Honestly, if you’ve ever watched a celebrity’s life go down in flames on Twitter, you’ve basically seen the premise of I Hate Suzie. But it’s the people on screen who make the car crash feel so... human. Most people come for Billie Piper. They stay for the absolute mess of characters surrounding her. It’s a weirdly specific type of magic.
When the show first landed, everyone talked about the "phone hack" plot. A famous actress gets her private photos leaked. Brutal, right? But the I Hate Suzie cast isn't just a group of actors filling space; they are the physical manifestations of Suzie Pickles’ crumbling ego. From the manager who is more like a sister-rival to the husband who is, frankly, kind of a nightmare, the casting choices are what keep this show from being just another "sad famous person" story.
The Powerhouse: Billie Piper as Suzie Pickles
You can’t talk about the show without Billie. She didn’t just play the role; she co-created it with Lucy Prebble (of Succession fame). Piper plays Suzie Pickles, a former teen pop star turned sci-fi cult icon who is now just trying to keep her house from smelling like stale cigarettes and failure.
It’s a frantic performance. One minute she’s manic and dancing, the next she’s staring at a wall with a look of pure, unadulterated dread. Piper has this way of making Suzie utterly unlikable and deeply sympathetic at the exact same time. It’s a tightrope walk. You’ve seen her in Doctor Who and Secret Diary of a Call Girl, but this is something different. It feels raw. Maybe a little too raw.
Leila Farzad: The Manager We All Need (And Fear)
If Suzie is the fire, Naomi Jones is the person trying to put it out with a damp towel. Played by Leila Farzad, Naomi is Suzie's manager and childhood best friend. Farzad’s performance is probably the breakout of the series. She won a BAFTA nomination for it, and it’s easy to see why.
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Naomi is the only person who can tell Suzie she’s being a "total nightmare" without the relationship ending. Well, mostly. Their friendship is barbed. It’s messy. It’s that specific type of female bond where love and resentment are basically the same emotion. Farzad brings a dry, exhausted wit to the role that balances Suzie’s high-energy panic. Before this, you might have heard her voice in Peppa Pig (she was Mummy Cat), but here she is the grounding force of a very ungrounded show.
Daniel Ings and the Art of Being the "Wrong" Husband
Daniel Ings plays Cob Betterton. Cob is Suzie’s husband, and honestly? He’s complicated. In the first season, he’s the victim of the hack in a way—his wife’s infidelity is blasted across the internet. But Ings plays him with a simmering, passive-aggressive energy that makes you realize why Suzie might have been looking for an exit.
He isn't a villain, but he isn't a hero either. He’s just a guy who wanted a quiet life in a cottage and ended up married to a human hurricane. Ings has a history of playing these "slightly-off" charming guys (think Lovesick or The Crown), and he uses that perfectly here. By the time we get to I Hate Suzie Too, the relationship has curdled into something much darker and more litigious.
New Blood: The Season 2 Additions
When the show returned for its second act—rebranded as I Hate Suzie Too—the stakes shifted to a reality dance competition called Dance Crazee. This meant the I Hate Suzie cast needed some fresh energy to handle the glitter and the grit.
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- Omari Douglas as Holland: Coming off the massive success of It’s a Sin, Douglas joined as Suzie's new PR man. He’s slick, he’s professional, and he’s clearly way out of his depth trying to manage Suzie’s "redemption" arc.
- Layton Williams as Adam Jackson: Before he was a finalist on Strictly Come Dancing in real life, Williams played the host of the fictional dance show. He brings that sharp, performative energy that contrasts so well with Suzie’s behind-the-scenes meltdowns.
- Douglas Hodge as Bailey Quinn: A former husband and aging rock star. Hodge is a legend of the British stage, and he brings a certain "been there, done that, bought the leather jacket" vibe to the ensemble.
The Supporting Players Who Glue It Together
It’s not just the leads. The smaller roles are filled with actors who make the world of Potters Bar (where Suzie lives) and the London TV scene feel lived-in.
Matthew Jordan-Caws plays Frank, Suzie and Cob’s deaf son. The fact that the show uses a deaf actor and integrates British Sign Language (BSL) naturally—without making it a "special episode" topic—is a testament to the writing. Frank is often the most mature person in any given scene, which is both heartbreaking and hilarious.
Then you have the parents. Lorraine Ashbourne (who you’ve definitely seen in Bridgerton or Sherwood) and Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia) play Suzie’s mum and dad. They are the source of her trauma and her only real tether to reality. When they show up, you suddenly understand why Suzie is the way she is. It’s generational chaos.
Why the Casting Matters for SEO and Discovery
If you’re searching for the I Hate Suzie cast, you’re probably looking for "that one actor from that other show." The brilliance of this ensemble is that they all have deep roots in British TV and theater.
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- Nathaniel Martello-White (Carter Vaughan): The guy Suzie is actually pictured with in the leak. He’s a fantastic actor and director who brings a grounded, slightly detached cool to the role.
- Dexter Fletcher (Benjamin Detroit): A meta-casting choice if there ever was one. Fletcher is a massive director now (Rocketman), but he plays a washed-up actor here, nodding to his own child-star past.
Final Takeaways on the Ensemble
The casting works because nobody is playing for laughs, even when the situations are absurd. They play the tragedy of the situation, which makes the comedy hit harder. It’s a show about the "stages of grief," and each cast member represents a different roadblock in Suzie's path to sanity.
If you’re planning to watch or re-watch, keep an eye on the background. The way the cast interacts in those long, single-take scenes is a masterclass in ensemble acting. They aren't just waiting for their turn to speak; they are living in Suzie’s nightmare.
Next Steps for Fans
To get the most out of the I Hate Suzie experience, you should check out the collaborative history between Billie Piper and Lucy Prebble. Their previous work on Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the play The Effect provides a lot of context for the "shorthand" they use in this series. Additionally, looking into the BSL consultants used for Matthew Jordan-Caws' character offers a great window into how the show maintained its commitment to authentic representation.