In the UK, NHS ADHD lists have soared to an estimated 700,000 people.

That includes more and more adults, though experts are pretty confident there is no so-called ADHD “overdiagnosis” problem in the UK. In fact, ADHD UK expects there are about two million undiagnosed cases in the UK.

Per experts from Berkeley Psychiatrists, that’s partly because signs of ADHD often go missed or misdiagnosed in adults, “especially women”.

They added, “In practice, many women are labelled as anxious, overwhelmed or disorganised, rather than their experiences being recognised as ADHD. There’s also pressure to appear organised and in control, so people develop ways of coping that can mask the condition”.

Whatever your gender, they shared some possible ADHD-related patterns that can go under the radar, “particularly when symptoms don’t match traditional expectations”:

This can look like “high-achievers relying on rigid systems or overworking,” the experts said.

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, consultant psychiatrist Dr Stefan Ivantu of the ADHD specialist said: “signs of ADHD are frequently misinterpreted as burnout in undiagnosed adults… The exhaustion often comes from the immense effort required to fit in and function in a neurotypical environment, [like] the average workplace.”

Not all hyperactivity involves physical fidgeting, the experts said. It can include an “overactive mind rather than physical restlessness”.

Some forms of ADHD don’t have hyperactivity as a symptom at all.

ADHD can sometimes be mistaken for other conditions, like depression or anxiety.

“One of the main issues we see is over-reliance on symptom checklists,” the psychiatrists said. “ADHD can’t be diagnosed from a questionnaire alone; many traits overlap with anxiety, trauma or burnout.”

Meanwhile, sometimes ADHD really does occur alongside other conditions. For instance, autistic people are more likely than those without autism to have ADHD. When the two co-occur, it’s called AuDHD.

And, the psychiatrists told us, “Difficulties like inattention or restlessness can stem from anxiety, depression or environmental stress, not just ADHD.”

That might mean that an existing condition leads to ADHD going undiagnosed.

We’ve written before about how menopausal women are increasingly being diagnosed with ADHD, in part because symptoms they’d been able to mask for years seem to come to the surface during the life stage.

“We often see ADHD become more noticeable during periods of hormonal change, when coping strategies are no longer as effective. For many women, this is when they seek support or receive a diagnosis for the first time,” the experts said.

The psychiatrists said that you need to see an expert to get a diagnosis.

“There’s been a clear rise in awareness, which is positive,” the clinicians said. “But some online narratives oversimplify what a complex condition is.

“A thorough assessment looks at the full picture. That includes developmental history, current functioning, and whether there may be other factors contributing to those experiences. Without that level of depth, there’s a risk of both missing ADHD where it is present and identifying it where it isn’t.”

For many of us, there is no greater comfort than rewatching our favourite shows – to the point that those familiar characters can begin to feel like close friends.

Because of this, it can be near impossible to imagine anyone else but the line-up of actors we know and love appearing in these series.

However, what you might not know, no matter how many times you have binge-watched them, is that some of the most popular shows in TV history almost had a very different cast.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 17 hit shows that almost had completely different A-list stars in their casts…

It sometimes felt like every actor in the world was in Game Of Thrones, but there are a few famous faces who didn’t make the cut, after auditioning for roles in the fantasy drama.

In 2021, Elizabeth Olsen told The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast that she auditioned for the part of Daenerys in Game Of Thrones, but didn’t get a callback for the role which made Emilia Clarke a global household name.

“I auditioned for, like, the assistant to the casting director in a small room in New York with just a camera on me and them reading the script,” she claimed. “I was doing the Khaleesi speech when she comes out of the fire. It was awful.”

Another A-lister who claims they “blew” their Game Of Thrones was Mahershala Ali. The two-time Oscar winner auditioned for the part of Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a merchant in Qarth, during season two, telling Jimmy Kimmel that it was the “worst audition of his life”.

Outlander star Sam Heughan, meanwhile, had multiple chances to appear on Game Of Thrones, auditioning to play Loras Tyrell, Renly Baratheon and several members of the Night’s Watch, but never landing any of them.

“I’d always get so close! I’d be like, ‘Guys, just give me a sword!’,” he told Vulture in 2014, lamenting: “Everyone was going in for those parts.”

Lastly, Millie Bobby Brown’s failure to land the role of Lyanna Mormont in the fantasy drama almost led her to quitting acting before her career had even taken off.

“I was auditioning for commercials, anything really,” the British star told Jimmy Kimmel in 2020. “I then auditioned for Game Of Thrones and I got a no for that. That’s kind of when I was like, ‘Oh, this is really difficult’.”

The role of Lyanna eventually went to Bella Ramsey, who now stars in The Last Of Us (and will next be seen in the upcoming season of The Celebrity Traitors).

Despite being one of the biggest shows of the 21st century, a long list of other actors also turned down roles in Game Of Thrones.

Hunger Games actor Sam Claflin dropped out of the audition process for Jon Snow after being offered a major movie role.

Despite the show’s success, he doesn’t regret this decision, telling Cinema Blend: “I like getting into things like that [as a viewer] and not being a part, because I always find it’s very jarring if I was part of it. But I’m a big fan.”

Gillian Anderson also rejected an unspecified role in the show, telling the Daily Mail back in 2013: “If I am going to be spending that amount of time working on something, I would rather be working with a director like Martin Scorsese.”

Succession actor Brian Cox turned down the role of Robert Baratheon, complaining in 2016 to Vodzilla that the show wouldn’t pay him enough, a complaint he later regretted.

“Now they have more money,” he continued. “And I was silly. I was silly, it was silly, because I’m a complete addict now.”

In his memoir, Putting The Rabbit In The Hat, Brian wrote: “There’s always been a tendency of American productions to treat British actors differently from American actors,” he said. “In other words, to get them cheap.”

The Crown star Dominic West was another big name who rejected a role in the fantasy show, admitting he was put off by the prospect of spending six months shooting in Iceland.

Many fans believe the actor was referring to the role of Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, which eventually went to Ciarán Hinds.

“It was a lovely part, a good part. I’m going to regret it,” he told HuffPost in 2012. “My problem is, I’ve got four kids, and at the moment, I’m reluctant to be away from home for a long time.”

Lily Allen quite rightly turned down the role of playing Yara Greyjoy, alongside her real-life brother Alfie Allen, who starred as Theon Greyjoy.

“They asked me if I’d be interested in playing Theon’s sister,” Lily claimed during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session.

“I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and shit. Once they told me what was entailed, I said, ‘no thanks’.”

Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz has revealed that a then-16-year-old Jennifer Lawrence auditioned to play Serena van der Woodsen, the role which launched Blake Lively to fame.

