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It's a Sin: meet the cast of the Channel 4 drama 

Keeley Hawes, Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Fry also star 

its sin cover
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Channel 4's new show It's a Sin is set to be a smash hit, and we think it will make overnight stars of its amazing cast. Ahead of the series' debut, find out everything you need to know about the hugely talented group here... 

MORE: It's a Sin: everything you need to know about the Channel 4 drama

Ritchie Tozer - Olly Alexander

Olly is the lead singer of Years and Years as well as a successful actor. He has previously stared in Skins, Penny Dreadful, The Riot Club and Great Expectations. You might also recognise him from 2019's series of Celebrity Gogglebox!

WATCH: Check out the It's a Sin trailer

In the show, Olly plays Ritchie, a budding actor who avoids coming out to his parents before moving to London and becoming best pals with Jill. 

ritchie

Jill Baxter - Lydia West

This isn't the first time Lydia has appeared in a Russell T Davies project, having previously starred in Years and Years. In the show, the actress plays Ritchie's new best friend and housemate, Jill, who is based on Russell's real-life best friend of the same name - who plays Lydia's mother in the show! 

lydia west

Chatting to Grazia about her role, she said: "To be back with Russell’s writing for the second time in my short career felt unbelievable. And as much as my character in Years And Years is so different from Jill in It’s A Sin, it’s amazing to be able to pick up a Russell T Davies script and be able to just speak his lines." 

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Roscoe Babatunde - Omari Douglas 

Omari has previously appeared in Wise Children and, according to IMDB, this is his second project. And what a project to be on! In the show, Omari separates himself from his family following their horrified reaction to his sexuality and moves to London, where he wants to be "stinking rich". 

its sin roscoe

Speaking about his character to Pink News, Omari said: "His fabulousness, which manifests itself in so many ways, as much as it is this joyous, vibrant, part of him, it’s also a shield, It’s like, if I’m going to run away from that environment, then I’ve got to protect myself. He’s not gonna let anything get in his way of getting what he wants." 

Colin Morris-Jones - Callum Scott Howells 

Callum plays sweet Colin, who arrives in London from Wales to start an apprenticeship. Speaking of the role to Attitude, he said: "I’m really excited for people to see it and for people to go on a bit of a journey. Because fundamentally, as well as being an ‘Aids drama’ it’s the story of these characters. Off they go to London and then the universe takes them on this existential journey." 

its sin colin

Valerie Tozer - Keeley Hawes

Keeley is a familiar face on British telly, having starred in Finding Alice, Line of Duty, Bodyguard and The Durrells. Pretty much everything the actress stars in is amazing, so we have high hopes for this drama! In the show, Keeley plays Ritchie's somewhat clueless mother Valerie, who has no idea that her son is gay. 

keeley 6

Chatting to the Daily Mirror, she said: "They were so real. There can be humour in death and Russell manages to find those light moments. I sat and read every episode, one after the other, and laughed and sobbed.”

Clive Tozer - Shaun Dooley 

The Stranger star Shaun plays Ritchie's hapless father Clive, who loves his son but is frustrated by his choices and, like his wife, is kept in the dark about Ritchie's sexuality. Shaun has also starred in Misfits, The Witcher and The White Queen

its sin shaun

Henry Coltrane - Neil Patrick Harris 

The How I Met Your Mother star plays a Savile Row tailor who befriends Colin, and as the only American actor in the cast, his British accent is seriously impressive! Speaking to The Times, Neil said that he kept the accent up off-camera as everyone else "was speaking with British accents" and joked: "Would they think I was a super-weird method actor?"

its sin neil

Stephen Fry - Arthur Garrison

Stephen plays Tory MP Arthur in the show, and opened up about the first time he read the scripts for It's a Sin. He told The Mirror: "I read the script through walls of tears, I just saw all the faces of all these dead friends, the parents, the whole broken promise of it. 

stephen fry 1

"It’s incredible bad luck that just at the time the gay community was beginning to find confidence and joy and freedom and pride, it should be dealt this staggeringly cruel blow."

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