List of Ackley Bridge characters

Ackley Bridge is a British television drama series that follows the lives of the staff and pupils at the fictional multi-cultural academy school Ackley Bridge College, in the fictitious Yorkshire mill town of Ackley Bridge.[1] This is a list of the characters, and who portrays them.

Overview

Character	Actor	Series
		1	2	3
Main characters
Missy Booth	Poppy Lee Friar	Main		Featured[lower-alpha 1]
Nasreen Paracha	Amy-Leigh Hickman	Main
Mandy Carter	Jo Joyner	Main
Kaneez Paracha	Sunetra Sarker	Main
Razia Paracha	Nazmeen Kausar Hussain	Main
Hayley Booth	Cody Ryan	Main
Saleem Paracha	Esa Ashraf	Main	Does not appear
	Yaseen Khan	Does not appear	Recurring	Main
Jordan Wilson	Sam Bottomley	Main		Does not appear
Steve Bell	Paul Nicholls	Main		Does not appear
Sadiq Nawaz	Adil Ray	Main
Emma Keane	Liz White	Main		Featured[lower-alpha 2]
Will Simpson	Tom Varey	Main		Does not appear
Alya Nawaz	Maariah Hussain	Main
Samir Qureshi	Arsher Ali	Main		Does not appear
Lorraine Bird	Lorraine Cheshire	Main
Cory Wilson	Sam Retford	Main
Riz Nawaz	Nohail Mohammed	Main
Chloe Voyle	Fern Deacon	Main
Lila Sharif	Anneika Rose	Main	Does not appear
Simone Booth	Samantha Power	Main
Candice Murgatroyd	Emily Pyzer	Recurring	Main
Naveed Haider	Gurjeet Singh	Guest	Main
Rashid Hyatt	Tony Jayawardena	Does not appear	Main
Aaron Turner	Adam Fielding	Does not appear	Main	Does not appear
Javid Shah	Jay Saighal	Does not appear	Main	Does not appear
Sam Murgatroyd	Megan Parkinson	Does not appear	Main
Martin Evershed	Rob James-Collier	Does not appear		Main
Sue Carp	Charlie Hardwick	Does not appear		Main
Pawel Nowicki	Szymon Kantor	Does not appear		Main
Rukhsana Ibrahim	Phoebe Tuffs-Berry	Does not appear		Main
Younis Iqbal	Abdul Ahadbutt	Does not appear		Main
Kacey 'Spud' Gartside	Zara Salim	Does not appear		Main
Hassan Hussein	Hareet Deol	Does not appear		Main
Sian Oakes	Ty Glaser	Does not appear		Main
Recurring characters
Julie "Nana" Booth	Rita May	Recurring	Does not appear	Guest
Amin Abad	Hassan Mahmood	Recurring
Tahira Abad	India Parsan	Recurring
Zain Younis	Zain Khan	Recurring
Amira Gill	Alisha Zaman	Recurring	Does not appear
Shireen Siddiqui	Kainatt Butt	Recurring	Does not appear
Mo Akhtar	Abdullah Shahid	Recurring
Waqar Abdelrahman	Arbaz Rashid	Recurring
Shannon Burns	Chloe Lumb	Recurring
Neil Sykes	Nathan Green	Recurring
Jake Earnshaw	Matthew Priestley	Recurring
Dan Fairfax	Harry Lodge	Recurring
Kevin Wilson	Steve Jackson	Recurring
Iqbal Paracha	Narinder Samra	Recurring		Does not appear
Granny Paracha	Surinda Kaur	Recurring	Does not appear
	Razia Yousaf	Does not appear	Recurring
Mujahid Haider	Kammy Darweish	Does not appear	Recurring	Guest
Sadia Haider	Perveen Hussain	Does not appear	Recurring	Guest
Amina Mir	Amina Arslan	Does not appear	Recurring
Aneesa Sahota	Safiyah Mardiyah	Does not appear	Recurring
Farida Nawaz	Anu Hasan	Guest	Recurring
Maryam Qureshi	Kiran Landa	Guest	Does not appear
	Meryl Fernandes	Does not appear	Recurring	Does not appear
Reece Murgatroyd	Freddie Bolt	Does not appear	Recurring
Clint Northwood	James Senneck	Does not appear	Recurring
Sandra Turner	Vicky Entwistle	Does not appear	Recurring	Does not appear
Claire Butterworth	Kimberley Walsh	Does not appear	Recurring	Does not appear
Grandpa Murgatroyd	Steve Money	Does not appear	Recurring
Anwar Wazir	Antonio Aakeel	Does not appear		Recurring
Debbie Gartside	Vicky Myers	Does not appear		Recurring
Ken Weaver	George Potts	Does not appear		Recurring
Nadine Murgatroyd	Natalie Gavin	Does not appear		Recurring
Zaffar Iqbal	Shahid Ahmed	Does not appear		Recurring
Gaynor Evershed	Jessica Kaliisa	Does not appear		Recurring
Zain Younis Senior	Nish Nathwani	Does not appear		Recurring
Tim Collins	James Atherton	Does not appear		Recurring

