Unforgivable is another hard-hitting Jimmy McGovern drama that sees a sublime cast gather to tackle some difficult questions on BBC Two. So who plays who?

The new feature-length film is the latest from the acclaimed writer of Time, Cracker, Accused, and Broken. Frankly, masterpieces in their own right. And Unforgivable is no exception.

This time, the fictional drama centres around the devastated Mitchell family, who are dealing with the aftermath of a horrific sexual abuse. It explores the horrifying impact of grooming and sexual abuse on one family.

Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of Unforgivable on BBC Two.

Unforgivable cast on BBC Two: Anna Friel plays Anna McKinney

Rochdale-born actress Anna Friel plays Anna McKinney in the dark BBC Two drama. She is dealing with the enormous impact that her brother Joe’s crime has had on her family – her sons, Tom and Peter, and her father, Brian. Shockingly, Joe abused Anna’s son Tom – his own nephew.

Unforgivable is the third time Anna has worked with Jimmy McGovern. The actress made her name in Brookside, playing Beth Jordache between 1993 and 1995.

Although she was only in the Channel 4 soap for two years, she certainly made an impact. Fans will know she was involved in the explosive ‘body under the patio’ storyline. Beth helped her mum Mandy cover up the murder of Trevor Jordache, after she stabbed him to death in self defence.

Of course, Anna’s character Beth was also one half of the very famous gay kiss, which is still one of the most-talked-about soap storylines of all time. Beth died in jail after being sent down for her part in the murder.

Anna’s career went from good to even better after she left the soap. She went on to play Prue in the film Land Girls, Maddy in Mad Cows, Holly Cantrell in Land of the Lost and Melissa in Limitless.

TV series roles have included Lisa in Deep Water, Vicky Duffy in Butterfly, and Charlotte ‘Chuck’ Charles in Pushing Up Daisies.

Anna is now 49, and her career has continued with big hitting TV series like Marcella, The Box, and Monarch. She’s been in multiple films, too, including Charming the Hearts of Men, Books of Blood and Sulpher and White.

Bobby Schofield stars as Joe Mitchell

Liverpool-born actor Bobby Schofield, 32, stars as Anna’s brother Joe Mitchell in the cast of Unforgivable on BBC Two. Convict Joe is released from prison in the feature film, and seeks redemption. But there’s none to be found.

Having served his prison sentence, Joe arrives at St Maura’s, an institution which offers him a home and rehabilitation after his release. With the support of ex-nun Katherine, Joe undertakes therapy sessions in the hope of understanding what led him to commit the abuse. Ultimately, we discover that Joe was also the victim of abuse.

Scouser Bobby is probably best known for playing soldier Dave Kershaw in both series of SAS Rogue Heroes on BBC One.

In 2017, he starred as Parsifal in period drama Knightfall, before portraying Baz in Time, Michael Williams in Anne, and troubled psychiatry patient Bobby Moran in Aidan Turner thriller The Suspect.

In 2022, he portrayed the hideously unpleasant fascist Matt Hankinson in The Walk-In, part of a Neo-Nazi terror group. More recently, he starred as Kennedy in the Benedict Cumberbatch Netflix drama Eric.

Of course, the millions of people who watched This City is Ours on BBC One will know Bobby as Bonehead. Yep, he is particularly well known for playing baddies!

His film roles include Jared in Don’t Breath 2, Noah in Locked Down, and Pricey in How to Build a Girl.

Anna Maxwell Martin plays Katherine Farrell

BAFTA-winning actress Anna Maxwell Martin, 48, portrays Katherine Farrell in the cast of the BBC Two drama. Katherine, a no-nonsense former nun, tries to help Joe with his rehabilitation.

Of course, Anna is a hugely popular TV actress – and with good reason. She is much loved for her role in Motherland, playing the perpetually harassed mother of two Julia. Sadly the character didn’t make an appearance in the inferior but still good Amandaland.

She’s known for several other comedy roles, too, including Code 404, Good Omens, Alan Partridge, and Mandy.

Line of Duty fans will know her for playing super-bitch Carmichael. But Anna actually started in a multitude of period dramas, including Bleak House, North & South, South Riding, and The Bletchley Circle.

Most recently, Anna played Lucy Betts-Taylor in the BBC One triumph Ludwig, which is coming back with a much-anticipated series 2. Last year, she also portrayed real life abuse victim Delia Balmer in the cast of Until I Kill You on ITV.

In 2025, Anna continues to play Leanne Fitz-Amobi in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series 2.

Other notable roles include The Celebrant in the Gavin & Stacey 2024 finale, Beelzebub in Good Omens, Lily Thomas in A Spy Among Friends, and Theresa in Hollington Drive. Anna has previously worked with Jimmy McGovern on Reg and Accused.

David Threlfall stars as Anna and Joe’s dad Brian Mitchell

Manchester-born David Threlfall, 71, portrays Joe and Anna’s dad Brian in the cast of Unforgivable. He’s got secrets of his own, but tries to be the best dad to his daughter Anna.

