The Long Call cast: Who stars in the ITV drama?

ITV is bringing suspense with their new detective drama which starts on Monday, October 25, 2021.

The four-part series The Long Call will be leaving viewers at the edge of their seats. Here’s what you need to know about the main cast of the show.

ITVThe Long Call will air on ITV at 9pm October 25[/caption]

Who is in the cast in The Long Call?

DI Matthew Venn – Played by Ben Aldridge

ITVDI Matthew Venn – Played by Ben Aldridge The Long Call[/caption]

Ben Aldridge is a 35-year-old English actor.

He is best known for his portrayal of Thomas Wayne in the crime drama series Pennyworth, Captain James in the original drama series Our Girl and “Arsehole Guy” in the tragicomedy series Fleabag.

Speaking at a press Q&A, Ben said of Matthew: “I think his queerness is very central to his journey in the show… also the people around him and the rest of the cast also go on a journey with him and his queerness.

“I’m really proud of it in that it’s not just a detective who happens to be gay and we don’t explore how that affects him. We really do explore that and we really go on that journey with him.”

Dorothy Venn – Played by Juliet Stevenson

GettyDorothy Venn – Played by Juliet Stevenson The Long Call[/caption]

Juliet Stevenson is a 64-year-old English actor of stage and screen.

She is known for her role in Truly, Madly, Deeply, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Juliet plays Ben’s mother in the series. She told press: “In relation to Dorothy, I thought well here’s a chance to play somebody radically different from me.

“I don’t have a religious faith – I actually have issues with religion. But I love playing a long, long way from me – the further the better in lots of ways because I’ve worked for quite a long time and it’s much more interesting and challenging.”

DS Jen Rafferty – Played by Pearl Mackie

ITVDS Jen Rafferty – Played by Pearl Mackie The Long Call[/caption]

Pearl Mackie is a 34-year-old British actress.

She is best known for playing Bill Potts in the long-running television series Doctor Who. 

Pearl spoke to the press about playing a character with a difficult backstory.

“Jen is a survivor really. When we meet her, she’s left London, she’s escaped from a really abusive relationship that she was in for many, many, years with the father of her children.

“I think in a way that gives her a different approach to being a police officer. I think she has a heightened sense of empathy for people who are in vulnerable situations and particularly women in vulnerable situations. It makes her instinctive and really empathetic but also can make her a bit headstrong and a bit quick to judge.

“I think essentially what she really wants to do is protect people and she doesn’t want anyone to experience what she has been through. I think a lot of those emotions are bubbling away under the surface and can get triggered quite easily. But I think we need more police officers like Jen. Her experiences make her more real.”

Dennis Stephenson – Played by Martin Shaw

ITVDennis Stephenson – Played by Martin Shaw[/caption]

Martin Shaw is a 74-year-old British actor.

He is best known for  his roles in the television series The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.

Martin said it was an easy decision to take on the role of spiritual Brethren leader Dennis.

Speaking at the Q&A, he tells the press: “It was going to be absolutely fascinating to explore what he wasn’t saying, what he wasn’t doing and what his presentation to the world was, and in particular his relationship with his wife. I just got pulled further and further into him.

Grace Stephenson – Played by Anita Dobson

ITVGrace Stephenson – Played by Anita Dobson The Long Call[/caption]

Anita Dobson is a 72-year-old stage, film and television actress, and singer.

She is known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. 

Anita told the press: “I absolutely loved Grace. I think from the minute I picked the script up, I just thought ‘yes please – count me in!’.

“She’s so locked away, which is not me, and I just couldn’t wait to get inside and find out what was going on in her head. Even though she doesn’t say very much to start with, there’s so much going on inside her all the time when she’s in situations with other people.”

Jonathan Venn – played by Declan Bennett

ITVDeclan (left) is starring as Jonathan Venn in The Long Call[/caption]

Jonathan is none other than Matthew’s husband and manager at the Woodyard.

With a warm and friendly disposition, he tends to put other people’s needs before his own and is highly (but discreetly) protective of his husband.

Both he and Matthew share a loving and trusting marriage, the case the detective is set to work on will add strain to their relationship.

A singer and songwriter, Declan is well-known by the public after kick-starting his musical career in 2001 under the stage name Sumladfromcov.

The Long Call won’t be his first experience on the box.

