Babies Cast: Where You've Seen The Stars Of The BBC Drama Before
The new BBC drama Babies has been met with a wave of critical acclaim.
Directed by Stefan Golaszewski (the creator of hit shows like Him & Her and Marriage), the series has been described in early reviews as a “bittersweet” exploration of fertility struggles, weaving moments of humour throughout its more hard-to-watch sequences.
Babies primarily focusses on a couple in their 30s – played by Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen – who face repeated setbacks in their journey to become parents, with the show exploring how this affects their relationship and those around them.
It also features a cast of talented performers that you most likely recognise from a variety of film and TV projects.
Here’s a quick guide to where you’ve seen the stars before…
Paapa Essiedu
Paapa Essiedu first rose to prominence after appearing in Michela Coel’s I May Destroy You, which earned him an Emmy and Bafta nomination.
He also since appeared in in Gangs Of London, the Channel 5 miniseries Anne Boleyn and the Sky’s trippy sci-fi offering The Lazarus Project.
In 2023, he appeared as Gaap in the Demon 79 episode of Black Mirror, before starring opposite Keira Knightley in the crime drama Black Doves.
Most recently, he appeared in seasons two and three of The Capture as Isaac Tuner, an MP who is deepfaked on national television, and becomes embroiled in a news feed tampering conspiracy.
Later this year, he’s due to appear as Severus Snape in HBO’s new adaptation of the Harry Potter novels.
Siobhán Cullen
Irish actor Siobhán Cullen is probably best known for playing Caroline in ITV’s Irish comedy-drama The Dry, as well as her work in the 2024 Netflix comedy Bodkin.
Siobhán first found fame playing a supporting role in the BBC drama Paula, and appeared in two episodes of the divorce drama The Split.
Following this, she took the lead in the ITV crime drama The Long Call, and had a minor role in the Dalgliesh episode Shroud For A Nightingale.
Siobhán is currently filming the new Highlander movie, alongside Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe.
Charlotte Riley
Charlotte Riley has been on our screens for almost 20 years since making her debut in the BBC Three sitcom Grownups back in 2007.
She later made a splash when she appeared alongside her future husband Tom Hardy in ITV’s 2008 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, before going on to appear in three episodes of DCI Banks as the murdered Lucy Payne.
Following this, Charlotte starred in all eight episodes of Ken Follett’s adaptation World Without End and played Arabelle Strange in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
She has also appeared in seasons two and four of Peaky Blinders as the wealthy widow May Fitz Carleton, and starred in Danny Boyle’s John Paul Getty miniseries as lawyer Robina Lund.
On the big screen, you may recognise Charlotte from Edge Of Tomorrow, Swimming With Men or London Has Fallen.
More recently, Charlotte has had roles in Apple TV+’s comedy-drama Trying and in Amazon Prime’s thriller Malice.
You can next see her in Master Of The Universe alongside Nicholas Galitzine, where she’s set to play Queen Marlena Glenn.
Jack Bannon
Jack is most recognisable for playing Sam Thursday in Endeavour and taking the lead as Alfred in the recent Pennyworth TV show, based on the iconic DC Comics character.
His other TV credits include Medici, The Darkness and the recent Netflix medical drama Pulse.
In film, he played Alan Turing’s friend Christopher in the 2014 biopic The Imitation Game, appeared as a young tanker in Fury and starred as Felix in the 2016 British coming-of-age drama Kids In Love, alongside Cara Delevingne.
He is currently filming the upcoming Tomb Raider series alongside Sophie Turner, although his role has yet to be specified.
Nadine Marshall
Nadine Marshall, who plays Stephen’s mother, first captured viewers’ attention when she was cast as Sally in the sitcom The Smoking Room and has been a regular on our screens since the early 2000s.
Over her 25-year career, she has appeared in a variety of projects, from the sketch show Little Miss Jocelyn to the kids’ TV show Old Jack’s Boat alongside Bernard Cribbins and Robbie Coltrane, as well as the Channel 4 drama National Treasure.
In recent history, you might have seen Nadine as DS Shola O’Halloran in Sky drama Save Me, DSU Marianne Hamilton in Trigger Point or DI Sarah Torres in Silent Witness.
Gary Beadle
Gary appears in Babies as Stephen’s dad, but you’re most likely to know him for playing Paul Trueman in more than 300 episodes of EastEnders.
Although best recognised for the BBC soap, he has also appeared as Clem in Andor, Elyas Machera in Amazon Prime fantasy The Wheel Of Time and as Thick Rick in the Netflix spin-off The Gentleman.
Elizabeth Rider
Elizabeth Rider has been a television stalwart since the early 1980s.
As well as playing DCC Andrea Wise across five episodes of Line Of Duty, she has had minor roles in numerous TV shows, including Casualty, Heartbeat and Doctors.
Soap fans might also recognise for her playing Ashley Peacock’s biological mother in Coronation Street, or for her 10-episode EastEnders arc as nurse Jill Green.
Simona Brown
Simona Brown, who plays Bella in Babies, is best known for starring in the 2021 Netflix miniseries Behind Her Eyes.
She also had leading roles in the ITV series Him, the 2019 Florence Pugh BBC drama The Little Drummer Girl and the Channel 4 cyber thriller Kiss Me First.
Babies is currently available to stream in full on the BBC iPlayer, with episodes also airing weekly on Monday nights on BBC One.