Patience cast: Full list of actors and characters in Channel 4 drama

Teasing what the show has in store, Purvis explained: "The undercurrent is this really beautiful and emotional journey of growth and understanding that the characters all go on. It’s also incredibly witty with such dry humour.

"What I love most is that Patience is never the butt of the joke. She may miss things or not understand some social cues or context, but she’ll make some blunt remark which just always gave me a giggle when reading the script."

She added: "I think that was so important to me; that the show has real humour but it’s never at the expense of Patience's character."

If you want to get to know the Patience cast ahead of the show's premiere on Channel 4, you've come to the right place!

Read on for everything you need to know about the core characters and the actors playing them – including where you might have seen them before.

Patience cast: Full list of actors and characters

Here's a brief round-up of the key players in Channel 4 drama Patience – scroll on for a detailed profile of each character and cast member.

• Ella Maisy Purvis as Patience Evans
• Laura Fraser as Detective Bea Metcalf
• Nathan Welsh as DS Jake Hunter
• Mark Benton as Calvin Baxter
• Connor Curren as Billy Thompson
• Ali Ariaie as DC Will Akbari
• Douglas Gilmour as Adrian Rawlins
• Tom Lewis as Elliot Scott
• Liza Sadovy as Dr Loretta Parsons
• Maxwell Whitelock as Alfie Metcalf-Haynes
• Ava-Grace Cook as Young Patience (11 years old)

Ella Maisy Purvis plays Patience Evans

Who is Patience Evans? Patience is an autistic woman who works as an archivist for York Police. It's a rather solitary job, in which she quietly attends to shelves upon shelves of reports and evidence, which are periodically requested by officers for further investigation. However, over time, she has also developed an understanding of criminology and is able to spot connections between cases in a manner that proves helpful to detective Bea Metcalf (Laura Fraser).

Ella Maisy Purvis explained: "One of the first shots of Patience is just her going through her morning routine... We see her at the height of this sort of bubble of safety, and as the story goes on, she gets more and more out of her comfort zone.

"I think a lot of autistic women grow up being pulled and pushed and bent into shape to fit a mould that slots as best it can into the rest of society.

"With Patience, the journey she goes on allows her to instead really come into her own and do what she needs and wants, rather than being terrified to speak up for herself."

What else has Ella Maisy Purvis been in? Previously, Purvis has starred in CBBC fantasy series A Kind of Spark and ITV's hit medical drama Malpractice.

Laura Fraser plays Detective Bea Metcalf

Who is detective Bea Metcalf? Bea is a driven and determined detective, who notices Patience's knack for criminology after requesting a file from her on a puzzling case. They form an unlikely partnership on further investigations. In her personal life, Bea is recently divorced and shares custody of her young son with her ex-husband, but sometimes work prevents her from being as present as she would like to be.

"Bea is struggling to accept her son might be autistic," explained Fraser. "She finds being a detective easier than being a mother, but as the series progresses, she starts to emerge from the denial. As she becomes closer with Patience, she softens into acceptance, and develops more of an understanding of her son."

What else has Laura Fraser been in? Fraser is known for playing Lydia, an accomplice of drug boss Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), in Vince Gilligan dramas Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Her other television credits include The Missing, Traces, The Pact and Irvine Welsh's Crime.

Nathan Welsh plays DS Jake Hunter

Who is DS Jake Hunter? Jake is a detective for York Police, who works alongside Bea Metcalf, and is initially sceptical of her faith in unassuming archivist Patience Evans.

"I think he's naively concerned that the type of work she might have to involve herself in might not be quite suited well enough to her way of thinking," explained Welsh.

"Being a detective is hard. It comes with a lot of disappointments and shocks that can be hard on a person. He has a lot of concerns about how she may cope."

He added: "At the heart of him, he's a good guy, and to quote The Wire he's 'Good Police'. I think he loves his job, wants to make a difference and is very much doing that by the book."

