In gripping new crime drama Under Salt Marsh, the fictional Welsh town of Morfa Halen comes alive thanks to the colourful, and troubled, characters that inhabit it.

The locals of the tiny community are all intricately connected from decades of marriages and children – so when nine-year-old Cefin is found dead, seemingly drowned, it rocks the area to its core.

With an oncoming storm looming and threatening to wash away any evidence, the investigation reunites detective DS Bull and his former detective partner Jackie Ellis, who turned her back on the force to become a teacher after a similar murder case in the same town three years back.

Ahead of watching the show, here are the key players of the story, and who plays them.

Played by: Kelly Reilly (Yellowstone, Here)

Jackie is a compassionate and inspiring schoolteacher in Morfa Halen, but we soon realise how precarious this life of hers is. Three years ago, her nine-year-old niece, Nessa Taman, went missing. Jackie, then a police detective, worked on the case but failed to solve the suspected murder. The impact led Jackie to suffer a breakdown and leave the force, becoming estranged from her sister, Nessa’s mother. Nessa’s disappearance still stalks her and when Cefin, one of her pupils, is found dead, we see how much Jackie blames herself for both his and Nessa’s fates.

Jackie’s instincts and intricate knowledge of the community put her in the perfect position to solve Cefin’s murder and give her one last chance to get justice for Nessa.

Played by: Rafe Spall (The English, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)

Bull grew up in the Black Country and, as a teen, he saw his closest friend James killed. Now a seasoned police detective, adherent to logic and law, Bull’s brusque exterior masks a huge amount of emotion that he can’t understand or acknowledge. Under stress, he tries to create order from chaos, categorising the natural world around him and repressing an inner rage that he fears he can’t control.

Returning to Morfa Halen, Bull is confronted by his failure to solve Nessa’s disappearance and by the wedge that was driven between him and Jackie during the first case. Soon, Bull’s usual ways of coping are challenged by the reopening of old wounds – his turbulent relationship with Jackie and an awkward reunion with a one-night stand, and a surprising bond with someone who reminds him of his younger self.

Played by: Jonathan Pryce (The Crown, Slow Horses)

A septuagenarian Farmer and Bevan family patriarch. The Bevan Farm is in the hills overlooking Morfa Halen and the land has been passed down through numerous generations to Solomon, who feels a deep affinity with it. An emotional man, Solomon prides himself on being self- sufficient, loyal to his family and stoic, even as his traditional values face increased challenges.

Played by: Naomi Yang (Nightsleeper, Wolfe)

Bull’s Deputy SIO on the Cefin Hill case. Ambitious, enthusiastic, insightful, and often eager to please. She admires Bull and wants to win his respect, though she’s wary of Jackie’s influence on him. Privately Deng struggles with the fact that her mother doesn’t approve of her chosen career as a police officer and she does her best to fulfil her own moral code of conduct: to protect those in need.

Played by: Rhodri Meilir (Pren Ar y Bryn/Tree On A Hill, Craith/Hidden)

Solomon’s eldest son and a farmer like him. Pragmatic but desperate to earn Solomon’s love and respect, he goes to great lengths for his family and to keep the farm afloat. He has two adult children, Eddie (20) and Kath (18), with whom he lives in the farmhouse alongside Solomon.

Played by: Sam C. Wilson (Dodger, Small Town Big Story)

Solomon’s younger son, and also a farmer. Possesses the characteristic Bevan family black hair and large in stature. Fiercely protective of his family, and a little hot headed. Married to Tess, they have five children who live in a property on the farm.

Played by: Leisa Gwenllian (Still Waters, Itopia)

Grandchild of Solomon, and daughter of Ned. Part of the extensive Bevan brood, Kath is smart, conscientious and industrious, holding down a part-time job running a ferry boat. She and her siblings/cousins used to play with Nessa Taman before her disappearance.

Played by: Harry Lawtey (Industry, Joker Folie à Deux)

Cara’s brother. James’s uncle. Jackie’s lover. Works for Mac Jones at Sunnyside, rebuilding the sea wall. Lives with his sister on the edge of Morfa. Rakish and lazily handsome, Dylan’s spontaneity appeals to Jackie. His feelings for her run deeper than he lets on. A devoted uncle to James and a strong male role model.

Played by: Dinita Gohil (Sandman, Greed)

Née Taman. Mac’s wife and Nessa Taman’s aunt. Headteacher at the local primary school, who threw Jackie a lifeline when she quit the police by offering her a job. She and Mac have a one-year-old, Dash. She grew up with her mother Ira (who still lives in Morfa), and brother Devnand, who is married to Jackie’s sister Lydia.

