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This is a list of characters in the ITV science fiction television series Primeval, including supporting characters.

The series originally features a cast of five main characters plus supporting cast who investigate time anomalies for the British government. The series 1 cast is made up of Douglas Henshall as Professor Nick Cutter, James Murray as Stephen Hart, Andrew-Lee Potts as Connor Temple, Lucy Brown as Claudia Brown and Hannah Spearritt as Abby Maitland, with Juliet Aubrey as Helen Cutter, Ben Miller as James Lester and Mark Wakeling as Captain Tom Ryan.

In the final episode of Series 1, Captain Tom Ryan is killed off, and Claudia Brown disappears. The rest of the cast carries over into Series 2. Lucy Brown plays a new character, Jenny Lewis, a savvy PR person and a doppelgänger of Claudia, but unlike her, she has no romantic attachment to Cutter and resents him referring to her as "Claudia". Karl Theobald as Oliver Leek, Naomi Bentley as Caroline Steel and Tim Faraday as "The Cleaner" support.

Stephen Hart and Oliver Leek are killed off in the final episode of Series 2, and Caroline Steel leaves. Series 3 sees the introduction of Laila Rouass as Sarah Page, Ben Mansfield as Captain Becker and Jason Flemyng as Danny Quinn. In the third episode Nick Cutter is killed, with Danny Quinn replacing him as team leader. Jenny Lewis leaves two episodes later (returning for the penultimate episode of Series 4); and in the finale of Series 3, Helen Cutter is knocked off a cliff by a Raptor.

Sarah Page was killed offscreen prior to Series 4, and Danny Quinn returned only in the finale of Series 4. Joining the cast was Ciarán McMenamin as Matt Anderson, the new team leader, Ruth Kearney as Jess Parker, team coordinator, Alexander Siddig as Philip Burton, an industrialist who is put in charge of the ARC, Anton Lesser as Gideon, Ruth Bradley as Emily Merchant and Jonathyn Byrne as Ethan Dobrowski.

The Series 4 line-up returned for Series 5 with the exception of Gideon and Ethan Dobrowski. They were joined by Janice Byrne as April Leonard, Philip Burton's assistant. At the end of Series 5, the only original cast members remaining were Andrew-Lee Potts, Hannah Spearritt and Ben Miller.

Character appearances

A

Matt Anderson

Matthew "Matt" Anderson is portrayed by Ciarán McMenamin. He is a private man who guards the secrets of his past and the reason he has joined the ARC team. He is an ex-soldier and a zoologist, and can understand animal behaviour, demonstrating this ability in his first appearance by securing the escaped Dracorex inside of James Lester's (Ben Miller) office by luring it with a water dispenser, as the dinosaur was thirsty.

B

Captain Becker

Captain Hilary James Becker is portrayed by Ben Mansfield. According to producer Tim Haines, "he is going to be a new military guy who comes onto the team to watch their backs so that none of them gets eaten". Becker hails from a military family and background, and is moved from special operations to the Primeval team. Mansfield has stated that he will have "amiable friction" with Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) and he sees himself as the person who "looks after" the team.

Claudia Brown

Claudia Brown is played by Lucy Brown. According to the official Primeval website, Claudia Brown, (born in Oxford) joined the Civil Service after studying law at university. For two years, she was engaged to be married, but she broke it off a month before the wedding. She has had no significant relationships since. She later develops feelings for Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall).

Philip Burton

Philip Burton is portrayed by Alexander Siddig. As a result of the last mission of the old ARC, he appears in a new public/private partnership with the government, making him James Lester's (Ben Miller) boss after the minister. His company, Prospero Industries, is used as the new location for the new ARC. Philip is more interested by the Anomalies than the creatures. There is a secret project he is working on called New Dawn.

C

The Cleaner

"The Cleaner" is an experienced mercenary who is portrayed by Tim Faraday. He is introduced in episode 2.1, under-cover as a cleaner in a mall, who was sliced in the neck by a baby raptor. He later mysteriously disappears. Later in episode 2.2, Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) sees him as a soldier at the ARC, the scars from the raptor attack still visible. The mysterious cleaner is seen again by Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) in episode 2.4.