1. Friar is credited as part of the main cast but only appears in 2 episodes.
2. White is credited as part of the main cast but only appears in 1 episode.

Main characters

• Missy Booth (Poppy Lee Friar) is the older sister of Hayley Booth, and the daughter of Simone Booth. Missy retook Year 11, due to previously dropping out of school. She was the best friend of Nasreen Paracha, and in the second series, she was in a relationship with Aaron Turner, Nasreen's half-brother. In series three, Missy and Nasreen were hit by a car. At first, both of them were suspected to be fine, but Missy later died in her sleep due to an internal bleed. (series 1–2; featured series 3)
• Nasreen Paracha (Amy-Leigh Hickman) is the older sister of Razia and Saleem Paracha, and the daughter of Kaneez and Iqbal Paracha. In series one, it was revealed that she is a lesbian. She kissed her teacher, Lila Shariff, while on a night out with Missy. After coming out to her mother, she engaged in a fake arranged marriage with Naveed Haider, who was also secretly gay until series two. Nasreen began a relationship with Sam Murgatroyd in series two. In series three, she takes her A Levels, and despite initially not qualifying to get into Oxford University, Kaneez persuades the education officers to allow her to study there. (series 1–3)
• Mandy Carter (Jo Joyner) is the wife of Steve Bell, and the headteacher of Ackley Bridge College. In series two, it was revealed that she's pregnant, and in series three she gave birth to a baby boy.
• Kaneez Paracha (Sunetra Sarker) is the mother of Nasreen, Razia and Saleem Paracha, and the separated wife of Iqbal Paracha. In series two, she begins a relationship with Rashid Hyatt. As well as a school cook, she becomes a student support officer in series three.
• Razia Paracha (Nazmeen Kausar Hussain) is the sister of Nasreen and Saleem Paracha, and the daughter of Kaneez and Iqbal Paracha. In series two, she bleached her skin in an attempt to look white. When her science teacher, Rashid Hyatt, sees her struggling in lessons, he makes her aware that she suffers from dyspraxia.
• Hayley Booth (Cody Ryan) is the younger sister of Missy Booth, and the daughter of Simone Booth. After the death of Julie Booth, her grandmother, she is taken into care. However, Missy managed to get her back, with the help of headteacher Mandy Carter. In series two, Hayley begins a relationship with Riz Nawaz.
• Saleem Paracha (Esa Ashraf; series 1 and Yaseen Khan; series 2–present) is the brother of Nasreen and Razia Paracha, and the son of Kaneez and Iqbal Paracha.
• Jordan Wilson (Samuel Bottomley) is the brother of Cory Wilson, and the son of Kevin Wilson. In series two, he was abused by his father, and later left Ackley Bridge College to attend art college. (series 1–2)
• Steve Bell (Paul Nicholls) is the husband of Mandy Carter and a former PE teacher at Ackley Bridge College. (series 1–2)
• Sadiq Nawaz (Adil Ray) is the father of Alya and Riz Nawaz, and the husband of Farida Nawaz. He was the former sponsor of Ackley Bridge College. In series three, it's revealed that he is also the father of student Kacey Gartside. (series 1–3)
• Emma Keane (Liz White) is the mother of Chloe Voyle and an English teacher at Ackley Bridge College. In series two, she began an affair with Samir Qureshi, who was later stabbed. (series 1–2; featured series 3)
• Will Simpson (Tom Varey) is a former PE teacher at Ackley Bridge College. He showed interest in Lila Shariff, until he discovered that she is a lesbian. He was then a love interest of Emma Keane. (series 1–2)
• Alya Nawaz (Maariah Hussain) is the sister of Riz Nawaz, and the daughter of Sadiq and Farida Nawaz. In series two, she posted photos of Cory Wilson at a food bank, which she got in trouble for. In series three, Alya gets an A* in all of her A Level exams and leaves for university. (series 1–3)
• Samir Qureshi (Arsher Ali) is the former head of pastoral care at Ackley Bridge College. In series two, Samir began an affair with Emma Keane, but was later murdered by Khadim Afzal in a stabbing incident. (series 1–2)