Played by: Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters, Phantom Thread)

Dylan’s boss and Nisha’s husband. He lives with Nisha and their one-year-old son, Dash, in a house slightly outside Morfa - a ‘dream home’ that they are renovating. A family man with aspirations of reinvigorating Morfa, he is in charge of the rebuilding of the community funded sea wall.

Played by: Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat, Life and Death in the Warehouse)

Née Cheryl Bevan. Cefin’s mother, Solomon’s daughter and the local butcher. Shell lives with her husband Danny Hill and children Nic (13), Noa (11) and Cefin (9) next to the family butchers in Morfa Halen. Tough and assertive, she is often sharp and critical of Jackie, having known her a long time and is prepared to speak to truth despite the consequences.

Played by: Mark Stanley (Happy Valley, The Reckoning)

Cefin’s father who also runs the local butchers. Shell fell for the gentle and pensive Danny by contrast to her stoic, masculine family. Danny feels Cefin’s loss acutely. He often struggles to speak up for himself.

Played by: Dino Fetscher (Fool Me Once, Foundation)

Wales Environment Institute worker. Practical, outdoorsy, and kind. Having worked in Morfa for six months, Gareth is a realist about the danger the town is in and steps up to help protect the community. He lives alone in a sparse house on the outskirts of Morfa and keeps a close eye on a weather front that could pose a danger.

Played by: Lizzie Annis (The Witcher: Blood Origin, Extraordinary)

James’s mother and Dylan’s sister. A grounded and shrewd single working mum with Cerebral Palsy. Lives with James in a house near Morfa’s seafront.

Played by: Newcomer Amara Atwal

Missing nine-year-old. Daughter of Lydia and Dev, and niece of Jackie and Nisha. Her disappearance three years ago shook Morfa Halen. Now a haunting figure in Jackie’s dreams.

Played by: Gwïon Morris Jones (Dal Y Mellt, The Winter King)

Ned’s son. Tough and confrontational; Eddie is often looking to impress his dad.

Played by: Newcomer Jack Thomas-Humphreys

The nine-year-old son of Shell and Danny, and a pupil of Jackie’s. Cefin is a timid child who suffers from nightmares. He has a fondness for magic tricks and is usually found with his best friend James Rees. His murder is the second tragedy to befall Morfa Halen.

Played by: Newcomer Osian Emlyn

Cefin’s nine-year-old best friend. Son of Cara Rees. After Cefin’s murder, he becomes thoughtful, taciturn, and haunted.

Played by: Morgan Watkins (Noughts and Crosses, Kingsman: The Secret Service)

A reclusive beekeeper in the off-shoot Spider Island community, where he lives on a houseboat. Once a town resident, he retreated after accusations during the Nessa Taman case. He has known Shell since childhood. Quiet, private, and conflict averse.

Played by: William Thomas (Torchwood, We Are Seven)

Jackie and Lydia’s father, who doesn’t want to get involved with their grievances. Shares Jackie’s warmth and empathy. Now frail, Owen gardens and looks after his parrot.

Played by: India Mullen (Normal People, Brassic)

Née Ellis. Jackie’s younger sister, mother to Nessa. Married her childhood sweetheart Dev. Broken and guilt-stricken after Nessa’s disappearance. She and Dev left Morfa and haven’t returned.

Played by: Eiry Thomas (Keeping Faith, The Bench)

Forensic pathologist. Experienced and trusted by Bull. Desensitised to violence, blunt and matter-of-fact. Doesn’t live or work in Morfa.

Played by: Janeks Babidorics (Brassic, We Were The Lucky Ones)

Farmhand for the Bevans’ and lives in a caravan next to his cousin Victor. Well-built but scruffy. Sends his earnings to his family in Romania. Pretends to speak little English to avoid attachments.

Played by: Dritan Kastrati (Mobland, Kraven the Hunter)

Romanian labourer on the sea wall project. Affable and open. Accepts his life in Morfa and doesn’t share his cousin August’s dour outlook.

Played by: Julian Lewis Jones (House of the Dragon, Wheel of Time)

Radical environmentalist, aligned with the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. Intimidating and shambling but tolerated by the community. Lives at The Ship Hotel under his sister Carys’s watch.

Played by: Marilyn Cutts (Death Valley, Home Invasion)

Proprietor of The Ship Hotel and sister to Osian. Cares for her brother. Warm and welcoming to outsiders like Bull. Eccentric and devoted to her dogs.

Played by: Martyn Ellis (Moonflower Murders, The New Adventures of Robin Hood)

Local chip shop owner. A jovial, beloved community figure. Determined to stay despite worsening climate threats.