Helen Cutter

Professor Helen Cutter is played by Juliet Aubrey. It is implied that she may be responsible for a string of anomalies in time and space through which prehistoric and extinct animals are passing. At the very least, she clearly has an understanding of the phenomenon which exceeds that of any other character in the series and is able to use the anomalies for her own purposes, ranging from basic time travel and exploration to actively changing timelines and creating clones.

Before her disappearance, Helen had an affair with Stephen Hart (James Murray), Nick Cutter's (Douglas Henshall) best friend and right-hand man. She led Cutter to believe she was dead after passing through an anomaly eight years before the beginning of the series. She appears to have knowledge of most of the threats facing her husband and his team, but does not appear to wish to divulge this information. However, she did save the life of one of the members of Cutter's team when piranha-like Anurognathus attacked. She is thought by the Home Office to hold clues into why the anomalies form, and is therefore one of the focuses of attention in the storyline. Helen has told Cutter that she does know a fair amount about the anomalies, but has so far refused to divulge this information. Cutter, her ex-husband, also has a personal wish for her to return, and for her to stop escaping. She also seems to disapprove of her husband's budding relationship with Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown) and it is hinted she may have had a hand in Claudia's disappearance.

Nick Cutter

Professor Nick Cutter is played by Douglas Henshall. He is a Professor of Palaeozoology at the (fictional) Central Metropolitan University. He was one of a group of people who discover that prehistoric and extinct animals are passing through anomalies in time and space. Due to his expertise in prehistoric creatures, he was assigned to tackling the problems these creatures cause for the present civilisation by the Home Office, and was described as a "rank amateur who was amazingly good at what he did". Cutter is an expert in Palaeontology and the identification of extinct species. While little is known about his early life, the Official site states that he was born in Edinburgh and graduated from his year at University College London with First Class Honours. At some point he met and quickly married his wife Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey). Their marriage proved to be a failure, however, as according to Douglas Henshall's web site, the relationship between them became as stormy as it was passionate. They were estranged at the time of her disappearance, and this added to Cutter's sense of guilt when she vanished. When the series begins it is established that he had a wife, fellow palaeontologist Helen, who went missing eight years prior to his first encounter with a time anomaly. He tells the others that she went missing sometime after the two of them had a fight.

Douglas Henshall confirmed in TV Times that he would be leaving the show at the end of Series 3, quoting: "It was one of those things that happened and I thought, 'Oh God, I've done it. I've left', he told David Hollingsworth. "The show might miss me for five minutes, but then I think it will move on and be fine." "There's a little bit of me that thinks, 'this is my show, what do you mean they're still doing it without me," he says. "But it will be good for Primeval in the long term – it will have to reinvent itself."

D

Ethan Dobrowski

Ethan Dobrowski (formerly known as Patrick Quinn) is the brother of Danny Quinn who is played by Jonathyn Byrne. Patrick Quinn was fourteen years old when he and two of his friends broke into a house, however they were caught off guard by a Camouflage beast that had come through an anomaly, and Patrick's body was never found along with another one of his friends. Though presumed dead, and while his brother Danny (Jason Flemyng) spent years trying to find out what had happened to him, he had actually survived and gone through the anomaly to some point in the future. He is known to have killed several camouflage beasts in order to survive, and was left psychopathic by the experience. At some point he discovered another anomaly which took him to the year 1902 where he took the name Ethan Dobrowski, and people assumed he was originally from Russia. He killed six people, gaining a police record, and eventually left through another anomaly. At some point he joined a group of time travellers along with Emily Merchant (Ruth Bradley) and Charlotte Cameron. He became close to Charlotte, and she was able to calm him, as he was noticeably different from the other members of the group.

Duncan

Duncan is a friend of Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Tom (Jake Curran) and a fellow geek. He also seems to enjoy conspiracy theories. Despite this he does not believe Connor when he tries to tell him and Tom what he has been involved in without breaking the Official Secrets Act, and he and Duncan devise their own conspiracy theories around the dodo (which he names Dodie) that they capture. Duncan seems to be the more mellow of Connor's friends and is quite willing to follow the more proactive Tom.

