Everything I Know About Love Cast – Here's Where You've Seen Them Before

The BBC's adaptation of Dolly Alderton's book stars Bel Powley, Emma Appleton, Aliyah Odoffin and Marli Siu, as well as some more familiar faces.
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The main cast of Everything I Know About Love
Laura Bailey / BBC / Working TItle / Laura Bailey

Written by best-selling author Dolly Alderton, the BBC adaptation of Everything I Know About Love is a wild tale about friendship and surviving your 20s, and is currently going down a storm with viewers. 

Emma Appleton, Bel Powley Aliyah Odoffin and Marli Siu lead the cast of the semi-autobiographical drama, along with some more familiar faces.

Among them are actors from shows including EastEnders, Emmerdale and Line Of Duty, as well as a certain Strictly Come Dancing winner. 

So if you’ve been wondering where you’ve seen them all before, allow us to help with that...

Emma Appleton (Maggie)

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Emma Appleton in Everything I Know About Love and in The Witcher
BBC/Netflix

Emma takes the lead as Maggie, who is based on writer Dolly Alderton. 

Prior to Everything I Know About Love, Emma starred in Channel 4’s 2019 drama Traitors and appeared alongside Henry Cavill in the Netflix fantasy drama series The Witcher, where she played Princess Renfri in two episodes. 

She has also made appearances in Sky One sci-fi series Intergalactic, Channel 4’s The End Of The F***ing World, BBC Three’s Clique, US miniseries Pistol and ITV’s Grantchester.

Bel Powley (Birdy)

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Bel Powley in Everything I Know About Love and in The Morning Show
BBC/AppleTV+

Bel got her big break starring in CBBC drama M.I. High back in 2007, before landing the lead role in 2015 film The Diary Of A Teenage Girl. 

She appeared alongside Jennifer Aniston and Resse Witherspoon in both series of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, where she played Claire. 

Bel, who is engaged to fellow British actor Douglas Booth, also starred in 2018 BBC drama Informer and appeared in the sixth series of sitcom Benidorm as Bianca. 

Marli Siu (Nell) 

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Marli Siu in Everything I Know About Love and in Alex Rider
BBC/Amazon Prime

Marli was most recently seen in the Amazon Prime series Alex Rider, where she played Kyra, a student from Point Blanc. 

She starred in CBBC web series Dixi, where she played Echo, while her other TV credits include guest roles in Netflix’s The Irregulars and the 2019 film Our Ladies. 

Marli is also known for her stage work, and from 2019 to 2020, she appeared in The Ocean At The End Of The Lane at the Royal National Theatre. 

Aliyah Odoffin (Amara)

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Aliyah Odoffin in Everything I Know About Love
BBC / Working TItle / Laura Bailey

The part of Amara is Aliyah’s first big TV role after graduating from RADA in 2021, where she starred in a number of productions while training. 

She has also appeared in two short films, Hamlet NW5 and Better Get Better. 

Connor Finch (Street) 

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Connor Finch in Everything I Know About Love
Matt Squire / BBC / Working Title / Universal International Studios Limited

Like Aliyah, Everything I Know About Love also marks Connor’s first major TV role, although he previously popped up in an episode of ITV’s Darling Buds Of May remake The Larkins, where he played a character called Kenny. 

He will also have a guest role in the upcoming second series of BritBox series Professor T, which stars Ben Miller. 

Ryan Bown (Nathan) 

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Ryan Bown in Everything I Know About Love
Matt Squire / BBC / Working Title / Universal International Studios Limited

Much like his co-stars Aliyah and Connor, Everything I Know About Love is Ryan’s breakthrough role, although he had previous guest appearances in an episode of Home & Away in 2018, and in BritBox drama Lambs Of God the following year. 

Jordan Peters (Neil)

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Jordan Peters in Everything I Know About Love
BBC / Working Title / Universal International Studios Limited

Prior to his role in the show, Jordan had popped up in an episode of Call The Midwife in 2018 and had a guest role in Sky’s Gangs Of London in 2020. 

He is also set to appear in forthcoming US series Flowers In The Attic: The Origin. 

Jill Halfpenny (Rosin) 

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Jill Halfpenny in Everything I Know About Love and in EastEnders
BBC

Jill – who plays the producer of the fictionalised Made In Chelsea Heirs And Graces in Everything I Know About Love – is likely one of the more familiar names among the cast thanks to her numerous soap roles. 

She played Rebecca Hopkins in Coronation Street from 1999 to 2000 before going on to play Phil Mitchell’s police officer wife Kate in EastEnders for three years from 2002, later starring in Waterloo Road as teacher Izzie Redpath. 

The actor has also starred in Kay Mellor drama In The Club, ITV’s Liar and Channel 5’s The Holiday, with other credits including Three Girls, Mount Pleasant and Humans.

Jill is also known for winning the second series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, and works in the theatre, as well as doing voiceover work.  

Craig Parkinson (James)

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Craig Parkinson in Everything I Know About Love and in Line Of Duty
BBC

Fans of Line Of Duty will recognise Craig immediately as corrupt AC-12 officer DI Matthew “Dot” Cottan, who appeared in the first three seasons of the hit BBC cop drama. 

Craig, who plays Maggie’s landlord in Everything I Know About Love, now hosts the official BBC Line Of Duty podcast, and has popped up in ITV’s Grace and in Doctor Who as The Grand Serpent. 

His other credits include Sky’s Intergalactic, GOLD sitcom Sandylands, E4’s Misfits and Channel 4’s Indian Summers. 

Sophie Thompson (Liz) 

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Sophie Thompson in Everything I Know About Love and in EastEnders
BBC

You’ll likely know Sophie, who plays Maggie’s mum Liz, from her role as Lydia in the 1994 classic Four Weddings And A Funeral, or perhaps her stint as the evil Stella Crawford in EastEnders, which she appeared in from 2006 to 2007. 

Sophie – the sister of fellow actor Emma Thompson – has had numerous other credits on the big screen, including 1996’s Emma, 2001’s Gosford Park and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. 

On TV, she has also appeared in the likes of Ghosts, Feel Good and Sex Education, and won the 2014 series of Celebrity Masterchef. 

In addition to this, Sophie is known for her theatre work, and won the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Into The Woods. 

Nicholas Farrell (Graham) 

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Nicholas Farrell in Everything I Know About Love and in Mansfield Park
BBC

Nicholas, who plays Maggie’s dad, has a screen career dating back to the early 80s, with his TV credits including the BBC’s 1983 adaptation of Jane Austin’s Mansfield Park, in which he played Edmund Bertram.

His other on-screen credits include Torchwood, Collision, Lovejoy, Foyle’s War, Absolute Power, Spooks, Midsomer Murders, Drop The Dead Donkey, Call The Midwife, Casualty and White House Farm. 

On the big screen, he played Aubrey Montague in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire and Margaret Thatcher’s advisor Airey Neave in 2011’s The Iron Lady.

Alexander Lincoln (Rege) 

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Alexander Lincoln in Everything I Know About Love and in Emmerdale
BBC/ITV

Alexander pops up as a waiter who goes on to hook up with Amara, and fans of Emmerdale will no doubt recognise him from his time on the soap. 

He played Jamie Tate – the son of the village’s biggest villain Kim – for two years until his departure in November.

Everything I Know About Love airs Tuesdays at 10.45pm on BBC One, with all episodes available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.