BBC One/ HBO’s Years and Years: Cast, Characters & Descriptions (with Spoilers)
A character guide for BBC One/ HBO’s Years and Years featuring cast members names, character descriptions, and noteworthy information.
Spoiler Alert: This post may contain spoilers. Additionally, some images and text may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission or receive products if you make a purchase.
A character guide for BBC One/ HBO’s Years and Years featuring cast members names, character descriptions, and noteworthy information.
Descriptions are updated as new information is presented, and images changed as better ones are captured.
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Ruth Madeley As Rosie
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Rosie is the youngest of the Lyons family and, when introduced to her, she is a chef manager at a school which has approximately 1,200 students. Also, she is a single mother, not necessarily by choice, to two boys and has a serious issue with her father, Vince.
Additional Information About Rosie
- Rosie’s condition, Spina bifida, the actress also has.
- Rosie votes 4 Star party
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Russell Tovey As Daniel
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Rosie’s older brother is also a government worker under the housing authority. Specifically, he assists with the refugee crisis that has caused an influx of Ukrainians trying to gain asylum. He also happens to be gay and begins the show with a partner named Ralph.
Additional Information About Daniel
- Daniel votes conservative party.
- Turns 37 in 2026
- Loves Pasties.
- Was born in Manchester.
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Rory Kinnear As Stephen
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Stephen is a financial advisor, also the oldest of the siblings, and we’re told the only one who keeps in contact with his father. He’s married to Celeste and has two daughters with her, Bethany and Ruby.
Additional Information About Stephen
- Votes Labor party
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Aaron Ansari As Lincoln
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Lincoln is the youngest member of the Lyons family, with being born in May 2019, and is half Asian and half English.
Additional Information About Lincoln
- Lincoln’s father, Gau, is from Beijing and allegedly left, never to return, to take care of his mother.
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T’Nia Miller As Celeste
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
An accountant, and mother of two, as well as a Black woman. She also has some weird issue with Stephen’s grandmother Muriel, likely because Muriel is politically incorrect, which leads her to only see her once a year, usually, on her birthday.
Additional Information About Celeste
- Votes Conservative party
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Lydia West As Bethany
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Bethany is Celeste & Stephen’s oldest daughter, and she reveals she is transhuman. Meaning, she sees herself as more so a digital being than one of the flesh.
Additional Information About Bethany
- As an adult, Bethany works in data mining.
- Takes going digital to the point of being able to hack into electronics with a whisk of her wrist and by thought.
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Jade Alleyne As Ruby
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
The younger child of Celeste and Stephen, Bethany’s younger sister, we don’t learn a huge much about her. That is, besides she has epilepsy.
Additional Information About Ruby
- As of 2024, she was 13.
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Emma Thompson As Vivienne
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
A millionaire, who portrays herself as one of the people, she starts off as an off the cuff political commentator and later evolves into a politician. One which is very nationalist and starts her own political party, and network, to further her interest.
Additional Information About Vivienne
- In time, she becomes Daniel’s boss as the Housing Authority becomes privatized.
- She runs a Think Tank.
- Doesn’t really care about the Israel v. Palestine situation.
- Is modeled after many authoritarians with little to no political experience.
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Dino Fetscher As Ralph
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Ralph is Daniel’s boyfriend, later husband, at the beginning of the series. Ralph is also a school teacher. One who is slowly starting to look into conspiracy theories like the Earth being flat and germs not existing.
Additional Information About Ralph
- Ralph and Daniel vacationed to India together.
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Ana Reid As Muriel
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Muriel is the grandmother of Stephen and his siblings, as well as the great grandmother of Bethany and her cousins. She is portrayed as someone who is a bit hard to get along with at times but usually has her heart in the right place. Also, she can be a bit rude and politically incorrect in terms of what she says. However, she isn’t racist just isn’t keeping up to date with proper terminology.
Additional Information About
- As of 2022, she was 90 years old.
- Voted 4 Star party.
