If you’ve ever sat through an episode of The Village, you know that feeling of heavy, damp wool and the smell of industrial soot. It’s not exactly "light" television. When Peter Moffat’s ambitious historical drama first hit BBC One, it aimed to tell the entire history of the 20th century through the eyes of one Peak District community. But honestly? The show only worked because of the people in front of the camera. The Village cast on BBC wasn't just a list of names; it was a collection of actors who managed to make the bleakness of 1914 feel like something happening right next door.
The show followed the life of Bert Middleton. We saw him as a young boy, a shell-shocked teen, and eventually an old man. It was a massive undertaking. To pull it off, the BBC didn't just need actors; they needed people who could look miserable in a very specific, British sort of way.
The Heavy Hitters: Simm and Peake
John Simm and Maxine Peake basically carried the first series on their backs. Simm played John Middleton, a man struggling with a failing farm, a drinking problem, and a temperament that was, to put it mildly, volatile. You’ve seen Simm in Doctor Who or Life on Mars, but here he was different. He was smaller. Grittier. He played a man who was losing his grip on the world, and you could see it in the way he slumped his shoulders.
Then there’s Maxine Peake as Grace Middleton. She is, quite frankly, a powerhouse. While Simm’s character was the storm, Peake was the anchor. Her performance was all about what she didn't say. In a village where women were expected to be silent and endure, she found ways to show rebellion in the tilt of her head or the way she scrubbed a table. It's the kind of acting that wins awards, and it did. The chemistry between them wasn't romantic in the traditional sense—it was the chemistry of two people tied together by survival. It felt honest.
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The Evolution of Bert Middleton
The show’s heartbeat was Bert. In the first series, Bill Milner played the teenage version of Bert. You might remember Milner from Son of Rambow, where he was all wide eyes and innocence. In The Village, he had to transition from a kid fascinated by the arrival of the first bus to a young man watching his brother go off to a war that would destroy their family.
By the time the second series rolled around, the timeline jumped to the 1920s. This is where the cast shift got interesting. Tom Varey took over as the young adult Bert. It’s always risky changing actors for a central character, but Varey captured that same "haunted but hopeful" energy that Milner established. He had to navigate the "Jazz Age" creeping into a rural town that didn't really want it.
Breaking Down the Supporting Players
It wasn't just the Middletons, though. The social divide was a huge part of the narrative.
- Nico Mirallegro as Joe Middleton: Joe was the golden boy. The brother everyone loved. Mirallegro, who’d previously been in Hollyoaks and My Mad Fat Diary, brought a heartbreaking vulnerability to the role. His storyline, particularly the "Shot at Dawn" sequence, remains one of the most devastating moments in modern British TV. It was brutal.
- Juliet Stevenson as Lady Allingham: You need a bit of aristocratic frostiness in a period drama, and Stevenson delivered. She played the matriarch of the big house with a mix of entitlement and hidden grief. She represented the old world that was slowly being eroded by the war and the changing social classes.
- Augustus Prew as George Allingham: The troubled heir. His character arc was a mess of repressed emotions and privilege, providing a sharp contrast to the grit of the Middleton farm.
Why the Casting Worked (and Why It Didn't)
Casting a period drama is a tightrope walk. If the actors look too "modern," the illusion breaks. You can't have someone who looks like they just stepped out of a CrossFit gym playing a 1914 lead miner. The Village cast on BBC looked lived-in. They had the right kind of exhaustion in their eyes.
However, the show faced criticism. Some viewers found the relentless misery a bit much. The cast was so good at being depressed that it became a running joke on Twitter at the time. "How much more can the Middletons take?" was the general vibe. But if you look at the historical reality of rural Derbyshire in that era, the cast was actually leaning into a very specific truth. Life was hard. The acting reflected that.
The Series 2 Shift
When the show returned for a second outing, the energy changed. The war was over. The 1920s brought new faces. We got Ben Batt as Alf Rutter and Phoebe Dynevor (long before her Bridgerton fame) as Martha Allingham.
Dynevor is a great example of the "Village to Stardom" pipeline. Seeing her play a refined but restricted young woman in a muddy village feels worlds away from the glitz of Regency London, but the seeds of her talent were clearly there. The second series tried to be a bit more vibrant—there was more color, more music, more politics—but the core cast remained grounded in that same earthy realism.
Where Are They Now?
It’s been years since the show aired, and looking back at the cast list feels like looking at a "Who's Who" of British acting talent.
- Maxine Peake has solidified her status as the queen of Northern grit, starring in everything from Anne to The Bisexual.
- John Simm went on to lead Grace, the Brighton-based detective series that’s become a massive hit.
- Nico Mirallegro has stayed busy with projects like Our Girl and Ridley Road.
- Charlie Murphy, who played the rebellious Martha Lane, became a massive star in Peaky Blinders and Happy Valley.
The Legacy of the Ensemble
The Village was supposed to run for six series, covering the whole century. It was cancelled after two. While that’s a shame for fans of the story, the two series we got stand as a masterclass in ensemble acting. The Village cast on BBC managed to take a script that could have been overly bleak and turned it into a deeply human study of endurance.
They didn't play "historical figures." They played people. They played the fear of a telegram arriving. They played the awkwardness of a first dance in a muddy field. They played the slow, agonizing realization that the world they knew was disappearing.
If you’re planning a rewatch, pay attention to the background characters. The locals in the pub, the women at the well. Many of them were actual locals or character actors who specialized in that specific, unspoken British stoicism. It’s that layer of detail that makes the show hold up even now.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Historians
If you're interested in the world the cast inhabited, there are a few things you can do to get closer to the "real" Village:
- Visit Hayfield: Much of the series was filmed in and around Hayfield in Derbyshire. You can walk the same paths the actors did. It’s beautiful, though significantly less miserable than the show depicts.
- Research the "Shot at Dawn" Pardons: The storyline involving Nico Mirallegro’s character Joe is based on the real-life executions of British soldiers during WWI. Looking into the work of the Shot at Dawn Campaign provides massive context for his performance.
- Watch 'The Aftermath': If you enjoyed the cast’s performances, check out the various "Making Of" documentaries. Seeing John Simm and Maxine Peake discuss their research into 1910s farming techniques adds a whole new level of appreciation for their physical acting.
- Follow the 'Bridgerton' Connection: For a fun contrast, watch Phoebe Dynevor in The Village and then jump to Bridgerton. It’s a wild display of range and shows how much a setting changes an actor's presence.
The show might have been cut short, but the impact of that specific group of actors remains. They gave a voice to a generation of rural workers who are often forgotten in the grander, more "glamorous" retellings of British history.