“We did not realise this at the time, but Jennifer really wanted to play Serena and auditioned,” he told Vulture in 2018.

“This story came to us secondhand – but we were told she definitely auditioned and was bummed to not get it.”

Lily Collins auditioned for the show, too, with the hopes of playing Taylor Momsen’s character, Jenny.

She recalled to Glamour: “I was about 17 or 18 years old at the time. I remember driving onto the lot and going, ‘Oh my God. This is surreal’,

“It was one of those OMG moments,” she laughed. “Whether or not I got it, I knew I could say I screen tested on the lot and one day I want to work at one of these [studios],” the Emily In Paris actor added.

Gossip Girl casting director David Rapaport also told E! that the pilot starred Jessica Jones actor Krysten Ritter and Pitch Perfect star Brittany Snow, and that Dakota Johnson, Rooney Mara and Nina Dobrev all auditioned for the teen drama.

Although Kristen Bell was the top pick to voice Gossip Girl, both Christina Ricci and Selma Blair were “in the mix” as possible candidates, according to the executive producer.

Katie Holmes, James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson changed the TV landscape forever with their coming-of-age TV drama Dawson’s Creek – but they weren’t the original casting choices.

Creator Kevin Williamson told Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that Selma Blair was his first choice for Joey Potter, before seeing Katie Holmes’ audition.

“I really loved Selma until, of course, I got the infamous videotape from the basement of the Holmes family in Toledo, Ohio,” Kevin said.

“And when that video showed up, it changed my whole life.”

Grey’s Anatomy actor Katherine Heigl also nearly starred in the iconic 90s teen drama, auditioning for the role of Joey Potter, which ultimately went to Michelle Williams.

“She looked slightly older at that time. Even though she was younger, I just think she was more mature,” Kevin explained in the same interview. “She gave a great audition, I remember we were all sort of like, ‘Wow, she’s good.’”

Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Fergurson, Charlie Hunnam and Adam Brody also all auditioned for the show.

It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Phoebe, Joey, Rachel, Ross, Chandler and Monica in Friends, but the road to those stars being cast was an especially arduous one.

During a 2015 interview with HuffPost, Friends casting director Ellie Kanner opened up about the difficulties of casting an ensemble of six.

MCU actor and director Jon Favreau was one of the many in the running to play Chandler, but turned it down to concentrate on his own career writing and directing.

Two And A Half Men star Jon Cryer also auditioned for Chandler, but his tape never even made it to the show’s creators, getting lost in transit.

Meanwhile, Tea Leoni was the first choice to play Rachel Green, but turned it down to star in another sitcom, The Naked Truth, which aired for three seasons.

30 Rock icon Jane Krakowski also auditioned for the role that eventually became a star-making turn for Jennifer Aniston.

“I, like almost every actor, auditioned for Friends,” the Broadway star told Giuliana Rancic at the 2015 Emmys. “I wish I had gotten that one… I didn’t go very far [in the audition process].”

Before landing her big break on The King of Queens, Leah Remini made it through several rounds of auditions to play Monica.

“I was devastated that I didn’t get it. We all knew it would be a huge hit. We just knew it,” Leah told MediaVillage.

Sex And The City’s own Kristin Davis also told James Corden in 2021 that she was was ”one of like 8,000 young ladies who read for Monica”, but didn’t get the part.

One of the many actors to audition for the role of Joey Tribbiani was Vince Vaughn, as did The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria, who eventually became known to Friends fans as Phoebe’s boyfriend David.

“I auditioned for Joey, and didn’t get it, and I was like, ‘No, no, I have to go back, I have to try again’,” Hank said during an appearance on The Late, Late Show.

“So, I bulled my way back in for a second time and they were very kind and watched my audition, and then threw me out. Spoiler alert, I didn’t get the role of Joey.”

In the early stages of the casting process, The White Lotus actor Connie Britton was the first choice by play political fixer Olivia Pope in Scandal, until the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes stepped in.

She felt it was important that the role should go to a Black actor, with Kerry Washington eventually landing the part.

Taraji P. Henson has revealed she auditioned to play the character, even though she knew already that Kerry was a better fit for the part.

“When I went in to read for Shonda Rhimes, in my mind I was like, ‘this is Kerry Washington. Why am I even in here?’,” she told Power 105.1′s Angie Martinez.

Bring It On star Gabrielle Union has claimed she was in the final running to play Olivia Pope before Kerry was cast.

“I was one of the last five or 10 to audition,” she said in a 2013 interview with Rolling Out. “When Kerry got it, I congratulated her. Now after each episode, I’m leading the charge, like Gladiators, stand up! I’m obsessed with the show.”

In March 2026, Nicola was asked during a radio interview if there were any “near-miss” roles in her past, befre admitting to having tried out for Netflix’s hit 80s-set series.

“It would be generous to myself to say I narrowly missed out on it,” she claimed. “But I did a first-round audition for Stranger Things.”

Fortunately, the Irish actor is not too bitter she didn’t land the role.

“You know when you watch a show and you go, ‘oh well, thank God I didn’t get that, because I would have been way worse!’,” she joked.

“I don’t think I was anywhere close to being in Stranger Things, but I did audition,” she added.

True Blood creator Alan Ball revealed that Benedict Cumberbatch auditioned to play the lead vampire role of Bill Compton in True Blood.

Speaking in 2018, for the show’s 10th anniversary, Alan also shared that Jessica Chastain read for the part of Sookie.

The characters were eventually portrayed on screen by Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin, who married in real life after appearing on the supernatural show.

Alan also told The Hollywood Reporter: “Jennifer Lawrence read for, in season three, there’s this werepanther girl, and she was great”.

However, it was decided that Jen would be an inappropriate casting choice to play Jason’s girlfriend, given she was only 17 at the time.

In her recent memoir Famesick, Lena Dunham opened up about some of the A-list stars who tried out for roles in Girls, before the show’s central quartet were all cast.

The Emmy winner explained that Wandavision’s Elizabeth Olsen, Fifty Shades Of Grey’s Dakota Johnson, Black Mirror’s Cristin Milioti and comedian Amy Schumer tried out “several times” for her US comedy.

Lena previously wrote in her newsletter that Amy had auditioned for the role of Shoshanna, but “it was clear Amy wasn’t meant to play an innocent Juicy Couture lover obsessed with emoji – even if her Meatpacking District club lingo was the funniest shit I had ever heard”.

“When she left the room, the vibe was very ‘Someone give that lady a show, STAT!’” Lena added.

Jenny Slate who played Hannah’s high school nemesis Tally Schifrin in the series, was originally up for the role of uptight Marnie, a role Allison Williams was cast in.

“At the time the show Girls was being cast, and I went in a bunch of times for the role of Marnie,” she said on the Las Culturistas podcast.