- Her home was passed down and she can’t keep up with the payments needed to keep it from becoming run down.
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Jessica Hynes As Edith
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
An activist nearly her entire adult life, most of the family hasn’t seen Edith for at least 7 years. But, it is noted, she is quite famous and is an author.
Additional Information About Edith
- Some of the places she has been are Lagos, Canada, and Vietnam.
- Edith was in Vietnam during the US’ attack on Hong Sha Dao.
- Due to her being in the proximity of ground zero of Hong Sha Dao, she is suffering from radiation poisoning. Enough of it to likely make it so she only lives 10 years.
- Edith often was closer to Stephen than the rest as a child, also she was always more serious than fun loving like her younger siblings.
- Dies in 2034.
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Callum Woolford As Lee
Is First Noted In
Season 1, Episode 1 [Series Premiere]
Character Introduction
Rosie’s older son who, like Ruby, we don’t learn a huge amount about. Well, beyond his dad not being in the picture.
Additional Information About Lee
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Maxim Baldry As Viktor
Is First Noted In
Character Introduction
Viktor is a Ukranian immigrant who fleed Ukraine after his parents, two Eastern Orthodox Christians, turned him into the now Russian controlled government. However, he escaped, after being tortured, to England. A place his residency of may not last forever.
Additional Information About Viktor
- He is 6 years younger than Viktor.
- Has a degree in economics.
- Gets deported due to Daniel cheating on Ralph with him and Ralph revealing he was working.
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Shannon Hayes As Lizzie
Is First Noted In
Character Introduction
Lizzie is one of Bethany’s co-workers and becomes the first friend of hers we meet. We also learn, like Bethany, she is transhuman. However, unlike Bethany, she has a bit more gumption and this, unfortunately, leads to her eye being stolen and her being given a wonky replacement.
Additional Information About Lizzie
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Rachel Logan As Elaine
Is First Noted In
Character Introduction
Stephen’s co-worker who he has an affair with.
Additional Information About Elaine
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Craig Gazey As Steven
Is First Noted In
Character Introduction
Stephen’s youngest brother, and half-brother, who was raised by Vince and his mother Jacqueline.
Additional Information About Steven
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Fran (Sharon Duncan-Brewster)
Character Description
First Noted In: Season 1, Episode 4
A storyteller, not to be confused with a writer, Fran admires Edith’s work and pursues her own activism by engaging people with her gift. One which often leads her to intersect with Daniel’s life.
Additional Information About Fran
- There are rumors within the family she and Edith may have something going on.
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Jonjo (George Bukhari)
Character Description
First Noted In: Season 1, Episode 4
Rosie’s boyfriend, and co-owner of her food truck, Jonjo comes in quick and becomes integrated into her life in a way which raises a red flag for Edith. However, with it appearing that he is genuine, she steps back and lets her sister’s relationship continue – rather than possibly killing Jonjo.
Additional Information About Jonjo
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Woody (Kiernan O’Brien)
Character Description
First Noted In: Season 1, Episode 5
A childhood friend of Stephen who provides him a job. One which is essentially a yes man job dealing with buying and managing government facilities. Specifically Erstwhile facilities to hold immigrants and the sick.
Additional Information About Woody
- Works at Woodward, Beckett and Peck.
- Questions if Hang Sha really happened.
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Yvonne (Zita Sattar)
Character Description
First Noted In: Season 1, Episode 6
One of Daniel’s friends who tried to keep him informed about Viktor’s situation when immigration got involved. Later on, she becomes one of many which assist in toppling Vivienne’s government.
Additional Information About Yvonne
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How Does Season 1 of Years and Years End?
Rosie
After the fall of Vivienne Rook’s government, she ends up having a third child and things become relatively normal for her once again.
Daniel
He drowns trying to help Viktor cross the English Channel.
Stephen
He is one of 500 whistleblowers who help topple Vivienne’s Rook’s government but also ends up with three years of jail time due to his actions. One of which includes moving Viktor to an Erstwhile site. But, he does find joy, after leaving Elaine, teaching English to kids in Barcelona.