Duncan returned in episode 4.2, having gone into hiding for four years since Tom's death and finding proof of creature attacks for himself since no one believed him. He led Connor to the docks where homeless people had been going missing, and with Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) they discovered the Kaprosuchus that had been living there for five years. After being chased into a maze of containers where the creature pursued him until it was killed, Connor returned him home, and asked that if he came across more creature reports that he tell him.

G

Gideon

Gideon is portrayed by Anton Lesser. Throughout the beginning of the fourth series, it is implied that he and Matt Anderson (Ciarán McMenamin) were working on a secret mission involving the ARC. He seemed desperate that they achieve their goal, warning Matt to keep an eye on the other members of the ARC and be wary of everyone, particularly Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) and Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) when they returned after a year in the Cretaceous.

H

Mick Harper

Mick Harper is a journalist who is played by Ramon Tikaram. He first appears in episode 2.6, trying to interview a survivor of a Columbian mammoth's rampage on the M25. Like everyone else he had been told it was an elephant, unaware that the creature was actually a mammoth. He was unable to complete the interview because Jenny Lewis (Lucy Brown) disrupted him. She used a sarcastic tone about it being a mammoth to throw him off, but Mick suspected there was more to the operation, and vowed to find out what was going on.

Stephen Hart

Stephen James Hart is played by James Murray. He is part of a team of five people, who investigate a series of anomalies in space and time through which prehistoric and extinct creatures are travelling. Stephen is Nick Cutter's (Douglas Henshall) lab technician and "right hand man". During the first series he was the object of fellow team member Abby Maitland's (Hannah Spearritt) affections. He did not return her affections.

According to the official site Stephen is passionately committed to wildlife conservation and firmly believes that humanity is destroying its own environment through unchecked industrialisation. On average, he runs about 30 miles a week.

J

Christine Johnson

Christine Johnson (played by Belinda Stewart-Wilson, ex-wife of Ben Miller) is the military liaison to the ARC in series three. Ostensibly, her role is to provide the assistance of the armed forces to deal with the problems caused by the anomalies. However, it is apparent she has other objectives.

In episode 3.1, she revealed her new role to James Lester (Ben Miller), both equally despising the other, and sent several soldiers through an anomaly into the future to retrieve a mysterious artefact. The mission failed, with only one soldier returning alive, and the artefact ultimately being stolen by Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey). In episode 3.4, it is revealed that she has her own facility, which contains an anomaly and a Future Predator which her team is running tests on. The anomaly that Christine has is normally cloaked from the ARC's Anomaly Detection Device (presumably by radio jamming on the frequency used by the detector), but the existence of the anomaly is revealed to the ARC team when the cloaking device goes offline. In episode 3.5 she visits the ARC and attempted to convince Lester to replace the deceased Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) with Captain Wilder (Alex McSweeney) so that she could control the ARC team, and blamed Lester when one of her men was killed by a fungus creature. She was annoyed even further when Lester led her to assume he would choose Wilder to be team leader, but instead appoints Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng).

K

Katherine Kavanagh

Katherine Kavanagh appeared in episode 3.3 and episode 3.4 played by Ruth Gemmell. She is Mick Harper's (Ramon Tikaram) boss from Evening News HQ. She only gave his assistant one chance to find a Diictodon and when Mick gave the picture to her, she said "No, not really, you bring me a blurry picture of a Gopher with false comedy teeth, a child of ten could've faked that. Get out of my sight!" In episode 3.4, Mick gave her an anomaly detector and they followed it. She got out from being locked in a building and while filming, Katherine was killed with Mick by a Giganotosaurus while it followed Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) in a helicopter.

L

Oliver Leek

Oliver Leek was the main antagonist of the second series. He is played by Karl Theobald. Leek works for the ARC (Anomaly Research Centre) which investigates time anomalies and stops creatures of the past and future from coming through them. When Helen (Juliet Aubrey) and Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) went to the Permian in episode 1.6, on their return the timeline had changed, Leek had replaced Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown) as James Lester's (Ben Miller) assistant.