It wasn’t just Game Of Thrones that Gillian Anderson turned down – she also rejected the role of Lady Cora in Downton Abbey.

Back in 2012, she told TV Guide that she hoped her work in the TV adaptation of Great Expectations would be embraced “with the same love that flowed toward Downton Abbey”.

“I was actually offered a part in Downton,” she then added, referring to the role which would eventually be taken on my Elizabeth McGovern.

When the short-lived Friends spin-off Joey was cancelled, Matt LeBlanc had the opportunity to return to the sitcom world in another show that became a smash hit.

Speaking to USA Today, Matt explained that the script for Modern Family wound up on his desk, with an offer to play the role of the dorky patriarch Phil Dunphy.

“I remember reading it thinking, ‘this is a really good script, [but] I’m not the guy for this’,” he said. “I’d be doing the project an injustice to take this.”

The role, of course, went to Ty Burrell, who it’s hard to argue is perfect for the part.

Judy Greer also revealed she was asked to audition for Phil’s wife, Claire, but didn’t want to play a character with children.

“I was really torn about it, but I ended up obviously not,” the told the Dinner’s On Me podcast, hosted by Modern Family’s own Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

“Who knows if I would have even gotten it anyway? I was just like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be America’s mom yet’.”

Before Bryan Cranston was cast as Walter White, the creators of the show had John Cusack and Mathew Broderick on their initial lists to play the science teacher turned drug kingpin.

The US broadcaster AMC and the show’s creator Vince Gilligan have both claimed these actors were sent scripts, although John Cusack insisted on social media in 2013 that he would never have turned down the role of Walter, branding the suggestion “crazy”.

It looks like every young woman in 90s Hollywood was being eyed to play the lead role in Buffy The Vampire Slayer before Sarah Michele Gellar landed the gig.

Before being cast in her breakout role on Dawson’s Creek, Katie Holmes was offered the part of Buffy Summers in the iconic supernatural drama, but she decided to finish high school instead.

Selma Blair – who we know now almost appeared in Dawson’s Creek herself – revealed on Instagram in 2018 that she had also auditioned to play the vampire slayer but “didn’t even come close”.

Natasha Lyonne has claimed she was sent scripts for both Buffy and Dawson’s Creek after her performance in Everyone Says I Love You, but “did not want to be committed when I was 16 years old” to a demanding TV schedule.

It wasn’t just Buffy who actors were lining up to play, either.

Yellowjackets actor Melanie Lynskey told Shut Up Evan that she was in the running to star as Willow, a role ultimately played by Alyson Hannigan.

Years before he was an A-lister and football club owner, Ryan Reynolds turned down playing Xanders, a role made famous by the late Nicholas Brendon.

“My biggest concern was that I didn’t want to play a guy in high school,” Ryan explained to the Toronto Star in 2008.

“I had just come out of high school, and it was fucking awful.”

Beetlejuice actor Michael Keaton was originally set to play Jack Shepherd on Lost but, rather unusually, didn’t like the fact that the character would live for so long.

You see, Jack was originally going to be killed off in the first episode as a way to subvert audience’s expectations, something that attracted the Birdman star to the project.

“I think what happened was – and I’ve never really talked to [Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams] about this – he thought better of [the twist of Jack dying in the pilot],” he explained during a 2017 appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “Or the studio said ’That ain’t gonna happen’.

“And then there was kind of a half a conversation, like, ‘Well, do you have any more interest?’…”

You can probably guess that he didn’t, which is Matthew Fox came to play the character in all six seasons of Lost.

Several A-listers almost starred in Grey’s Anatomy before the long-running medical drama landed on our screens, most notably Rob Lowe, who passed on playing Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.

Rob stands by saying no to that iconic role, telling E! about he silver linings of his choice.

“Me in that part isn’t as interesting as Patrick in that part,” he insisted. “If it’d been me, they wouldn’t have called me ‘McDreamy,’ they would have called me Rob Lowe’.”

“Had I done Grey’s, I wouldn’t have been in Parks and Recreation. That alone for me is enough,” he added.

Joshua Jackson was also almost Owen Hunt on Grey’s before Kevin McKidd was brought in.

The Dawson’s Creek actor originally said yes to the role until the 2008 Writer’s Strike led to disruption, and Joshua chose to instead appear in Fringe.

Chris Pine almost played Ryan Atwood in The O.C. but lost the role to Ben McKenzie.

Appearing on an episode of Josh Horowitz’s podcast Happy Sad Confused, Chris claimed: “I had awful skin as a teenager and then when I came after college, my skin started breaking out again.”

In TV critic Alan Sepinwall’s 2023 book Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History, casting director Patrick Rush confirmed that while Chris was “really good” in his audition, he “was at the age where he was experiencing really bad skin problems”, which put him out of the running.

Patrick wrote: “It was at that point where it looked insurmountable. And as a kid who grew up with horrible skin, it just broke my heart. But Chris Pine’s fine now.”

Hugh Grant was actually one of producers’ top choices to replace Charlie Sheen on Two And A Half Men in 2011.

Years later, the English actor revealed that he had been offered a “stratospheric” amount of money to join the sitcom, but had reservations when he met with the creative team.

“They didn’t have a script or a new character,” Hugh told Howard Stern in 2016. “They just said, ‘Trust us, we’ll create one’.”

“I said, ‘well, you’re obviously brilliantly talented because I like that show’ and they make brilliant TV shows, but I said I’m I’m too scared to sign up without a script,” he claimed.

Ashton Kutcher would eventually take on a role within Two And A Half Men, which ran for four further seasons after Charlie’s infamous exit.

Sarah Jessica Parker is perfect as Carrie, but lots of other actors had the opportunity to walk in her Manolos.

Riverdale’s Mädchen Amick was reportedly to have first been offered the role by the show’s creator, Darren Star.

In that version, the show would have been a spin-off vehicle for Carrie Fairchild, the character she played in Central Park West. However, Mädchen is said to have turned down the role to prioritise her family.

Desperate Housewives actor Dana Delany was also offered the role of Carrie, but apparently passed because she felt she was too closely associated with sex-related shows after appearing in Nude Girls and Exit To Eden.

House actor Lisa Edelstein also auditioned for Carrie and was even considered an alternate for if Sarah Jessica left the project.

Lisa told Access Hollywood: “I was either going to do it or not. It all depended on whether she said yes. My contract was complete. I was waiting.”

Kristin Davis also originally auditioned to play Carrie before being cast as uptight Charlotte York.

Meanwhile, Pose star Sandra Bernhard once told Howard Stern that she was asked if she was interested in playing Miranda Hobbes, but passed on it because she didn’t rate the original script, which she branded “terrible”.