He appeared on EastEnders as the long-lost grandson of Dot Branning, played by June Brown.

Simon Walden – played by Luke Ireland

ITV’s new crime drama will focus on Simon’s murder, pushing Luke well into the limelight.

An actor and writer, he is a mystery to the public but does not lack experience.

Before joining The Long Call line-up, he has been known for his work on several other projects including TV series Guides (2020) and films such as Extraordinary Rendition (2007) and Chance Encounters (2019).

In the series – a TV adaptation of Ann Cleeves’ novel of the same name – his character first appears in Devon as a homeless alcoholic.

He is soon taken in by Caroline Reasley, a social worker living with Gaby Chadwell, an artist.

It is then revealed that Simon has also committed a crime and has since carried a great deal of guilt, symbolised by an albatross tattoo.

Gaby Chadwell – played by Aoife Hinds

Aoife Hinds in Normal People

The only daughter of acclaimed Belfast actor Ciaran Hinds and his wife Hélène Patarot, Aoife was raised between London and Paris.

The 31-year-old is best known for playing Helen in BBC’s Normal People and Mae Chung in the Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls.

She is to take on the role of Gaby Chadwell, a young artist at residence at the Woodyard.

Gaby moved to Devon leaving behind a difficult relationship with her mother and moving in with Caroline.

Both women are soon joined by Simon.

Although she first resents him for his presence, Gaby soon becomes fond of Simon upon finding out that he is a good cook.

Struggling with her feelings for him, she still gets in a relationship with him.

In spite of the depth of their connection, she keeps an important secret from Simon and never manages to come clean before his death.

Caroline Reasley – played by Siobhán Cullen

Barry Cronin, Wilkinstown, Navan, County Meath, IrelandSiobhán Cullen will take on the role of social worker Caroline[/caption]

Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, Siobhán is an actress known for her roles in The Limehouse Golem (2016) and Origin (2018).

She will be slipping into the skin of social worker Caroline Reasley.

A generous and kind soul, Caroline takes both Simon and Gaby into her home as tenants.

This does not stop her from harbouring her own mental and physical pain following the death of her mother in a car crash, when she was a child.

Believing her father, Christopher, to be responsible for the crash, she constantly rejects his attempts at reaching out and struggles to trust people in her life.

Christopher Reasley – played by Neil Morrissey

ITVNeil Morrissey alongside Pearl Mackie in The Long Call[/caption]

A businessman and chairman of the board of the Woodyard, Christopher desperately tries to rekindle his relationship with his daughter Caroline.

In an attempt to protect her, he becomes embroiled in the investigation following Simon’s death and his own secrets are laid bare.

Viewers will certainly be happy to see Neil, a well-known and loved actor, voice actor and singer, taking on the part of Christopher.

After playing Tony in Men Behaving Badly, Neil portrayed Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One drama Waterloo Road.

The 59-year-old is also known to have played Nigel Morton in Line of Duty, and Rocky in Boon.

Ross Pritchard – played by Dylan Edwards

ITVDylan Edwards (center) as DC Ross Pritchard in The Long Call[/caption]

A junior detective on Matthew’s case, DC Ross Pritchard dives in to the investigation surrounding Simon’s death with enthusiasm.

While his gleeful personality may clash with those of other characters, Ross’s eagerness hides the reality of a small-town man who has not yet seen much of the world.

As an actor, Dylan has appeared in several other projects such as Misfits, Pramface and High Rise after graduating from The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

He has also worked as a writer from television and is working with entertainment studio Beano Studios.

Ed Raveley – played by Amit Shah

ITVAmit Shah will portray Ed Raveley in The Long Call[/caption]

Born in London on April 26, 1981, Amit will play the role of Ed Raveley, an uprooted city man who found refuge in Devon as a corporate accountant.

He is romantically involved and smitten with Caroline. Following Simon’s death, he agrees to move in with her and even encourages her to make peace with her father.

After playing several roles in theatre, Amit has been taking on a series of TV roles since 2006.

He was seen in Hospital People, Crashing ans, most recently, as Torque in Netflix’s The Witcher.

Amit has also appeared in many films on the silver screen with his major part being in 2014’s The Hundred-Foot Journey opposite Dame Helen Mirren and Om Puri.

He then took part in Johnny English Strikes Again, Ordinary Love and Last Christmas.