• Lorraine Bird (Lorraine Cheshire) is the school receptionist.
• Cory Wilson (Sam Retford) is the brother of Jordan Wilson, and the son of Kevin Wilson. After a one-night stand with Candice Murgatroyd, it's revealed that he is the father of her child. In series two, Cory kissed Naveed Haider, and went on to break Riz Nawaz's neck in a rugby match. Cory then had a one-night stand with Naveed, leading him to question his sexuality. In the third series, Cory enters an illegal relationship with temporary headteacher Sian Oakes; due to it disrupting his progress at school, he decides to retake the year. (series 1–3)
• Riz Nawaz (Nohail Mohammed) is the brother of Alya Nawaz, and the son of Sadiq and Ferida Nawaz. In series two, Riz got his neck broken by Cory Wilson during a rugby match. (series 1–3)
• Chloe Voyle (Fern Deacon) is the daughter of Emma Keane and Nik Voyle. Originally living in London, she moved to Ackley Bridge to live with Emma. When Chloe discovers Nasreen is a lesbian, she spreads it across the school.
• Lila Shariff (Anneika Rose) is a former science teacher at Ackley Bridge College. After kissing Nasreen, she decides to stop teaching at Ackley Bridge College. (series 1)
• Simone Booth (Samantha Power) is the daughter of Julie Booth, and the mother of Missy and Hayley Booth. In series three, she converts to Islam to help with her drink and drug addictions.
• Candice Murgatroyd (Emily Pyzer) is the cousin of Sam Murgatroyd. She has a son with Cory Wilson.
• Naveed Haider (Gurjeet Singh) is the son of Mujahid and Sadia Haider. He was introduced as the fake arranged husband of Nasreen, but later publicly came out as gay. In series two, Naveed kissed Cory Wilson and had a one-night stand with him. Naveed aspires to be a comedian, and in series three, he moves to Manchester to attend drama college. (series 2–3; guest series 1)
• Rashid Hyatt (Tony Jayawardena) is a science teacher at Ackley Bridge College. In series two, he begins a relationship with Kaneez Paracha. (series 2–present)
• Aaron Turner (Adam Fielding) is the son of Sandra Turner and Iqbal Paracha, and the half-brother of Nasreen, Razia and Saleem Paracha. In series two, he was in a relationship with Missy. (series 2)
• Javid Shah (Jay Saighal) is the former deputy headteacher at Ackley Bridge, brought on by Sadiq to rein Mandy in. He is later sacked for going behind Mandy and Sadiq's back to leak confidential information, in an effort to oust Mandy as the headteacher. (series 2)
• Sam Murgatroyd (Megan Parkinson) is the cousin of Candice Murgatroyd. Sam began a relationship with Nasreen in series two. In the third series, she is kicked out of her home, which leads to her staying at a youth centre. (series 2–3)
• Martin Evershed (Rob James-Collier) is the new deputy headteacher at Ackley Bridge College. On his first day, he clashes with Nadine Murgatroyd, who sets his car on fire. He becomes interim headteacher following Sian Oakes' suspension. (series 3)
• Sue Carp (Charlie Hardwick) is the director of pupil behaviour at Ackley Bridge College. (series 3)
• Pawel Nowicki (Szymon Kantor) is a transfer student from The Valley. (series 3)
• Rukhsana Ibrahim (Phoebe Tuffs-Berry) is a transfer student from The Valley, and the sister of Yusef Ibrahim. She befriends Kacey 'Spud' Gartside. (series 3)
• Younis Iqbal (Abdul Ahadbutt) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. (series 3)
• Kacey 'Spud' Gartside (Zara Salim) is a student at Ackley Bridge College, who becomes friends with Rukhsana Ibrahim. It is revealed that Kacey's father is Sadiq Nawaz. (series 3)
• Hassan Hussein (Hareet Deol) is a PE teacher at Ackley Bridge College who is reprimanded by Martin Evershed due to his questionable teaching methods. (series 3)
• Sian Oakes (Ty Glaser) is the temporary headteacher at Ackley Bridge College. She begins an illegal relationship with a student, Cory Wilson, and is suspended. (series 3)