Chris Noth wasn’t the first person considered to play Mr Big, either. In fact, Darren Star once revealed that Alec Baldwin was his first thought for the role, until he met Chris in person “and thought he was perfect”.

Darren Star has also revealed that the role of Aidan Shaw nearly went to Aidan Quinn rather than John Corbett, but the star they wanted was unavailable.

“We kept ‘Aidan’ because we loved the name,” he noted.

Earlier this week, the Pussycat Dolls cancelled almost every date on the US leg of their PCD Forever tour.

In a group statement posted on Instagram, they explained: “After taking an honest look at the North American run, we’ve made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to cancel all but one of the North America dates”.

This came after Meghan Trainor ditched her entire tour, citing “welcoming our new baby girl to our growing family of five” as her reason.

Meanwhile, Post Malone, who just canned six shows in his Big Ass Stadium Tour, said he did so to focus on his new album.

It all paints a pretty tough time for concert-goers. And some fans suspect that for certain artists, the real reason behind abandoned tour dates is what The Times has dubbed “blue dot fever”.

The trend’s name refers to the blue dots that represent unsold tickets on popular vendor Ticketmaster’s site.

Basically, it means not enough people are buying tickets to these concerts, making stars’ tours financially unviable.

And as Zara Larsson recently pointed out, touring is no cheap feat.

Even very successful performers regularly lose money on the road and have to find ways to fund the shows outside of direct ticket sales.

The Times has noted that on Post Malone’s opening tour night, the site saw “blue dots populate all sections of the venue”.

Fans alleged that many seats on Meghan Trainor’s tour were unsold before she cancelled, while the Pussycat Dolls’ “heartbreaking decision” has also been linked to lower sales.

Exactly. Fortune said that might be part of the problem.

The publication said that the average ticket price has shot up in the last year in the US (where many stars have cancelled the most shows), from $115 (£84) last year to $144 (£106) in 2026. It was $82 (£60) in 2020.

That applies on this side of the Atlantic, too: data showed that between 1996 and 2025, the average UK concert ticket price increased 521%.

People simply might not be willing or able to pay. And if you think the inflated ticket costs might cover that shortfall, music data platform AndR claimed: “From a $100 [£73]ticket, the artist keeps an average of $8.16 [£6], [which is] less than the ticketing fees”.

Additionally, rising fuel prices following the Iran conflict mean that tours, which rely on planes, trains and automobiles to get artists from place to place, are seeing their already razor-thin margins shrink.

Iin America, musicians are battling for people’s wages against such stiff competition as 2026′s Fifa World Cup, tickets for which have been described as “extortionate”.

My two-year-old is definitely more of a daredevil than my eldest child ever was – she’s the stereotypical “second child” who would happily try and abseil down her high chair, or attempt to dive headfirst out of her cot.

At the park, she’ll run too close to the swings – we’ve had a few close calls where I’ve grabbed her last minute before she’s been wiped out by one.

She’ll go full-pelt on a scooter, trip over her own feet in the middle of a road or attempt to leg it away from me while brushing her teeth (cue the fear she’s going to trip and do some serious damage with her toothbrush).

She is incredibly curious, energetic, and a tad accident prone. On any given day I find myself telling her to “be careful” more times than I’d like to admit.

But experts caution against overuse of the phrase, which is vague (be careful of what exactly?) and can begin to lose all meaning or even instil fear and worry in kids.

“Toddlers are not yet able to interpret vague instructions, so when a parent says ‘be careful’, they are not extracting a clear rule or action,” senior educational and child psychologist, Dr Sasha Hall, tells me. “What they tend to pick up instead is the emotional message behind it.

“In simple terms, a toddler hears that something is not safe or that something is wrong, but they do not know what that is or what to do differently. Because the phrase is used across many different situations – climbing, running, carrying objects – they cannot link it to a specific cause and effect.”

The issue here, the expert says, is that rather than learning a usable safety rule, “they are left with a general sense that something might be risky, without the clarity needed to adjust their behaviour”.

Over time, using the phrase “be careful” too much, particularly when it becomes a frequent background message during play and exploration, can also instil fear.

“If a child repeatedly hears that something is wrong, without being shown what the risk is or how to manage it, the environment can start to feel unpredictable,” explains Dr Hall.

“For some children, this can lead to increased caution or reduced confidence.”

Meanwhile, for others, the opposite happens, and the phrase might begin to lose its meaning altogether.

And as children get older and enter their preschool years, repeated use of “be careful” can also lead to frustration or disengagement.

“The child may begin to ignore it or resist it, especially as their drive for independence grows,” says Dr Hall.

“So the impact is not only about anxiety. Overuse can also dilute the message, making it less effective when it is genuinely needed.”

Try to share something specific and actionable (I know it’s easier said than done when you’re trying to quickly stop them from harming themselves).

“This might involve naming the risk, giving a clear instruction, or showing how to make something safer. For example, ‘that wall is very high, hold the banister’, or ‘go slowly on that step’,” says Dr Hall.

By being more specific, you’re helping your little one understand what the actual risk is and giving them a practical strategy to manage it, which they can actually use going forward.

“Over time, this is what supports the development of confidence and judgement,” adds the psychologist.

“It is also important to recognise that not every situation requires adult input. Children learn where their limits are by testing them. Small mistakes and minor wobbles are a natural part of developing coordination and resilience.”

For some (hi, hello, it’s me) “be careful” can become almost like a reflex over time, which Dr Hall notes is a “very common pattern” – mainly because the phrase is often spoken in moments of instinctive concern.

If this tracks with you, instead of trying to eliminate it completely, it might help to notice it and build on it, says the expert. So, following up your “be careful” with a specific instruction like “hold on with both hands” can help offer more direction.

Not even the biggest names in Hollywood are safe from the cutting room floor – and once a director hits the editing suite, the most A-list of A-listers can still find their scenes have been axed from a major film.

Whether it’s a change in direction, contractual issues or a long runtime, there are many reasons why an actor might not make the cut, regardless of how they performed on set.

Here are just a handful of stars who gave their all, only to find their performances didn’t make it into the final edit…

The Devil Wears Prada 2 was jam-packed with famous cameos, but some celebrities’ performances didn’t make the cut.

Last year, Sydney Sweeney was spotted on the set of the Meryl Streep sequel, but her appearance never made it into the film.

The Euphoria actor was supposed to play herself in a three-minute scene where she would be dressed by Emily Blunt’s character, but according to Entertainment Weekly, this cameo was cut for structural reasons.

At least she wasn’t the only star who didn’t make it into the film, though.

How to Get Away With Murder star Conrad Ricamora also filmed numerous scenes as Andy Sachs’ roommate, but this character was later removed from the film after test audiences raised questions about why he was there, according to Variety.