Of course, the actor is probably best known for playing rapscallion Frank Gallagher in the cast of Shameless. The Channel 4 series ran from 2004 to 2013, and launched the careers of Sally Carman, Gerard Kearns, James McAvoy, and Anne-Marie Duff. David had actually been on our screens for nearly 30 years when he won the role of the lousy dad, and hopeless alcoholic and addict Frank. 

After Shameless came to end (and spawned a US remake), David went on to play Abel Croker in Ripper Street, Priam in Troy: Fall of a City, and Sir Charles Rowan in Dodger. Parents might also recognise him as the voice of Flop in Bing.

More recently, David portrayed tech genius Paul Peveril in the BBC thriller Nightsleeper, as well as Jim Bracknell in the equally bonkers ITV drama Passenger. He also popped up as Tom King in series 1 of The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, and George Parker in the Gemma Arterton comedy Funny Woman.

Emmerdale villain Mark Womack portrays Paul Patterson

Liverpudlian Mark Womack, 64, stars as Paul Patterson. He’s a family friend of the Mitchells, and is at the centre of their tragedy. Mark has also worked with writer Jimmy McGovern before, most recently in Moving On.

Soap fans will know the actor best as bent copper DI Malone in Emmerdale, a role he played in 2020. The detective was a villain on the show, and featured in some major scenes before he was killed off. He held Dawn Taylor against her will, and attempted to kill her with heroin as revenge against her father Will, which led to a deadly showdown.

Mark has played a multitude of gritty roles in his career, including DC Mark Callaghan in Liverpool 1, DI Pete Hammond in Merseybeat, and David Callard in Murphy’s Law.

He’s been on our screens ever since 1988, when he first appeared in the series Piece of Cake as ‘Moke’ Miller. Mark went on to play Eddie in legal drama Kinsey, Archie in Hearts and Minds opposite Christopher Ecclestone, and Chris Merchant in Wing and a Prayer.

In 1998, he played Joe Cameron in the Neil Morrissey comedy The Vanishing Man. That same year, he started playing DC Mark Callaghan in the gritty police drama Liverpool 1. He appeared alongside his future wife Samantha Janus.

He subsequently portrayed Jason Pratt in Playing the Field, DI Pete Hammond in Merseybeat, and David Callard in the James Nesbitt drama Murphy’s Law. Other notable roles include Jack in the 2006 drama Sorted, Eamonn Docherty in The Runaway, and DCI Craig Costello in Good Cop. Good Cop also starred his fellow co-star in The Responder, Warren Brown.

Other notable roles include Tom Hancock in Silent Witness, Insp. Hopwood in Babylon, and Keith McKenzie in Tin Star. More recently, Mark played hammer-wielding menace Barry in series 1 and 2 of hard-hitting BBC drama The Responder.

He’s been in multiple films, including Between Two Worlds, One Night in Istanbul, and Willy Russell’s Dancin’ Thru the Dark.

Unforgivable cast on BBC Two: Phina Oruche portrays Jodie Taylor

Liverpool-born Phina Oruche, 55, stars as Jodie Taylor in the cast of Unforgivable. She’s a family ‘friend’ to the Mitchells – but she’s closer to some more than others…

Phina, who began her career as a model, is perhaps best known for playing Liberty Baker in ITV’s trashy drama Footballers’ Wives. The actress won a Screen Nations Award for Favourite TV Star for her role, despite only being in eight episodes in 2006.

In 2010, Phina portrayed Gabby Sharpe, the mother of a new family, in teen soap Hollyoaks. Other notable roles include Olivia in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvellous in Taken Down, and Bryony in Magpie Murders.

Of Nigerian descent, Phina is also a published writer, known for her series of children’s books about Jacopo Jacopo, a mixed heritage boy from Liverpool and his quest to become a premier league football player.

Unforgivable cast list: Austin Haynes stars as Tom McKinney

Teenager Austin Haynes takes on the difficult role of Anna’s son Tom McKinney. Tom is the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his own uncle. Understandably, the trauma has left him with mental health issues.

Young actor Austin is a former child star who first made his name as Olly in the 2017 series of The A Word. He was around 10 at the time. He went on to appear in multiple TV shows, including children’s show Ted’s Top Ten, Gentleman Jack, and The Feed.

In 2022, Yorkshire-born Austin – now 16 – starred as George Minnow in one episode of Dodger. That same year, he played Thomas in the feature film The Railway Children Return. He subsequently starred as Andrew Simmonds in Channel 5‘s All Creatures Great & Small, a teenage Daniel F Harris in Somewhere Boy, and Joe’s Grandson in the George Clooney film The Boys in the Boat. 

More recently, he played Danny in The Responder, Fredo in Netflix‘s Adolescence, and Ryan Slater in the comedy The Power of Parker. Impressively, Austin appeared in the 2025 Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning as an unnamed student. 