According to the official Primeval website, Leek is "slightly nerdy, intelligent and eager to please". He went as far as buying suits from exactly the same tailor as Lester, a feeble attempt to impress his boss. At school Leek was overlooked and the last picked at sports. As an adult, he goes to the same restaurant every morning and eats at the same table, while the waiter still fails to recognise him. Apparently he is 33 years old, 170 cm (5 ft, 8 in) tall, and was born in Birmingham.

April Leonard

April Leonard is played by Janice Byrne, and is Connor Temple's (Andrew-Lee Potts) assistant following her appointment by Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig). When around Connor and the rest of the ARC team she wears glasses, though she does not need them.

She was first seen in episode 5.1 at the site of Philip's "New Dawn" facility, and Philip decided to have her assist Connor in helping work on "New Dawn" to create energy from the anomalies. She was later shown to be reporting to Philip on Connor's progress, as well as keeping an eye on anyone that Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) might have told about his connection with Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey). In episode 5.3, she subtly forces Connor to continue working, and later gives Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt) "friendly advice" about leaving Connor to finish his important work at the risk of losing him.

James Lester

James Peregrine Lester is played by Ben Miller.

Lester works for the British government, and is leader and ultimately responsible for the team of scientists, led by Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall), charged with investigating the appearance of time anomalies. A ruthless and sarcastic individual, he's been given the task of uncovering the secrets of the anomalies and to prevent mass panic and he intends to do that by whatever means are necessary.

According to the official site he is without any real political allegiances although he believes that the ends justify the means and has no problems with torture. He is also hinted to be a British patriot with a distrust of the EU. – "And I thought the Common Agricultural Policy was far-fetched."

Jenny Lewis

Jennifer "Jenny" Lewis is played by Lucy Brown and replaced a physically identical but temperamentally different character, Claudia Brown, played by the same actress. She is 28 years old. At the end of the first series, Claudia disappeared off the timeline, much to the horror of Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall), who found it difficult to adjust when Jenny appeared, looking exactly like Claudia.

M

Abby Maitland

Abigail Sarah "Abby" Maitland is played by Hannah Spearritt. ITV's official site says that while Abby has arachnophobia she developed a love of reptiles when her parents took her on holiday to the Galapagos Islands as a child and has had a love affair with lizards ever since. Although she started university she later left after only one term when she became a zookeeper. Always fit and athletic, her hobbies include gymnastics, Ashtanga yoga, karate, kick boxing, swimming and diving. She keeps gym equipment in her flat. Actress Hannah Spearritt also stated that Abby was abused as a child. In Series 1 she seemed to be attracted to Stephen Hart (James Murray), but in the second season she seems to be falling in love with Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts).

Jack Maitland

Jack Maitland is the brother of Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt), played by Robert Lowe. He first appears in episode 3.4, when Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) mistakenly believes that Jack is Abby's boyfriend after he answers Abby's phone while she's out of the room. At the end of the episode Abby explains that Jack is her brother but asks Connor to move out for a couple of days so that Jack can stay with her. In episode 3.6, he invited his friends for a game of poker and used Rex. He gambled Rex and put him up for auction and neither Connor or Abby were happy with him. Connor felt he could've made Jack feel bad after he got Rex back from his friend, Tony, but he did not. In episode 3.8, he stole Abby's anomaly detector and found out she worked in a dangerous place and while playing around in a sports car, he went through the anomaly. He fell in a trap underground and broke his arm. He shouted "Help!" and Abby heard him. They got him safe and they all shouted at him for nearly killing Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield) (and almost himself). Jack moved out at the end of series three, and it was implied that Connor then moved back in with Abby. It is unknown if he knew of Abby's year-long disappearance.

In the first-season finale of Primeval: New World, Connor mentions that he has a wife, meaning that he and Abby have since gotten married following Series 5; this also means that Jack is Connor's brother-in-law.

Emily Merchant

Emily Merchant is a 28-year-old English woman who appeared in a theatre via an anomaly in episode 4.3. Born in London in 1840, she is familiar with travelling in time and was previously living with a group in the Cretaceous. She carries a stiletto and is capable of holding her own in a fight with humans or creatures.