Recurring characters

• Julie "Nana" Booth (Rita May) was the mother of Simone Booth, and the grandmother of Missy and Hayley Booth. She died in the first series, but later appeared in series three, welcoming Missy to the afterlife after her death. (series 1; guest series 3)
• Amin Abad (Hassan Mahmood) is the brother of Tahira Abad, and a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Tahira Abad (India Parsan) is the sister of Amin Abad, and a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Zain Younis (Zain Khan) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. His father, also named Zain Younis, is introduced in the third series.
• Amira Gill (Alisha Zaman) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. (series 1)
• Shireen Siddiqui (Kainatt Butt) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. (series 1)
• Mo Akhtar (Abdullah Shahid) is a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Waqar Abdelrahman (Arbaz Rashid) is a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Shannon Burns (Chloe Lumb) is a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Neil Sykes (Nathan Green) is a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Jake Earnshaw (Matthew Priestly) is a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Dan Fairfax (Harry Lodge) is a student at Ackley Bridge College.
• Kevin Wilson (Steve Jackson) is the father of Jordan and Cory Wilson. In series two, he abused Jordan. After getting cautioned for this, he went to the top of his house roof as a suicide attempt, but fell, resulting in him being taken to hospital.
• Iqbal Paracha (Narinder Samra) is the ex-husband of Kaneez, and the father of Nasreen, Razia and Saleem Paracha. In series two, it was revealed that he had a second family; Sandra Turner and her children; whom he had before he had met Kaneez. (series 1–2)
• Granny Paracha (Surinda Kaur; series 1 and Razia Yousaf series 2–present) is the mother of Kaneez, and the grandmother of Nasreen, Razia and Saleem Paracha. When Nasreen reveals that she's a lesbian in series two, Granny Paracha is unexpectedly accepting of it.
• Aneesa Sahota (Safiyah Mardiyah) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. (series 2–present)
• Maryam Qureshi (Kiran Landa; series 1 and Meryl Fernandes; series 2) is the wife of Samir Qureshi, who didn't know about the affair between Samir and Emma.
• Reece Murgatroyd (portrayed by Freddie Bolt) is the cousin of Sam Murgatroyd. In series three, he joins his relatives in attacking Anwar Wazir, following the death of Missy Booth.
• Clint Northwood (James Senneck) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. (series 2–present)
• Sandra Turner (Vicky Entwistle) is the first partner of Iqbal Paracha, and the mother of Aaron Turner. (series 2)
• Claire Butterworth (Kimberley Walsh) is the ex-partner of Steve Bell, with whom she shares a child. (series 2)
• Grandpa Murgatroyd (Steve Money) is the grandfather of Sam and Candice Murgatroyd. In series two, he is shown to be part of a far right movement against Muslims. (series 2–present)
• Anwar Wazir (Antonio Aakeel) is a resident of Ackley Bridge who runs Nasreen and Missy over when speeding. (series 3)
• Debbie Gartside (Vicky Myers) is the mother of Kacey 'Spud' Gartside. (series 3)
• Ken Weaver (George Potts) is a teacher from The Valley, who becomes Mandy's boss at Ackley Bridge College. (series 3)
• Nadine Murgatroyd (Natalie Gavin) is the mother of Sam Murgatroyd. In series three, she is released from prison. Upon being released, she clashes with Martin Evershed and later sets his car on fire. After Sam reports her post-prison crimes to the police, she is arrested again. (series 3)
• Zaffar Iqbal (Shahid Ahmed) is a student at Ackley Bridge College. (series 3)
• Gaynor Evershed (Jessica Kaliisa) is the wife of Martin Evershed. (series 3)
• Zain Younis Senior (Nish Nathwani) is the father of Zain Younis. (series 3)
• Tim Collins (James Atherton) is the husband of Sian Oakes. (series 3)

