Meet the Cast of Screw: The New Prison Drama to Hit Our Screens

Nina Sosanya has extensive experience as a television, stage, and film actor. Currently best known to television audiences for her role as Jess in Killing Eve, Elaine Parry in His Dark Materials, and Mustafa Mond in Brave New World, Sosanya plays C Wing supervising officer Leigh Henry, in charge of the rest of the officers guarding the inmates. In love with her job, Leigh finds that her charges have very different takes on how prison should be run, and how to deal with prisoners, and ultimately doesn't trust anybody to do the job as well as she can.

Jamie-Lee O'Donnell exploded onto our screens as the riotous Michelle in the hit comedy with the biggest heart, Derry Girls. Taking a big step away from Derry for this new challenge, O'Donnell's character, Rose, is a 21-year-old new recruit, who irritates an already-stressed out Leigh with her overly enthusiastic approach to her new role and their apparent clash of personalities. O'Donnell told Channel 4 in an interview that one of the biggest struggles for her was perfecting a Northern accent for the role.

Laura Checkley is predominantly known for her work as a comedian and forms one half of the comedy duo Checkley & Bush along with fellow comedian Victoria Bush. She has previously appeared on our screens as Louise in BBC 4's Detectorists and as Terri in BBC One comedy King Gary. Checkley plays the role of Jackie in Screws, describing the character as a no-nonsense officer who also doesn't take life too seriously. She's a mum of five and takes on a motherly role in the prison, while also believing in boundaries and discipline.

Stephen Wight's character Gary is a failed police officer and wannabe-alpha within the prison guards. He views all inmates as beneath him, allowing no exceptions for slip-ups. Gary sees himself as superior to inmates, often inciting trouble with them for fun. Although married with with a young family, he is described as having a wandering eye and often talks and acts out of line. Prior to Wight's appearance in Screws, he is an award-nominated theatre actor and has appeared in Sherlock and I May Destroy You.

Faraz Ayub's character Ali is described as wanting to see the good in everyone and everything and is naive about life and the prisoners. Ali acts as a catalyst for humanity in the prison, hoping to make a difference in the lives of the people he's surrounded by. Previous television credits for Ayub include DC Deepak Kapoor in Line of Duty, as well as roles in Bodyguard and Ackley Bridge.

Radio, film, and television actor Ron Donachie has an extensive career spanning 40 years, most recently known to fans for his appearance in Waterloo Road and playing the role of Ser Rodrik Cassel in Game of Thrones. Don's character in Screws is said to be "lazy and miserable" and the idea of a stereotypical prison officer that the public will have an image of. A bit of a drifter, he spent some unsuccessful time in the forces, leaving to become a security guard, before falling into prison work. Unintentionally funny and constantly avoiding any physical work, Don is on a count down to his retirement, offering a stream of excuses for not showing up when anything kicks off in the prison.