If you’ve spent any time on Channel 5 recently, you’ve probably seen the gritty, soot-stained faces of a family trying to survive a 19th-century fish market. It’s The Hardacres. Based on C.L. Skelton’s The Hardacre Saga, the show follows a classic "rags-to-riches" trajectory, but the magic isn't just in the script. It's the people. The cast of The Hardacres manages to pull off that rare trick of feeling like a real, dysfunctional, loving unit that actually smells like salt and gutting knives.
Most period dramas play it safe. They give us polished accents and clean fingernails. Not here. When we first meet the family in the Yorkshire of the 1890s, they are drowning in poverty. Then, a massive stroke of luck—and some very hard work—lands them in a massive country estate. The friction between their working-class roots and their new "Golden Mile" lifestyle is where the show lives. To make that believable, the producers couldn't just hire big names; they needed actors who could handle the physical grime of the docks and the suffocating corsets of the upper class.
The Anchors: Claire Cooper and Liam Garrigan
At the center of everything are Mary and Sam Hardacre. Honestly, if these two didn't have chemistry, the show would fold in ten minutes.
Claire Cooper plays Mary. You might remember her from Hollyoaks as Jacqui McQueen, but this is a different beast entirely. Mary is the engine of the family. She’s the one who sees the opportunity to move from the fish docks to a business empire. Cooper brings a sort of weary steeliness to the role. It’s not just "tough mom" tropes; she plays Mary with a specific kind of anxiety that comes from knowing exactly how easy it is to lose everything.
Then there’s Liam Garrigan as Sam. Garrigan is a veteran of shows like Small Axe and The Pillars of the Earth. He’s got this rugged, approachable energy that makes Sam feel like a man who is genuinely confused by his own success. He’s a laborer at heart. Watching him try to navigate a dinner party with a silver spoon is legitimately painful—in a good way. He represents the physical toll of the era. His performance reminds you that for the working class in the 1890s, your body was your only currency.
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The Next Generation: The Hardacre Kids
The dynamic shifts once the family moves into Duncastor Hall. This is where the younger cast of The Hardacres really gets to shine because they represent the different ways people adapt to sudden wealth.
- Julie Graham as Ma: Okay, she’s not a kid, but Ma is the grandmother and, frankly, the best part of the house. Julie Graham (Shetland, Benidorm) is acting royalty. She plays Ma with a "take no prisoners" attitude. She refuses to let the posh servants tell her how to live. She’s the comic relief, but she’s also the moral compass. She’s the one reminding them that a big house doesn't change who you are.
- Shannon Lavelle as Liberty: This is a breakout role. Liberty is the daughter who has to navigate the marriage market. In the 1890s, a girl with money but no "breeding" was a target. Lavelle plays her with a mix of wonder and skepticism.
- Zak Ford-Williams and Adam Little: Playing Joe and Harry. One adapts, one rebels. It’s a classic setup, but the actors make it feel fresh. They handle the transition from the docks to the schoolroom with a lot of nuance.
Why the Casting Works for Modern Audiences
There is a specific reason why the cast of The Hardacres resonates right now. We are living through a period of massive economic weirdness. Seeing a family go from "how are we going to eat tonight?" to "which horse should I buy?" is wish fulfillment, sure. But the actors don't play it like a fairy tale. They play it like a crisis of identity.
The show was filmed on location in Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland, despite being set in Yorkshire. This actually helped the cast. The rugged Irish coastline provided the necessary grit for the early episodes. You can see the actors physically reacting to the cold and the wind. It’s not a green-screen production. When you see Sam Hardacre hauling nets, Liam Garrigan is actually doing the work. That physical commitment is what separates this from a "pretty" BBC costume drama.
The Supporting Players: The Staff at Duncastor Hall
A huge part of the conflict comes from the people the Hardacres hire. They move into a world where the servants often have more "refinement" than the masters.
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David Pearse and Michele Dotrice are standout additions to the ensemble. They represent the "old guard" of the Victorian class system. The tension between the family and their butler or housekeeper provides a lot of the social commentary. It’s a bit like Downton Abbey, but if the Crawley family had spent their whole lives gutting herring. The cast manages to avoid the "bumbling fool" stereotype for the most part, keeping the stakes grounded in reality.
Realism Over Romance
The creators, including executive producers from All Creatures Great and Small, clearly wanted to avoid the "Disneyfication" of the Victorian era. In interviews, the cast has talked about the "dirt budgets"—the literal amount of grime applied to their skin every morning.
Claire Cooper mentioned in several press junkets that the corsets weren't just a costume choice; they dictated how she breathed and spoke, which fed back into the performance of a woman who felt "squeezed" by her new social standing. This level of detail from the cast of The Hardacres is what makes the show "sticky" for viewers. You don't just watch it; you feel the discomfort of the change.
Common Misconceptions About the Show
People often assume this is a direct clone of The Cookson City or other Northern grit dramas. It’s not. While the cast of The Hardacres deals with hardship, the show is surprisingly optimistic. It’s about social mobility.
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Another misconception is that the show is purely fictional. While the Hardacre family is a creation of C.L. Skelton, the conditions of the fish markets and the rapid rise of "new money" industrial families in the North of England are historically documented. The actors did significant research into the period to ensure their portrayals didn't feel like 2024 people in 1890s clothes. They speak with the cadence of the time, without becoming caricatures.
What to Watch Next if You Love This Cast
If you’ve finished the series and want to see more from these actors, there’s a deep well of British and Irish television to dig into.
- For Claire Cooper fans: Go back and watch her later years in Hollyoaks or her appearance in The Peripheral. She has a range that many didn't appreciate until she took on a lead period role.
- For Liam Garrigan seekers: He is incredible in Transformers: The Last Knight (as King Arthur, believe it or not) and brings that same intensity to The Terror.
- For Julie Graham lovers: She is the backbone of Shetland. If you like her "Ma" energy, you’ll love her in a crime procedural setting.
Moving Forward with The Hardacres
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world the cast of The Hardacres has built, the best next step isn't just rewatching the show.
Start by reading the original novels by C.L. Skelton. The first book, Hardacre, provides much more internal monologue for the characters that the actors had to portray through subtext. It gives you a roadmap of where the family might go in potential future seasons.
Additionally, look into the history of the Yorkshire fishing industry in the late 19th century. Understanding the sheer physical danger Sam and Mary were in during those opening scenes makes their later "problems" with tea service and ballroom dancing feel much more significant. The show is a study in trauma as much as it is a study in wealth.
Keep an eye on the production notes for Season 2. Given the ratings success on Channel 5, the ensemble is likely to return, and the narrative will shift toward the 1900s and the looming shadow of the Great War. That will be the true test for this cast—moving from the struggle for money to the struggle for survival on a global scale.