What else has Nathan Welsh been in? Welsh's recent credits include BBC comedy Am I Being Unreasonable?, period drama Domina, Disney Plus series Culprits and Apple TV+'s Trying.

Mark Benton plays Calvin Baxter

Who is Calvin Baxter? Calvin is the boss at York Police, who delegates work to Bea, Patience and Jake.

"Playing the boss was a new challenge," said Benton. "On paper there wasn't a great deal about him so it was especially nice to be involved in helping to shape him and to bring the character to life.

"When you are doing serious stuff sometimes the temptation is to mess around a little, and I did bring a little bit of comedy to the set and to the character... As an actor I liked the challenge of playing the straight guy this time and being a part of his developing relationships with all the other characters."

What else has Mark Benton been in? Benton has appeared in numerous British TV comedies and dramas, including Waterloo Road, Inside No. 9, Outnumbered and Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators.

Connor Curren plays Billy Thompson

Who is Billy? Billy is the host of an autistic adults support group, in which members can discuss experiences and advise each other on navigating the world as a neurodivergent person. He strikes up a rapport with Patience.

Curren said: "He is very much a diplomatic and compassionate person, working through his own mind by helping others work through theirs – although later in the series we see that Billy perhaps needs more help from others than he leads on."

What else has Connor Curren been in? Curren has previously appeared in Casualty, CBBC's Dodger and detective drama Whitstable Pearl.

Tom Lewis plays Elliot Scott

Who is Elliot? Elliot is one of Bea's colleagues at York Police.

What else has Tom Lewis been in? Lewis played Thomas Sowden in the acclaimed period drama Gentleman Jack, with later credits including A Discovery of Witches and Redeeming Love.

Liza Sadovy plays Dr Loretta Parsons

Who is Dr Loretta Parsons? Loretta is a forensics expert, who assists Bea and Patience in their investigations.

Sadovy explained: "I think she sort of respects and admires Patience at the same time as feeling a little bit contemptuous of and a bit threatened by her, and at first is not very friendly towards her."

What else has Liza Sadovy been in? Sadovy's earlier screen credits include Ridley Road, A Small Light, Outlander and Strike: The Ink Black Heart. On the stage, she won an Olivier Award in 2022 for her portrayal of Fräulein Schneider in Cabaret. She can currently be seen in Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain.

Maxwell Whitelock plays Alfie Metcalf-Haynes

Who is Alfie? Alfie is Bea's son, who is having some difficulty getting along at school.

What else has Maxwell Whitelock been in? Last year, Whitelock appeared in BBC One comedy-drama Boat Story.

Ali Ariaie plays DC Will Akbari

Who is DC Will Akbari? Another staffer at York Police, who works with Bea, Patience and Jake.

Ariaie said: "Will is not long in the tooth when it comes to being a detective. He is the youngest and most inexperienced guy in that team but he's good at what he does.

"He's smart and has a good eye for detail. He sort of looks up to Bea as this mentor and throughout the story her approval means so much to him and it drives him as a detective."

What else has Ali Ariaie been in? Ariaie's recent credits include Doctor Who chiller 73 Yards, BBC One's cosy crime juggernaut Death in Paradise, Channel 4's The Couple Next Door and Hulu period drama The Great.

Adrian Rawlins plays Douglas Gilmour

Who is Douglas? Douglas is Patience's godfather, who has looked after her since her biological father passed away. He is sensitive to her needs, but also keen to encourage her to strike out on her own.

What else has Adrian Rawlins been in? Rawlins appeared throughout the Harry Potter film series as the title character's late father, James. He has also appeared in acclaimed drama films Living and One Life, starring Bill Nighy and Anthony Hopkins, respectively. On the small screen, you may recognise him from recent appearances in All Creatures Great and Small, Andor, The Sixth Commandment, Mary & George and Moonflower Murders.

Patience premieres on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday 8th January 2025.

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