Conrad acknowledged this axing on social media, writing on Instagram that filming with Anne Hathaway had been “one of the best working experiences of my life.”

“In the end, my character didn’t make sense in the grand scheme of the film (something about me being too sexy and hot and my muscles being too big…story of my life),” he joked.

Lastly, Anna Wintour herself filmed “one take” for the sequel, in which Meryl plays a character who has repeatedly been compared to the formidable Vogue editor.

Director David Frankel told Entertainment Weekly that this sequence couldn’t be used as it was “a little out of focus,” and he didn’t want to ask her to do a second one.

“We actually explicitly didn’t want Anna to be in the movie because it’s a parallel world,” the director later explained in the April 2026 interview.

“It was like, well, what is Vogue and who is Anna Wintour, in a world where there’s a Runway and Miranda Priestly? It felt like it was too meta.”

After the success Harrison Ford had working with Steven Spielberg in the Indiana Jones films, the Star Wars actor was happy to make a cameo in E.T.

Not only was he good friends with the director, but he was also dating the movie’s screenwriter, Melissa Mathison, at the time.

Harrison was set to play against his normal lovable rogue type, appearing as Elliot’s mean school principal, in a scene where the boy was sent to the principal’s office and told off, only for the mischievous E.T. to start messing around.

The scene was eventually removed by Spielberg, though, as he felt that it added nothing to the film, and instead chose to focus less on adults and more on the film’s kid characters.

Paul Rudd spent all day throwing himself around an ice-skating rink, only for it to be deleted from the final cut of Bridesmaids.

Screenwriters Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo specifically penned a part for the Ant-Man actor as a deranged man that Kristen’s character, Annie, goes on a blind date with.

However, while the scene was later included as a DVD extra, it wasn’t featured in the cinematic cut of the film.

“There is always that terrible moment when you have to kill your babies,” director Paul Feig told Entertainment Weekly, explaining that Paul’s scenes were axed due to runtime, and to focus more on the existing love triangle between Annie, Jon Hamm’s commitment-phobe and Chris O’Dowd’s police officer.

“It just didn’t ring true that in addition to Jon and Chris, she’d be also going out on other dates to try and find more love,” Feig explained, claiming that it made “more sense that she’d be caught between these two guys”.

Mary Jane “MJ” Watson is usually the main love interest for Peter Parker in his various incarnations, but Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man spent his time crushing over Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy.

In fact, MJ was set to appear in the 2014 sequel, in which she’d have been played by Shailene Woodley.

However, the director felt it wouldn’t make sense to add another romantic character into the superhero film.

“It was something we only discovered when we were shooting and then in the edit room.” Marc Webb told the Los Angeles Times. “Shailene is a brilliant actress, and she did a great couple days of work. But it was very difficult to introduce someone as a competing love interest when so much is on the table with Peter and Gwen.”

Shailene actually agreed with this take, telling Perru Nemiroff that “Mary Jane was in four scenes in the whole film, and it didn’t make sense”.

“They’re introducing so many new characters, it really didn’t make sense to introduce such a vital character to the comic books in a movie that had so much going on,” she added.

The Big Little Lies star did hint at the time that her character could perhaps appear in the third film in the franchise, but due to poor reviews and box office, that movie never happened.

Speaking of Spider-Man, former Peter Parker actor Tobey Maguire was set to play a brief role in Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi.

Tobey would have played the writer who interviews the central character about his extraordinary life, having previously worked with Lee on 1997’s The Ice Storm.

However, after filming was over, the director was concerned that Tobey’s presence would be distracting for viewers and the role was recast, with English actor Rafe Spall playing the character in the version that we got to see.

“To be consistent with the other casting choices made for the film, I decided to go with an entirely international cast,” Ang said in a statement at the time, before adding how much he admired Tobey and hoped to work again with him in the future.

“I fully support Ang’s decision to go a different direction for this role in Life of Pi. Ang shared a lot of the film with me, and what I saw was absolutely beautiful,” Tobey told The Hollywood Reporter at the time.

Later on, the Brokeback Mountain director opened up further to USA Today about his casting error and the real reason Tobey was cut.

“I misjudged the situation. I underestimated the power of stars,” he admitted. “I love Tobey, but it’s a small part, so when it’s a movie star sitting there, it captures attention. It didn’t really work out.”

The removal of Oscar nominee Ana de Armas from the final cut of the 2019 film Yesterday resulted in a federal lawsuit against Universal Pictures for false advertising.

Ana appeared in a trailer for Yesterday, in which she played a woman who flirts with Himsesh Patel’s character on a talk show, but when the film hit cinemas, these scenes were not included.

Screenwriter Richard Curtis explained that the Blonde actor was cut because test audiences didn’t like the idea of the leading character straying from his primary love interest, played by Lily James.

Two men who later rented the film on Amazon Prime after seeing the actor in the trailer went on to sue production company Universal for false advertising, claiming they were each cheated out of $3.99.

In the end, the lawsuit was dropped, but not before it generated plenty of conversation and headlines in 2022.

Uma Thurman may be a Hollywood icon, but even she isn’t immune to being cut from movies.

The Kill Bill star originally appeared in Oliver Stone’s poorly-received Savages, playing Blake Lively’s mother.

Stone explained that, while the scenes in question were “funny,” they were cut due to the film’s long runtime.

“We ended up cutting characters from the book, like the mother. She was a good character – Uma Thurman played her beautifully – and the scenes were good, but you don’t have time, you know?” he told HuffPost in 2012. “We have one goal in the movie, and you go out that gate and it’s like a horse race.”

Blake later lamented: “It’s a shame that you will miss that, in the movie. It was really beautiful stuff with Uma Thurman, and I think it really told a lot more of how a girl could end up this way. She’s the modern girl. Divorces are so much more common now than they were.”

However, considering the 50% Rotten Tomatoes score that Savages wound up receiving, Uma probably doesn’t feel too bad about not appearing in it.

During production on 1995’s Dangerous Minds, producers had an idea that Michelle Pfeiffer’s character’s husband should appear in the film, with Andy García brought in for the part.

Andy was not exactly convinced this character was necessary, and told the creative team as much, but went ahead and filmed his scenes anyway.

“They called and said that they wanted to develop a love interest for her in the script,” he recalled to BlogTalkRadio.com. “They wrote up a whole arc for this relationship and we played it out.”

He continued: “I had a great time. We shot the whole relationship and then it was determined later on that it was really unnecessary in the storyline, which is what I said to begin with.

“But I did cash the cheque!”