Guest characters

Introduced in series one

• Chris Abe as Police Officer
• Jamie Dorrington as Jack Murgatroyd
• Stuart Manning as Nik Voyle
• Sebastian Shaw as Adam Smith
• Noorul Choudhary as GP
• Wendy Patterson as Funeral Director
• Simon Lowe as Darren Critchall
• Jag Singhera as Karim
• Anastasia Ryan as Lady in Hebden Bridge
• Julian Kay as Gary Williams
• Alexandra D'Sa as Sita Kapoor
• Kate Baines as Solicitor
• Mark Chatterton as Judge
• Michael Forrest as Chair of Governors

Introduced in series two

• Halima Ali as Amy Turner
• Kelli Hollis as Loan Shark Linda
• Alec Hewes as Jazz Band Member #1
• James Brown as Jazz Band Member #2
• Jonathan Enser as Jazz Band Member #3
• Kriss Dosanjh as Moeen Qureshi
• Beth Hunter as Megan Redhead
• Julia Nelson as Brenda Webster
• Alex Dobson as Mel Normal
• Keicha Greenidge as Shalika Phillips
• Amita Suman as Sameera
• Lloyd Lai as Martin Rose
• Christine Brennan as Dr Olivia Allen
• Tigga Goulding as Wendy Jefferson
• James Midgley as Darren Haddock
• Madison Brown as Ashley Currier
• Maya Soraya as Meesha Peerzada
• Anthony Lewis as Tony Potts
• Huni Jalaf as Imam Fazal Hameed
• Tahreen Iqbal as Mrs Younis
• Andonis Anthony as Simon Zindillis
• Judy Flynn as Barbara Hammer
• Alexis Platt as Danny Critchall
• Melanie Ash as Sarah Mather
• Rick Carr as Ian Orem
• Dee Hamilton as Sonographer
• Menyee Lai as Irene Girvan

Introduced in series three

• Declan O'Connor as Pete Day
• Kammy Darweish as Mujahid Haider
• James Schofield as Thomas Padgett
• Emily Coates as Lucy Pellow
• Sophie Young as Maris Cooper
• Annie Cowan as Dr Marielle Conway
• Martin Wenner as Dr Harry Brown
• Fahriya Ali as Farah Iqbal
• Parsa Ahmed as Sakina Iqbal
• Jake Hayward as Kyan Murgatroyd
• Sebastian Shaw as Adam Smith
• Ahmad Sakhi as Mani Busra
• Faraz Ayub as Umar Masood
• Jeff Mirza as Akram Hussein
• Anu Hasan as Farida Nawaz
• Moey Hassan as Karim Abad
• Alfie Wilson as Charlie Evershed
• Sukai Morton as Isla Evershed
• Christine Barton-Brown as Janet Crabbe
• Jordan Jessup as Police Officer
• Vanessa Pound as Gemma Hunt
• Bikram Gurmit as Bimilinder Singh
• Luke Bayer as Matthew Barnes
• Buckso Dhillon-Woolley as Tasnim Ibrahim
• Jumana Patel as Hanifa Ibrahim
• Anisha Azam as Safiyah Ibrahim
• Arian Nik as Yusef Ibrahim
• Wass Javed as Adeel Ibrahim
• Hayley Mason as Mrs. Wright
• Charlotte Sowerby as Dirty Donna
• Dean Colebourne as PC Sexy Bod
• Steve Garth as Gordon Carp
• Rory Gallagher as Custody Sergeant

References

1. Ankers, Wayne (7 June 2017). "Where is new TV drama Ackley Bridge set?". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.