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Lincoln
Lincoln transitions and confirms their gender identity as a woman.
Celeste
She’s alive in the end, but what she does for work is unknown. All that is clear is, after aiding Muriel and building her a relationship, even after divorcing Stephen she is treated as family.
Bethany
While she doesn’t go fully digital as she hoped as a teen, she is well connected to the cloud.
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Ruby
We truly don’t learn hardly a thing about her. So in the end, beyond knowing she is alive, she remains a mystery.
Vivienne Rook
If you believe Edith, she is on the run somewhere rather than in prison.
Ralph
It’s assumed he is alive. We don’t see him after Daniel’s funeral to know how his life is.
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Muriel
She is still alive at the end of the show, and despite speaking on selling the house, she still has it.
Edith
We’re left on a bit of a cliffhanger with Edith. She, as Bethany has long dreamed of, tries to become purely digital. In fact, the way things are set up, you are led to believe the entire show is her recounting her life as she is digitized. However, whether or not the procedure work we don’t know.
Lee
All we know is, after being a bit of a trouble maker in his youth, he may have turned things around.
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Viktor
He’s still alive and despite what Stephen did to him, he can stand to be in the same room with him as they away to see if Edith being digitized worked.
Lizzie
After losing her eye halfway through the season, we don’t see her again. Bethany doesn’t even talk about her.
Elaine
Due to Stephen being unable to transition their relationship from an affair to a real relationship, they break up.
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Steven
No idea. We solely see him in episode 3 and never again.
Fran
We learn her and Edith are lovers, and she is alive waiting to see if Edith is successfully digitized with the rest of the family.
Jonjo
After marrying Rosie, and having a child with her, it seems any apprehension about him coming into Rosie’s life is gone. An apprehension only Edith vocalized but might have been shared.
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Woody
With him directly involved with the Erstwhile project, he ends up in prison. Also, thanks to Stephen shooting him, he probably walks with a limp.
Yvonne
She is alive and well when all is said and done with no repercussions for her part in the end of Rook’s government. Even if an associate of hers used military grade weapons.
General Information
- The grandchildren (Stephen and his siblings), lost their mother to cancer.
- She died sometime in the 2000s.
- The show is within modern times and seems rooted in the worst case scenario happening.
- Trump wins the 2020 elections in the show’s world with Pence following him soon after.
- Robots are coming into play for household use as well as sex.
- The father of Muriel’s grandchildren is named Vince, and he left his children around the time Rosie was born.
- The birth order: Stephen, Edith, Daniel, Rosie, then Steven.
- All but Rosie and Steven were born in the 80s.
- Vince died at the age of 69.
Notable Locations & Events
Hong Sha Dao
A man-made island which, allegedly, was a secret military base. One which, in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, was hit with a nuclear weapon. Leading to the death of 45,000 people.
Foster Foster Drake
This is a major, American, bank which fails and causes a huge number of people to lose their bank accounts. Of which the government only insures up to 85K.
Spanish Revolution
Happens in 2026/2027 when the far left of Spanish politics decide to overthrow the government. Said act coincides with the EU beginning to collapse as Athens leaves and Hungary goes bankrupt.
2027
Alongside the Spanish Revolution, gay marriage and abortion are outlawed in the US, the EU begins to collapse, and compulsory voting becomes law in the UK.
2028
Bananas are no longer available for consumption, power outages become normal as prices for utilities go through the roof, months of rain causes a housing crisis, and multiple terrorist and cyber attacks happen across the country. Also, due to electronic resources being limited, paper makes a comeback – newspapers for example. On top of that, the Bedroom Law comes into play to to deal with the housing shortage by forcing people to share their quarters.
2029
The BBC loses its charter and journalist who begin questioning Vivienne Rook get banned or disappear. Also, a flu epidemic begins and 6G is invented by this time.
2030
The Leaning Tower of Piza falls and Notre Dame is restored.
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