Why the Cuffs TV series cast felt like the new "Bill"
Honestly, when Cuffs first hit BBC One back in 2015, it felt like a breath of fresh salty air. Set against the neon-and-pebbles backdrop of Brighton, it wasn't your typical gritty, grey London procedural. It had heart. It had mess. Most importantly, the Cuffs TV series cast felt like actual people you’d run into at a chip shop, not polished Hollywood versions of coppers.
The show didn't just focus on the "case of the week." It obsessed over the fact that these people were disasters in their private lives. You had a rookie dealing with his overbearing boss-dad, a veteran cop who was a secret softie as a single father, and a detective sergeant stuck in a toxic affair. It was chaotic. It was real.
Then, just as the audience started to fall for them, the BBC pulled the plug after only eight episodes. The cast was "gutted," and fans were even more baffled. Now that the show has found a second life on streaming platforms like Netflix, everyone is asking the same thing: who were these people, and where are they now?
The central duo: Ashley Walters and Jacob Ifan
The backbone of the series was the "odd couple" pairing of PC Ryan Draper and PC Jake Vickers. It’s a classic trope—the hardened veteran and the wide-eyed rookie—but the chemistry made it work.
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Ashley Walters (PC Ryan Draper)
Before Cuffs, most people knew Ashley Walters from his "bad boy" roles or his music career with So Solid Crew. Playing Ryan Draper was a massive pivot. Ryan was a widower, a single dad, and a man deeply committed to the rules. Walters has since gone on to massive global fame leading Top Boy as Dushane, but he’s often cited Cuffs as the role where he got to prove his range as a "good guy."
Jacob Ifan (PC Jake Vickers)
For Jacob Ifan, this was the big break. He literally graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and walked straight onto the Brighton set. He played Jake, the Chief Superintendent’s son who happens to be gay and very much out of his depth. Ifan’s performance was vulnerable without being a caricature. Since the show ended, he’s popped up in A Discovery of Witches and the BBC’s S.A.S. Rogue Heroes.
The messy personal lives of the CID
While the beat cops were handling nudists on the beach, the detectives were busy making a mess of their own lives.
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- Amanda Abbington (DS Jo Moffat): Fresh off her role as Mary Morstan in Sherlock, Abbington played the tenacious but lonely Jo. She was having a secret, messy affair with her boss. It was the kind of performance that made you want to scream at the TV and give her a hug at the same time. Abbington remains a powerhouse in British TV, recently appearing in Inside No. 9 and Desperate Measures.
- Peter Sullivan (Ch Supt Robert Vickers): Sullivan played the "Chief Super" who was juggling a terminally ill wife and a secret mistress. He brought a certain "sly dog" energy to the role. You might recognize him more recently as Ralph Hanson in Poldark.
- Shaun Dooley (DC Carl Hawkins): Carl was the ultimate "work bestie" to Jo. Dooley is one of those actors who is in everything because he's just that good (Broadchurch, The Stranger, It's a Sin). He provided the grounding, "salt of the earth" energy the CID team desperately needed.
- Paul Ready (DI Felix Kane): Felix was the mysterious one. Stoic, a bit odd, and incredibly sharp. Paul Ready has since become a cult favorite for his role as Kevin in the comedy Motherland.
The partners who stole the show
You can't talk about the Cuffs TV series cast without mentioning the partnership of PC Lino Moretti and PC Donna Prager.
Alex Carter played Lino, the out-of-shape Italian-heritage cop who was basically the comic relief—until things got serious. Eleanor Matsuura played Donna, his Taser-carrying, no-nonsense partner. Their bickering felt like a real marriage. Matsuura has since gone on to huge international success, notably playing Yumiko in The Walking Dead.
Why the cancellation still stings
When the BBC cancelled the show in December 2015, the cast took to Twitter (now X) to express their shock. There was a petition with thousands of signatures. The reason given was to "make space for new shows," which is TV-speak for "we have a limited budget and we’re moving on."
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It felt premature. We never got to see Jake fully come into his own. We never saw if Jo finally found some self-respect. We never got a second summer in Brighton.
What to do if you’re just discovering Cuffs
If you’ve just finished binging the eight episodes and you're feeling that "post-series void," here is how to keep the vibe going:
- Follow the cast’s newer work: Watch Top Boy for more Ashley Walters or Motherland to see Paul Ready in a completely different light.
- Look for Brighton-set dramas: If the setting was what hooked you, Grace (starring John Simm) is another police drama set in the same city, though it's much darker.
- Check out the creators: Julie Gearey, the show's creator, also worked on Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Prisoners’ Wives, which share that same knack for balancing drama with heavy character work.
The show might be over, but the Cuffs TV series cast proved that you don't need ten seasons to make an impact. They gave us one perfect, messy, sun-drenched season of Brighton policing that still holds up nearly a decade later.
If you're looking for more underrated British gems, your next move is to check out the BBC’s archive of "one-season wonders"—there's usually a reason they still have such a loyal cult following.