Before her big break on Grey’s Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo was cast in the small role of Naomi, the ex-girlfriend of Jimmy Carrey’s Joel, in the 2004 cult classic Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

“I got completely cut,” she said at a 2025 event. “[I] got completely cut out of [the film], because Kate Winslet is in the movie, of course. Like, you have Kate Winslet, you definitely don’t need me,”.

Jim previously told Vanity Fair: “Michel likes to have real feelings in the scene and real chemistry, so he hired Ellen Pompeo, who’s a wonderful actress. But she reminded me completely of Renée [Zellweger, his ex-partner]. Her look was similar. And I said, ‘Bastard!’. And it ends up that she’s not even in the movie.”

The Liar Liar actor added: “We actually had really good chemistry. It was odd. It was almost too much. If it had been in the movie, it’s competing [with Kate’s character].”

Harry Potter boasts an array of A-list British actors in its cast – and originally, that was going to have included the late, great Rik Mayall.

The Bottom star landed the role of mischievous poltergeist Peeves in Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, with the intention for him to continue as a recurring character throughout the films.

In the end, the comedy legend was perhaps just too funny in the role.

“I got sent off the set because every time I tried to do a bit of acting, all the lads who were playing the school kids kept getting the giggles, they kept corpsing, so they threw me off,” he previously alleged.

Rik worked on the film for three weeks before being chopped, with Chris Columbus later admitting he wishes he could go back and put him back into the final cut.

The comedian later quipped that Harry Potter was the “most exciting film I ever did – because I got the oodle and I wasn’t in it”.

“Fantastic! “ he enthused.

Asked what he thought of the finished results, he quipped: “The film, with respect … no, with no respect at all… the film was shit.”

The story goes that Mel Gibson was originally supposed to make a problematic cameo in The Hangover II as “Tattoo Joe”, who gives Stu his face ink in the sequel.

After outrage online – and, apparently, on-set – due to the Braveheart actor’s anti-Semitic, racist and misogynist rants, he was replaced by Liam Neeson.

Liam apparently filmed for one day, but when he couldn’t come back for reshoots, the part was recast for a second time, with Nick Cassavetes playing the character instead.

Bridgerton fans were excited to see Simone Ashley appear alongside Brad Pitt in 2025’s F1. She was seen filming at various Grands Prix, and appeared at the film’s European premiere, but only appears as herself in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the final cut.

In an interview with People, the film’s director, Joseph Kosinski, explained why the “incredible talent” was cut.

“It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use,” he said. “There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn’t make into the final cut.”

Despite the disappointment, Simone was gracious and appreciative of the experience, which saw her film at the actual races and alongside real F1 drivers.

“I have a very small part, but I’m grateful to be in that movie. I got to experience many Grands Prix. I don’t think I’ll ever do anything like that again,” she told Elle.

John Malkovich was announced by Marvel to be joining their extended cinematic universe as the Fantastic Four nemesis Red Ghost.

So, when fans sat to watch Fantastic Four: Four Steps with Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, they were surprised to see the Oscar nominee’s character had been cut.

Director Matt Shankman explained to Variety that the villain was supposed to appear in a lengthy scene in which the heroic quartet battled Red Ghost and his team of Super-Apes. Instead, this moment is edited down into an action montage, but while the Super-Apes are momentarily shown, Red Ghost is totally cut.

“There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor,” the director said, describing the removal of John’s scenes as “heartbreaking”.

“When we were building a ’60s retro-future world, introducing all of these villains, introducing these four main characters as a group, as well as individually, introducing the idea of a child – there was a lot of stuff to balance in this movie and some things had to go ultimately in terms of shaping the film for its final version.”

Sienna Miller’s entire role as Catherine Greig in the 2015 gangster flick Black Mass was cut from the final film, despite her working extensively on her Boston accent for the part.

Director Scott Cooper told the Boston Globe the Layer Cake actor had been “fantastic” as real-life gangster Whitey Bulger’s long-term partner, Catherine, but he went in a different direction with the movie’s plot.

Black Mass, which stars Johnny Depp as Bulger, ultimately focuses on the mobster’s earlier life rather than his “less dramatic” later years as a fugitive with Catherine.

Sienna admitted she spent time learning a South Boston accent for the two-week shoot, which ultimately turned into a “cameo”.

“The accent was something I really focused on because playing someone from Southie, you don’t want to mess that up. Hopefully I’ve managed to pull that off,” she said.

Sterling K. Brown has seen huge success in recent years thanks to his roles on This Is Us and Paradise, as well as his Oscar-nominated turn in American Fiction.

But the actor has been dealt some blows in his time, too, including when his role in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2015 horror Split was left on the cutting-room floor.

The Emmy winner was set to play Professor Shaw, the therapist of James McAvoy’s character in the action film, but the Sixth Sense director ultimately decided that Sterling’s role was unnecessary, and distracted from the film’s core narrative.

Luckily, you can see the clip of his deleted scene here.

Early on in his career, Yellowstone actor Kevin Costner had hoped that his role in The Big Chill would be his big break.

Sadly, all the scenes which showed his face were cut.

In the 1983 film, a group of college alumni, played by the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Close and William Hurt, reunite after the suicide of their friend, Alex.

Kevin was supposed to play Alex in flashback screens, which were filmed, but ultimately not used as director Lawrence Kasdan wasn’t convinced they worked.

The filmmaker allegedly felt so bad about it, he gave Kevin a role in his Western, Silverado.

Yep, even acting greats like the late Marlon Brando have their scenes cut, too.

In 1978′s Superman, Brando played the Man Of Steel’s father, Jor-El, and was due to reprise his role in the sequel, released two years later.

Days after the first movie hit cinemas, the Godfather actor sued the producers for breach of contract, and while his request that further showings of Superman should be stopped was thrown out, he did receive a $15 million settlement as a result of the court case.

The scenes he’d already shot for the second film were subsequently removed to avoid having to pay him a substantial percentage of the film’s box office, with his storyline instead being handed to Superman’s mother, portrayed by Susannah York.

In 2006, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released, featuring Brando’s previously-deleted scenes.

By now, the relief of The Devil Wears Prada’s legacy not being ruined by an objectively ruled “not rubbish” sequel has well and truly set in.

The new sequel reunites cast members Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, while also introducing new characters played by the likes of Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu and Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley.

And that’s without getting into the absolute sea of A-list cameos who also appear in the sequel.

Far from the fear of facing Anna Wintour’s wrath that came with the first film, The Devil Wears Prada 2 was also accessorised with plenty of celebrity cameos – so many, in fact, that you might have struggled to keep up with them all.

Indeed, with so much going on between the nostalgia rush of seeing the original cast back in action, as well as a surprisingly on-the-nose plot about the decline of journalism, it’s easy to miss a fleeting Chicken Shop Date reference or a renowned pop star or two.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up all the major cameos in The Devil Wears Prada 2, in case there are any that passed you by in the cinema…

As well as cooking up three original songs for the soundtrack, Lady Gaga also appears in The Devil Wears Prada as herself.

