hollywood films. Many may remember her as Anita, matriarch of the dog-friendly family fending off Glenn Close’s Cruella De Vil in Disney’s live action 101 Dalmatians. She also starred alongside a crazed Sam Neill in 1997’s cult sci-fi Event Horizon.

After her role in Bookish, fans can find her in the upcoming Downton Abbey ‘threequel’ The Grand Finale which is set to hit cinemas later this year. Meanwhile, her recent TV roles include memorable appearances as Lady Moggerhanger in Disney+’s fantasy series Renegade Nell and as Lady Sabrina Halstead in Guy Ritchie’s recently-renewed Netflix gangster show The Gentlemen.

As for Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, after clocking up numerous performances in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, he graduated to a galaxy far, far away, playing an evil officer in new-trilogy-capper Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.

Before that, he joined Mark Gatiss and Mark Rylance in the 2015 edition of Tudor-set Wolf Hall as Sir Frances Weston. The young star also delivered a memorable performance as crack chess player D.L Townes opposite Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queens Gambit on Netflix.

Switching to the big screen, viewers may remember him best for his performance as former Beatles manager Brian Epstein in 2024’s Midas Man.

Blake Harrison as Sergeant Morris

Blake Harrison joins the Bookish fold as a character named Sergeant Morris. Judging by his first-look picture, he’s suited and booted – if a little pensive. Could he need Gabriel’s help or does he have a secret to hide?

Most will recognise Harrison from his work on The Inbetweeners. However, he’s starred in lots since he played Neil in this modern-classic comedy.

Between 2010 and 2012 he played Dave opposite American comedian David Cross in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret for Channel 4. He’s also appeared opposite Ardal O’Hanlon in a series 8 episode of Death in Paradise and played a survivor named Namaca in a 2021 episode of Doctor Who.

Between 2020 and 2022 he played ‘Medium’ Dan in the ITV comedy Kate & Koji and back in 2022, Blake guested on The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer alongside Clara Amfo, Alex Horne and Emma Willis.

Off screen, he’s a bit of a sports fan. He even scored the winning penalty goal during 2018’s charity Soccer Aid event.

Bookish cast guest stars

Like any good detective series, an array of familiar faces will pop up in guest roles throughout Bookish’s various cases. Here are some to look out for.

Paul McGann as Mr Kind

Who is Mr Kind? Well, we know he’s played by Paul McGann and he appears to work at a fancy hotel. Other than that, the secrets of this Bookish cast member remain saved for the screen. 

McGann joins the show in a guest capacity. His lengthy screen credits include a wealth of work on iconic projects. For many, he’ll forever be the linked to the despairing struggling actor forced to deal with wine-guzzling Richard E. Grant in cult comedy Withnail and I. For an equal number of fans, he’ll always be known as the eighth iteration of Doctor Who.

Of course, he’s also part of a well-known famous family, each of whom have made a foray into acting.

Paul’s eldest sibling is 66-year-old Joe who played Charlie Burrows in comedy The Upper Hand. Paul, 65, is next, followed by 63-year-old Mark, who recently starred in The Good Ship Murder on Channel 5, but shot to fame playing John Lennon on stage in 1981.

Stephen McGann is the youngest sibling at 62. Fans may recognise him as Andrew in Call The Midwife. He’s also married to the show’s creator Heidi Thomas.

The quartet have starred together only a handful of times, most notably in 1995’s TV show The Hanging Gale.

Daniel Mays as Eric Wellbeloved

Daniel Mays dons some butcher’s overalls to play Eric Wellbeloved. A newly released photo sees him look quite shocked but we’ll have to find out what has caused him such surprise watching the series. 

Daniel will be recognisable from his many roles in movies and TV. Over the years, he’s popped up in lots of different places. From soaps such as EastEnders to big Hollywood movies such as Pearl Harbour, although we’re sure he’d probably like to forget about the latter.

Star Wars fans may know him as Rebel Alliance informant Tivik in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The same year saw him take over James Beck’s Private Joe Walker role in the Dad’s Army movie. Later in 2025, he stars in Chris Columbus’s Netflix movie adaptation of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.

On TV, Daniel has appeared in Moonflower Murders, which also starred Bookish cast lead Gatiss. He also played a Sergeant named Danny Walton in series 3 of Line of Duty. Cut to 2025 and he finds himself as part of the Bookish cast in the show’s first series.

Bookish cast – who else will appear?

Other stars set to appear in the Bookish cast include German actor Jonas Nay as Felix. He may be familiar to fans of the series Deutschland 83 where he played an East German spy undercover in West Germany. Fay reprised the role for its sequels Deutschland 86 and Deutschland 89.

Viewers of Wednesday and The Gold will spot Amanda Drew in an as-yet-undisclosed role. Poldark’s Dr Dwight Enys AKA actor Luke Norris is also make a guest appearance in the Bookish cast.

Best known for her roles as Sister Frances in Call The Midwife and Bridgerton’s Winifred Barragan, Ella Bruccoleri will star in Bookish too, as will Michael Workéyè who recently played Kae in the Bête Noire episode of Black Mirror’s seventh series. The cast adds another Wolf Hall alum in the shape of Tom Forbes. He played William Stafford in the 2015 edition of the Tudor hit.

Finally, Rosie Cavaliero is also set to play a role in the Bookish cast. Many may know her best as Elizabeth Cordingley in Gentleman Jack or DCS Dennet in crime drama Code 404.

Bookish airs on U&alibi from 8pm, Wednesday July 16, 2025, kicking off with a double bill.