P

Sarah Page

Sarah Page studies Egyptology before joining the ARC team in Series 3. She joins after witnessing a Pristichampsus attack the British History Museum in the first episode. Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) is impressed with her skills and asks her to join the team, which she accepts. after she makes a remark, Cutter sets her the task of finding out if the old myths and legends of the past could have a link with the anomalies. Sarah is shown to have a brother and sister type relationship with Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts).

Jess Parker

Jessica "Jess" Parker is the team's field coordinator, using her skills to help the team and direct their movements, all from her control station at the ARC. Although only 19, Jess displays an outstanding level of organisation and efficiency, providing a stable environment for the team during their missions, and also has a crush on Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield).

Q

Danny Quinn

Danny Quinn is a former police officer and team leader, and is played by Jason Flemyng. He was investigating the death of two teenagers (one being his brother, Patrick) in a house believed to be haunted. He suspected Ryan Mason as the murderer, as he was the third teenager in the house, who escaped. Danny frequently went to the house to arrest trespassers, and at first thought the team were breaking in. He then arrests Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) and discovers a futuristic Camouflage beast, as well as the anomalies. He discovers that the creature was the one that murdered his brother. He shoots the Camouflage beast back through the anomaly. He returns, following the team on his motorbike when they arrive in an airport and pilots a helicopter through the anomaly so the Giganotosaurus that had come through followed him back.

R

Tom Ryan

Captain Tom Ryan is played by Mark Wakeling. He was the leader of the special forces unit that supported Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) and his team. Ryan was said to have joined the army at 17, saw active service in both Gulf wars, joined the SAS, then transferred to a special elite unit engaged in top secret operations. He had led an army walking team to the South Pole and back in record time and commented that it was chilly on his return. He was attacked by a Future Predator at the end of Series 1 and died shortly afterwards. He was replaced in Series 3, by Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield).

The BBC America website revealed that initially Captain Ryan was going to be killed-off in the first episode, but Mark Wakeling acted so well that they commissioned him for the entire series. Henshall also stated that he would have wanted Ryan to be like the character of Kenny McCormick in South Park, being killed and resurrected throughout the different series.

S

Caroline Steel

Caroline Steel is a supporting villain played by Naomi Bentley. Steel meets Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) in episode 2.2 in a local DVD store where Connor was looking for science fiction DVDs.

T

Connor Temple

Connor Temple is played by Andrew-Lee Potts, who relates strongly to his character. He is one of the main characters, a student of Palaeontology at the (fictional) Central Metropolitan University. He is one of a group of people who discover that prehistoric and extinct animals are passing through anomalies in time and space. When the Home Office assigns his professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) to tackling the problems these creatures cause, Connor tags along and is accepted as an aid to the rest of the team.

Tom

Tom, played by Jake Curran, should not be confused with Tom Ryan (Mark Wakeling), an SAS soldier. He is a friend of Connor Temple (Andrew-Lee Potts) and Duncan (James Bradshaw) and a fellow geek. He appears to be the bossier "leader" of Connor's friends and is the one that seems to come up with the "plans" whereas Duncan is quite happy to follow, he also seems to be slightly more aggressive than Duncan, both with and without the parasite infecting him.

W

Captain Wilder

Captain Wilder, played by Alex McSweeney, is Christine Johnson's (Belinda Stewart-Wilson) head of security in Series 3. He takes an active role in several episodes and is Christine's choice to succeed Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) as leader of the anomaly response team, as part of her plot to seize control of the ARC from James Lester (Ben Miller). This fails, and Lester appoints Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) instead. It is also revealed that Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield) from the ARC knew Wilder at Sandhurst. Later Wilder is recognised by Danny at a distance, leading to the discovery that Wilder and Christine have captured Eve (Kate Magowan) - actually the disguised Helen Cutter (Juliet Aubrey) - from the future. In episode 3.9 he points his gun at Helen who threatens to kill Christine if the artefact is not given to her.

References

1. ^ "Episode 2". Primeval. Episode 2. 17 February 2007. ITV. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
2. Primeval – The Team
3. Primeval – The Team
4. Primeval ITV:Tom Ryan Factfile
5. "Episode 1". Primeval. Episode 1. 10 February 2008. ITV. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
6. Radio Times interview with Andrew-Lee Potts

• Articles to be merged from July 2017
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• Primeval
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• Lists of science fiction television characters