Gaga’s scene-stealing cameo sees her flexing her acting muscles in a showdown with Miranda Priestly herself, in the film’s third act (for which she, hilariously, receives top billing in the closing credits).

Apparently we have Meryl Streep herself to thank for the star’s cameo, after they ran into each other at SNL’s 50th anniversary celebrations and seemingly struck up a friendship.

“We thought we’d make up this persona for Gaga that there’s this terrible history, and she’s such a diva that Miranda can’t stand her,” director David Frankel explained. “And she loved it.”

Fashion legend Donatella Versace made the hop from being fleetingly referenced in the first Devil Wears Prada (“Call Donatella. Get her jet”) to being a cast member in the sequel.

In one scene, we see her lunching it up with Emily, in her new capacity as a senior exec at Dior.

With supermodel status and a name for throwing the best parties, it makes sense that Heidi Klum has earned the rare bragging rights of appearing in both Devil Wears Prada movies.

After being spotted in a fashion show audience in the first film, this time round she appears in a scene opposite Emily Blunt.

Another big fashion world cameo, designer Marc Jacobs appears as himself to flap over a bow in his new collection that seems to meet with Miranda’s disapproval.

Winnie Harlow got her big break after appearing on America’s Next Top Model in 2014, and went on to work with Fendi, Victoria’s Secret, Marc Jacobs and even Beyoncé.

Look closely and, you’ll see her clinking glasses with the fellow rich and beautiful in the film.

“Someone who looks like me being in the fashion industry wasn’t even a thought when the first The Devil Wears Prada came out,” she wrote on Instagram.

“It became the biggest fashion movie in the world. To now be asked to be a part of the second film is bigger than a dream come true, it feels like history shifting in real time.”

Of course they wouldn’t dare leave one of the most iconic supermodels off the invite list when it came to cameos.

You’ll spot Naomi Campbell front row at the film’s Dolce & Gabbana fashion show, naturally seated right next to Miranda Priestly herself.

Outside of the fashion world’s BNOCs, there are plenty more celebrity cameos to look out for.

Grammy-winning singer Ciara is just one of them, popping up during the film’s Met Gala-inspired sequence early on in the proceedings.

Model and body positivity advocate Ashley Graham has an apt red carpet moment in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Speaking to People magazine, she recalled shooting her scenes in an appropriately fancy Christian Siriano dress, before encountering Meryl after the director called “cut”.

“[Meryl] starts walking towards me and I’m like, ‘Okay.’ Not uncomfortable visually, but mentally I’m like, ‘What am I going to say to her?’” she admitted..

“She comes over and she goes, ‘Darling, you have impeccable, impeccable posture.’ And then walked away. I was like, ‘Oh, this is Miranda. She’s in character. This is wonderful’.”

In a very much “blink-and-you’ll-miss-her” cameo, Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg appears for a split second as a guest at Runway chairman Irv’s birthday party (her one line, fittingly, is “Chicken Shop Date?”).

Amelia has described appearing in the sequel as a “pinch me” moment, having previously admitted to studying fashion journalism at university based on her love of the first movie.

One of Anna Wintour’s faves, former Victoria’s Secret model and Vogue cover star Karolina Kurkova also crops up in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

She’s right where you’d expect her as the film opens, rubbing shoulders with other models and setting the scene for the many fashion cameos to come.

Another guest at Irv’s birthday party is self-proclaimed “gangly ginger model” and TikTok star Calum Harper.

“It was fucking crazy. I had my own cast chair. I sat next to Anne Hathaway. It was amazing,” he told The Observer.

“They ended up giving me some lines, asked me to improv, to flirt and talk bollocks about modelling and fashion week in a party scene. I was gassed.”

New York Knicks basketball player Karl-Anthony Towns is perhaps one of the more surprising cameos of the bunch, after Andy runs into him at one of Miranda’s parties and professes how much of a fan she is.

Turns out Karl-Anthony himself is a “big fan” of The Devil Wears Prada, with director David explaining to Screenrant: “We reached out to him, and he was thrilled.”

“For the athletes, we have KAT, and we have Rory McIlroy, which was thrilling for me as a golfer,” he added.

“I think Miranda’s world on weekends is filled with cool, interesting people. Anybody who’s the best at what they do, she wants to have for lunch. That’s how we sought out KAT.

Speaking of Rory McIlroy, the golfer does indeed appear as another cameo in the movie.

It all came about after the former world number one admitted in a real-life interview that he switched off by watching The Devil Wears Prada the night before winning a big tournament.

Naturally, that caught the attention of director David, who invited him to appear in the sequel as one of Miranda’s aforementioned cool and interesting friends.

Grammy and Oscar-winning singer and composer Jon Batiste appears alongside his wife, writer and advocate Suleika Jaouad.

You’ll catch a glimpse of them at Miranda’s house in the Hamptons, tucking into an expensive-looking lunch alongside Andy.

“Image architect” and Zendaya’s longtime stylist (not to mention the person responsible for sharing her and Tom Holland’s wedding news with the world) Law Roach is another big fashion name to appear in the movie amongst the style elite.

Law has spoken about how much the original Devil Wears Prada meant to him, saying: “I was a little boy growing up in Chicago and I wanted to work for Miranda. This movie literally set the tone and gave me so much to aspire to be.”

Another name doing the rounds at Miranda’s Hamptons getaway is US morning news host (and daughter of former President George W. Bush) Jenna Bush Hager.

She’s seen giving Andy her dues for her sweatshop exposé piece, and has explained that she styled herself for her cameo – and that her line was unscripted.

Former Tatler and Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown is a huge figure in the journalism world, so it makes sense that she’d be a friend – or, at least, a frenemy – of Miranda Priestly in the Devil Wears Prada universe.

You can look out for Tina at Miranda’s star-studded Hamptons party.

Also among the guests at Miranda’s swanky garden party is Ronny Chieng.

The comedian is a regular face on the topical US series The Daily Show, and also had a minor role in the rom-com Crazy Rich Asians.

Seriously, Miranda’s Hamptons party is a moment in The Devil Wears Prada 2 where you need to keep your eyes peeled.

Also hobnobbing at the event is Kara Swisher, a prolific writer for outlets such as New York magazine and The New York Times. Kara also fronts the current affairs podcasts On and Pivot.

Another real-life supermodel who has been immortalised in The Devil Wears Prada 2 is Anok Yai.

The Met Gala regular can be seen playing herself in scenes set at Milan Fashion Week.

Followers of the author and novelist Molly Jong-Fast might be surprised to see her also snag a cameo in the film.

