James Graham’s acclaimed detective series has nothing to do with Robin Hood. Despite the Sheriff of Nottingham making her debut in the new series, Sherwood is a gritty and powerful drama that puts a spotlight on the miners’ strikes of the 1980s and is loosely based on two real-life trade union murders from 2004.
The upcoming second series is expected to further explore the themes that made the first so popular with its audience, such as family, loyalty and justice. Set in the present day, viewers will be introduced to two new families who find themselves tangled in a complex web of deceit and betrayal.
At the same time, a newly appointed Sheriff of Nottingham — who has been deliberately written as a young queer woman to “modernise” the series — finds herself fighting against a proposed new coal mine in the area.
The cast is full of talented British actors who bring the story to life. We take a look at characters both old and new, their actors, and where you might have seen them before.
Ian St Clair, played by David Morrissey
Sherwood’s main protagonist is detective Ian St Clair, a high-ranking police officer who is a “pillar of the community” and the one to investigate the murder that opens the show. When we join the characters at the start of the new series, Ian has left the police and is leading a new unit for the local council, which brings together all of the social services.
David Morrissey has spoken about his love for the character, telling the BBC: “I thought he was pretty wonderful and complex but slightly compromised at the same time.” Not to be confused with fellow actor Neil Morrissey, some viewers may recognise Morrissey from Captain Correlli's Mandolin, but he is best known for his role in the drama series Red Riding and as The Governor in season three of The Walking Dead.
Julie Jackson, played by Lesley Manville
Julie Jackson played a pivotal role in season one, and now she’s back. Julie was the wife of Gary Jackson, a former union member and coal miner who was murdered in season one, sparking off an investigation into who did it. This led her to become estranged from her sister Cathy (Claire Rushbrook), whose family was on the other side of the picket line.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted a frisson between Julie and Ian St Clair too, with Morrissey’s character seeking companionship with Julie after the breakdown of his marriage. It looks like this is set to continue in season two, as well, with Morrissey telling Radio Times that "how it grows and what it becomes is a different thing but at the moment, it’s about love but also her representing a ballast for him. I think he gets to a place of… a little contentment and hope. He definitely gets to that. But he’s quite a cautious person."
Manville herself is a stalwart of stage and screen: acting since 1972, she’s appeared in many Mike Leigh films, including 2004’s Vera Drake, and in films like Phantom Thread (2017) and Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (2022). She also played Princess Margaret in the hit Netflix show The Crown.
Daphne Sparrow, played by Lorraine Ashbourne
Along with her husband, Micky, the character of Daphne Sparrow is a clever and manipulative career criminal. Together, they run a drug operation hidden under the guise of their taxi company.
Lorraine Ashbourne, who plays Daphne, has said of the character: “What's brilliant about Daphne and what I love about her is she’s a complete contradiction. She’s brilliant at lying, she’s good at being secretive and devious and deceitful. It's a skill.” She goes on to add: “But she's actually incredibly solid and in the day to day she is incredibly honest with her family.”
If you’re wondering where you’ve seen her before, you may recognise Ashbourne from the 2020 sitcom Alma’s Not Normal, or alongside Billie Piper in the dark comedy I Hate Suzie. She’s been married to fellow actor Andy Serkis since 2002.
Ann Branson, played by Monica Dolan
The character of Ann Branson is new for Sherwood series 2 and is played by award-winning actress Monica Dolan. The Branson family also run a drug cartel and are used to getting what they want, which creates a turf war and causes disruption to the existing characters.
“In terms of my character, I found Ann to be very intriguing,” Dolan told the BBC. “In some ways, she is very straightforward, and her motivations are cut and dried. However, her means of operating and manipulating people to get what she wants can be quite complex.”
Dolan is recognisable for her roles in dramatisations of memorable, real events. You may remember her as the suffering wife in ITV’s The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, as well as playing Jo Hamilton in the highly acclaimed Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Dennis Bottomley, played by David Harewood
The Bottomley family are also new for the upcoming series, with the patriarch Dennis being played by David Harewood. The new family represents the everyday people who were affected by the deprivation and crime that followed the closure of mines in Nottingham. According to Harewood, “they represent the innocence of all the people who are impacted by the actions of others.”
Harewood has starred in several drama series, including Homeland and The Night Manager. Most recently, he played Senator Rayencourt in the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off The Acolyte.
Pam Bottomley, played by Sharlene Whyte
Pam Bottomley is the wife of Dennis and is one of the “good, honest people in those communities who are just trying to put one foot in front of the other”. One of Pam’s main storylines is a death from her past and her adopted son, Ryan. According to Sharlene Whyte, who plays the character, “Pam is very loyal and very family-orientated.”
You may recognise Whyte from the sixth series of Waterloo Road, in which she played head of pastoral care Adanna Lawal, or from The Story of Tracy Beaker where she played Jenny Edwards.
Ryan Bottomley, played by Oliver Huntingdon
We also have Ryan Bottomley, who is Pam’s adopted son from her first marriage. According to Oliver Huntingdon, who plays the role, “it’s a very juicy character to sink your teeth into”. Ryan starts the series as a dark character who commits a serious crime, but as the episodes progress, the story behind his motivations becomes clear.
“He’s someone that has been lost in the system,” Huntingdon told the BBC. “There’s an all too common theme and occurrence within today’s Britain around young men, particularly from less privileged areas, who don’t have enough support or opportunities.” This isn’t the first time Huntingdon has played a character like this, having made a name for himself as Ivan Sertic in Happy Valley.
The Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Ria Zmitrowicz
Yes, there is a Sheriff of Nottingham in real life. It’s a character drenched in mythology and folklore thanks to the tales of Robin Hood, which Sherwood’s writer and creator James Graham says was a big part of the first series — there are outlaws hiding out in Sherwood Forest after all.
But Graham has made it clear that he wanted someone who doesn’t fit the stereotype to play the role. “In our series we have a young, queer female Sheriff of Nottingham,” he told the BBC. “I just thought that felt modern and important to include that representation, and to make that character and that title fully drawn.”
The character is played by Ria Zmitrowicz, who is an actress best known for her work in theatre. On the small screen, she played Amber Bowen in the 2017 BBC mini series Three Girls and more recently Roxy Monke in the sci-fi thriller The Power.