Jonas Armstrong plays Peter McKinney Sr.

Dubliner Jonas Armstrong, 44, plays Anna’s ex-husband, and Tom and Peter’s dad Peter. The character is living apart from this wife, after the stress of the assault drove them apart. He means well, but he doesn’t support the family financially – meaning Anna has to provide everything for their children.

Actor Jonas is very well known to TV viewers for his career that spans more than two decades. Jonas is probably most famous for playing Robin Hood in the BBC series of the same name between 2006 and 2009.

He’s also known for playing Anthony Millington in Teachers, Steve in Prisoners Wives, Ben in Hit & Miss, and Joe in Line of Duty. Other notable roles include Nathaniel in Ripper Street, Menelaus in Troy: Fall of a City, Saul Morris in Strike, and Finn Coleman in Ghost Seekers. In 2022, he took on the role of paedophile Barry Bennell in the moving real-life drama Floodlights.

More recently, Jonas Armstrong starred as Arthur Lake in the brilliantly bonkers Boat Story, Jason in The Drowning, Paul in Coma, and Sean Meredith in The Bay – a father whose child goes missing. He also played grieving dad Gareth in Hollington Drive, which also starred his Unforgivable co-star Anna Maxwell Martin.

Actor Jonas is also known for playing morally ambiguous Lee Ellison in After the Flood, which will soon be returning for a series 2.

Unforgivable cast list includes Paddy Rowan as Sammy McVeigh

Liverpudlian Paddy Rowan, 27, as abuse victim Sammy McVeigh. He’s been on our screens since 2017 when he played murderer Sean Mercer in the Sinéad Keenan drama Little Boy Blue. Sean was 16 when he shot dead schoolboy Rhys Jones in Liverpool.

He went on to play David McNally in Jimmy McGovern’s excellent prison Time in 2021. A year later, in 2022, Paddy took on another powerful role in true crime drama Four Lives. He portrayed Jack Taylor in the BBC series, which focused on the sickening crimes of serial killer Stephen Port.

That same year, Paddy starred as Ritchie Ford in The Bay. More recently, the actor played Lewis in the comedy G’wed – a bit of light relief amongst all the angst!

Who else stars in the cast of hard-hitting BBC Two Jimmy McGovern drama Unforgivable?

Ash Tandon stars as head teacher Roger McGinn. He’s best known for portraying the recurring character of PC Daullah in the cast of Coronation Street, a role he’s played on and off between 2002 and 2018. Ash is also famous for starring as DCI Deepak Sharma in Bodyguard, Kareem Riaz in The Bay series 3, and Jubair Singh in Malpractice series 1.

He plays Dr Vikram Assi in series 2 of Ridley, which is coming to ITV later this year.

Actor Ryan McKen plays Dr Richard Harding. Temple fans will know him as DI Rob Moloney, a role he played between 2019 and 2021. He’s also famous for portraying Daanish Kamara in Bancroft, Navin Kapoor in DI Ray, and DS Donkor in The Walk-in. This year, Ryan starred as Ivor in Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Full cast list of Unforgivable on BBC Two:

Anna Friel stars as Anna McKinney.

Bobby Schofield plays Joe Mitchell.

Anna Maxwell Martin portrays Katherine Farrell.

David Threlfall is Brian Mitchell.

Austin Haynes stars as Tom McKinney.

Mark Womack plays Paul Patterson.

Paddy Rowan portrays Sammy McVeigh.

Phina Oruche is Jodie Taylor.

Jonas Armstrong portrays Peter McKinney Sr.

Ash Tandon is Roger McGinn.

Ryan McKen plays Dr Richard Harding.

Newcomer Finn McParland stars as Peter McKinney Jr in his very first TV role.

Chris Lane – aka PC Hayes in Emmerdale – portrays the prison chaplain.

Brookside’s Annette Ekblom stars as Sheila Mitchell.

The Responder’s Jake Hagan portrays the prison cleaner.

Annabelle Dowler – aka Kirsty Miller in The Archers – is the GP.

Our Eddy’s Neil MacDonald plays the priest.

This City is Ours’ John May portrays Jack Hargreaves.

Doctors’ Paddy Stafford stars as Ben.

Run’s Natasha Lucia Rae is Anna’s boss.

The Smoke’s Martyn Ellis stars as Reverend Matthew.

Giri/Haji’s Andrew Joshi portrays Johnny Abutti.

The New Worst Witch’s Paislie Reid plays the nurse.

G’wed’s Nadia Kamalli stars as Hannah McVeigh.

Corrie’s David Lonsdale plays the Clerk of the Court.

Never Let Me Go’s Dalu Thebe stars as Defence Counsel.

Emmerdale’s Emma Keele portrays the Prosecution Counsel.

The Gathering’s Lushomo Maambo is the foreman.

Mr Loverman’s Liz Jadav stars as the Judge.

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