She later joked that she was “in Devil Wears Prada 2 for about three seconds which is three seconds more than Sydney Sweeney”, alluding to the Euphoria star’s infamously scrapped scene.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is in cinemas now.

The truth is often stranger than fiction, and when it comes to TV dramas, it’s repeatedly been proven that the best plots are plucked straight from real life stories.

And that’s certainly the case with Netflix’s new six-parter, Legends.

Based on the true story of a bunch of civil servants who went undercover to infiltrate the country’s most notorious drug smuggling gangs from the inside, the series is already being praised by critics and pulling in big numbers on the platform.

With more than a few familiar faces in the mix, here’s where you might have spotted them before…

Best known for his portrayal of delusional presenter Alan Partridge for the last 30 years, Steve Coogan has a string of other roles under his belt outside his comic creation.

Steve appeared opposite Judi Dench in the 2013 film Philomena, and has also had big-screen roles in movies like 24 Hour Party People, Around The World In 80 Days, Night At The Museum, Tropic Thunder, Stan & Laurie, Greed and Joker: Folie À Deux.

On TV, he’s portrayed real-life figures including Jimmy Savile (The Reckoning), Brian Walden (Brian and Maggie), Stephen Lawrence case detective DCI Clive Driscoll (Stephen) and Samuel Pepys (The Private Life Of Samuel Pepys).

You might have also seen Steve in the likes of The Trip, What We Do In The Shadows, Happyish or Curb Your Enthusiasm.

He’ll next be seen alongside a star-studded cast in the long-awaited fourth season of The White Lotus.

You’re most likely to recognise Tom Burke from his roles in acclaimed BBC series like The Musketeers, War & Peace and Strike.

He’s also appeared in shows including The Crown (in which he starred as Derek “Dazzle” Jennings), Modern Love, The Lazarus Project, Great Expectations, Utopia, The Hour, Heading Out and Poirot.

Tom is also a big name in the film world, having starred in indie flicks like The Souvenir and The Wonder, as well as big budget movies like Black Bag, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Hayley Squires had her breakthrough as Katie in Ken Loach’s film I, Daniel Blake, which saw her pick up a Bafta nomination.

Since then, she’s appeared in TV series like The Night Manager, Great Expectations, The Essex Serpent, Inside No. 9, Adult Material and Collateral.

You might have also spotted her in Call The Midwife and Southcliffe.

Hayley’s film work includes Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid, Blitz, and True Things – where she starred opposite her Legends co-star Tom.

Fans of historical dramas will recognise Tom for his performance as Prince Albert in ITV’s Victoria, in which he shared the screen with Jenna Coleman.

Since then, he’s played Kit Marlowe in Sky’s A Discovery Of Witches, and had prominent roles in The English, Those About To Die, Malpractice and The Gold, the latter of which was written by Legends creator Neil Forsyth.

Over on the big screen, Tom has appeared in movies like About Time, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Cemetery Junction and Madame.

Aml Ameen’s breakthrough moment came when he was cast as Trife in the British drama Kidulthood.

In the years that followed, he’s appeared in a wide variety of movies that includes everything from the political drama The Butler, the dystopian sci-fi movie The Maze Runner and Rustin, in which he starred as Martin Luther King Jr, to the British rom-com Boxing Day, which also marked his directorial debut.

He also played PC Lewis Hardy in The Bill, Capheus in Sense8, banker Simon in I May Destroy You and Malcolm Davies in Harry’s Law.

Douglas Hodge has been working consistently on both stage and screen since the late 1980s, racking up credits that include the likes of Vanity Fair, Scenes Of A Sexual Nature and Diana, in which he played butler Paul Burrell.

More recently, he played another iconic butler, Alfred Pennyworth, in the Oscar-winning Joker, acted alongside Jennifer Lawrence in the thriller Red Sparrow and appeared in the films We Live In Time, G20 and Pillion.

His TV work has seen him land prominent roles in Red Cap, Skins, Penny Dreadful, Catastrophe, Lost In Space, I Hate Suzie, The Great and The Night Manager.

Born and raised in Turkey, Numan’s first major international role saw him portraying Haissam Haqqani in Homeland.

After that, he went on to appear in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, Guy Ritchie’s live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin and the thriller Point Break.

Besides Homeland, has TV projects have included Jack Ryan and Prison Break.

In the early 2010s, Charlotte Ritchie rose to prominence as Oregon in the comedy Fresh Meat, leading to roles in Call The Midwife, Doctor Who and Siblings.

Now, she’s probably best known for her performance as Alison Cooper, but you might have also seen her in Netflix’s You and Feel Good, or Grantchester.

She also competed as herself on Taskmaster, and had a minor role in the big-screen musical Wonka.

If you loved Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen, you might remember Jasmine’s performance as Charly, the on-screen sister of Theo James and Daniel Ings’ characters.

She’s also appeared in another popular Netflix show, Shadow And Bone, in addition to the BBC’s historical drama based on the life of Marie Antoinette, in which she starred as Lamballe.

Back in 2006, Johnny Harris played Derek in the critically-acclaimed British indie London To Brighton, before landing his Bafta-nominated role as Mick in the This Is England TV series.

He’s also appeared in two of Steven Knight’s grisly Charles Dickens adaptations,The Salisbury Poisonings and Without Sin, which reunited him with his former co-star Vicky McClure.

Gerald Kyd will be known to long-time Casualty fans for his performance as Sean Maddox in the late 1990s.

After stepping away from the medical drama, he went on to appear in shows like Sherlock and Silent Witness, and portrayed Caiaphas in Jesus: His Life.

More recently, he’s appeared in a 2021 episode of Doctor Who, and acted in the TV shows The Split, Hostage, Malory Towers and The Assassin.

Since his breakout in the web series Nate & Jamie, Joshua Samuels has appeared in the TV adaptation of Sexy Beast, Emerald Fennell’s film Saltburn and the short film On Loop.

Like co-star Tom Hughes, he also worked with Neil Forsyth in his previous hit series, The Gold, playing Jerren.

Thomas Coombes is no stranger to a prolific Netflix show, having appeared in the award-winning Baby Reindeer as police officer PC Daniels, the Luther film The Fallen Sun as Archie Woodward and the spy drama Black Doves as Philip Bray.

Besides these projects, he’s also starred in Save Me, the Stephen Graham outing Boiling Point, the Star Wars spin-off The Acolyte and Neil Forsyth’s The Gold.

Legends is Kem Hassan’s biggest role to date, but you may well have seen him before that, too.

Some of his most notable past work includes an episode of the police drama Vera and the surreal Netflix drama The Sandman, in which he played a character named Phil back in 2025.

All six episodes of Legends are now streaming on Netflix.