Meet the cast of Thirteen
Jodie Comer and Aneurin Barnard star in the BBC mystery drama - find out more about all the cast and characters here
Ivy Moxam – Jodie Comer
Ivy Moxam has just escaped from the cellar where she was held prisoner for the last 13 years. After the police confirm her identity, she is reunited with her family and the hunt for Ivy’s kidnapper begins in earnest. However, the two detectives on the case start to find flaws in Ivy’s story.
Where have I seen Jodie Comer before? Best known for having a love/hate relationship with Rae (Sharon Rooney) on My Mad Fat Diary, Comer also played the mistress who meddles with the family life of Suranne Jones in BBC series Doctor Foster. In 2015 the 22-year-old actress also featured in Lady Chatterley’s Lover with James Norton and Holliday Grainger.
Tim Hobson – Aneurin Barnard
When Ivy went missing at the age of 13, Tim was her childhood sweetheart who had given up on ever seeing her again. Now in his mid-twenties, Tim goes to comfort Ivy when he hears of her escape - but there's something he's not telling her.
Where have I seen Aneurin Barnard before? Most recently Barnard was the ambitious Boris Drubetskoy in the mini-series War and Peace, but his period drama CV also includes succeeding to the English throne as Richard III in The White Queen. He played photographer David Bailey in the 60s television film We’ll Take Manhattan – actually, he’s played him twice. The second time was opposite Tom Hardy in the Kray biopic Legend.
DI Elliot Carne – Richard Rankin
Elliot Carne is one of the detectives called in to help on Ivy's case, and manages to track down the address where she was kept prisoner. Although he is warned not to get too close, Elliot is sympathetic to Ivy’s situation and is willing to trust her.
Where have I seen Richard Rankin before? His biggest role to date has probably been in the psychological crime drama From Darkness opposite Anne-Marie Duff, where he plays Norrie Duncan, a man who’s idyllic life on a remote Scottish island is disturbed by his wife’s haunting past. Rankin was also Captain Thomas Gillan in the BBC single series The Crimson Field, and has featured in the most recent series of The Syndicate. He's also due to join the cast of Outlander this year.
DS Lisa Merchant – Valene Kane
After the DNA tests confirm Ivy’s identity, DS Lisa Merchant is as committed to finding the kidnapper as her detective partner Elliot Carne. But when a house raid uncovers some evidence that puts Ivy’s story in doubt, Lisa begins to notice the unusual bond Ivy forms with Elliot.
Where have I seen Valene Kane before? Her breakthrough screen role, after being spotted in a YouTube short film, was in the 2009 Irish production The Fading Light, but she is more familiar to UK audiences as Rose Stagg in BBC crime series The Fall. Kane also featured alongside Skins' Jack O'Conneill in ’71, a film about the British Army stationed in Belfast during the 1970s.
Christina Moxam – Natasha Little
When Ivy’s mum Christina is called into the station, she recognises her daughter instantly and sets about trying to recreate every detail of her childhood back at home. Ivy’s dad is part of this facade, even though he and Christina have split up, and their bitterness towards each other can't be hidden.
Where have I seen Natasha Little before? Natasha Little is currently appearing as Caroline Langbourne in The Night Manager, but she also featured opposite Mark Rylance as Liz Cromwell in the BBC’s adaptation of Wolf Hall. She also featured alongside fellow Thirteen cast member Aneurin Barnard in We'll Take Manhattan.
Angus Moxam – Stuart Graham
Angus Moxam left Christina for his PA, but when Ivy turns up alive he moves back into the family home and tries to resume his fatherly role.
Where have I seen Stuart Graham before? Graham is also in the ongoing series The Fall, and had a part in the 2011 movie adaptation of John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He was also in the 2008 Steve McQueen film Hunger, with Michael Fassbender playing Irish Republican Bobby Sands.
Emma Moxam – Katherine Rose Morley
Emma is Ivy’s sister and lives with her fiancée in the Moxam house. Emma initially doubts whether the girl she meets at the police station is really her sister Ivy, but starts to warm to her again after the DNA test comes in.
Where have I seen Katherine Rose Morley before? Katherine has had one-off appearances in Call the Midwife and Cuffs, and featured as the teenage parent Ellie in Last Tango in Halifax with Derek Jacobi.
Craig Watts – Joe Layton
Craig’s getting married to Emma and was the man about the house until Angus comes back to care for Ivy. He tries to be warm towards Ivy but doesn’t get a lot back in return.
Where have I seen Joe Layton before? Layton played Kyle Connor in the supernatural BBC series Tatau, a detective investigating a murder on the Cook Islands.
Eloise Wye – Eleanor Wyld
Eloise was Ivy’s best friend when they were teenagers, and had convinced her to skip school on the day she was abducted.
Where have I seen Eleanor Wyld before? She had a one off appearance in the E4 science fiction drama Misfits, as well as appearing in The National Anthem, part of the Charlie Brooker Black Mirror series.
Yazz Hobson - Kemi-Bo Jacobs
Tim's wife Yazz isn't at all prepared for what happens when his past comes back to haunt him.
Where have I seen Kemi-Bo Jacobs before? If you're a fan of a good murder mystery you might recognise Jacobs as she played WPC (and then DC) Julie Lockhart in Inspector Lewis. She's also been in Doctor Who, Maggie Gyllenhaal starrer The Honourable Woman and CBBC Tracy Beaker spin-off The Dumping Ground.
Flo Alia Symes – Chipo Chung
Flo is charged with looking after Ivy’s best interests, and tries to keep the press away from the house when she leaves the station.
Where Have I seen Chipo Chung before? Chipo has had recurring roles in both Sky Atlantic drama Fortitude and the Arthurian fantasy Camelot.
Henry Stone – Nicholas Farrell
Mr. Stone was the headmaster of Ivy’s school at the time of her abduction, and is brought into the ongoing investigation by the police.
Where have I seen Nicholas Farrell before? Probably best known for his breakthrough role as Aubrey Montague in 1981 classic Chariots of Fire, Farrell has appeared in an array of television roles, from Mansfield Park to Torchwood, New Tricks to Poirot.
Chief Supt Burridge – Ariyon Bakare
Burridge is the no-nonsense man from Scotland Yard who's sent to Bristol to head up the investigation to find missing Phoebe
Where have I seen Ariyon Bakare before? Best known for his role in A Respectable Trade, Bakare excelled in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, playing servant Stephen. A veteran of British soaps Family Affairs and Doctors, he's also popped up in Dancing on The Edge, Casualty and Jupiter Ascending, and is due to star in Anthony Horowitz's new BBC1 investigative drama New Blood in 2016.
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Mark White - Peter McDonald
White is the mysterious kidnapper who kept Ivy in his cellar for thirteen years
Where have I seen Peter MacDonald before? Brace yourself - it's only Martin Moone's dad from Moone Boy. McDonald most recently popped up in Channel 4's No Offence, miniseries Titanic, and had roles in The Damned United and Irish films When Brendan Met Trudy and I Went Down. Irish viewers might also recognise him as Tomo from Paths to Freedom and Spin The Bottle, which co-starred Game of Thrones' Roose Bolton aka Michael McElhatton.
This article was originally published in 2016
