The Night Caller episode 1 cast: Who stars in the Channel 5 thriller?

Robert Glenister, Sean Pertwee, Suzanne Packer and Stephen Walters star in Channel 5's brand-new drama, The Night Caller. The contemporary thriller follows taxi driver Tony and his "unhealthy obsession" with a late-night radio talk-show host called Lawrence.

The Night Caller explores loneliness and has been described by cast members as a "very real and different," series that's "not another cop drama" but is full of twists and turns. Robert, who is known for Hustle, Spooks, and Sherwood, takes on the role of cab driver Tony.

Tony, who is in his 50s, used to be a popular and respected teacher but after losing his job, his confidence plummeted, his marriage collapsed and he’s become increasingly isolated. Now his only lifelines are cafe worker Rosa, who is played by Casualty star Suzanne Packer, whom he forms a growing attachment to, and a radio DJ called Lawrence, played by You and Gotham star Sean Pertwee, whom he spends his nights listening to.

Outlander, Shetland, and Slow Horses star Stephen Walters also joins the cast as Tony's colleague, fellow cabbie Rob. Here's everything you need to know about the actors.

Who is in the cast of The Night Caller?

Robert Glenister is Tony Conroy

Robert plays Tony, a lonely 50-something cab driver from Liverpool. Speaking about his character, who is in every scene, Tony said: "I was really intrigued by Tony and wondered why this man is the way he is. This is the story of a man who has suffered a major trauma that nobody knows about, plus he’s lost his job as a teacher.

"He has chosen to work nights and when we meet him he’s at a very low ebb. He feels like he has been thrown on the scrapheap and then he finds solace talking to the presenter of a late-night radio talk show, who gets inside his head. And then it all goes Pete Tong!"

Viewers will recognise Robert from his role a conman Ash in the hit television series Hustle, as well as his appearances in Spooks where he played Home Secretary, Nicholas Blake. More recently Robert starred in BBC's hugely popular Sherwood as DI Kevin Salisbury.

Sean Pertwee is Lawrence Brightway

Sean takes on the role of Lawrence, a late-night radio talk-show host. Sean joked that his character is "genuinely everything" that he hates in a person.

He said of his character: "Lawrence is an intelligent but narcissistic man, he’s thirsty for attention and he really just wants to talk about himself rather than his listeners but professes to care about them. He's in the twilight of his career, working the graveyard shift on late night radio shows and he’s embittered by that.

"His heyday was in London in the 1990s, having a beer with Noel Gallagher at the Groucho Club, but he feels he’s on the decline, he’s been demoted to Liverpool and he feels above it all. His agenda is purely to get himself out, to be seen, to be heard, as he doesn’t have anything else in his life."

Sean is best known for his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the Gotham series which ran between 2014 and 2019 and more recently starred in Netflix's hit television show You in the role of Vic alongside Penn Badgley.

Suzanne Packer is Rosa

Suzanne plays cafe-worker Rosa who is struggling to get away from an abusive ex-partner. Describing her character, Suzanne said: "She is a very lovely person and the kind of woman who will automatically trust you, unless she has a reason not to.

"She’s not naive in a Pollyanna-ish way, but there’s an innocence to her and she will always aim to see the best in someone first. She has spent a lot of her adulthood caring for her mum, so she’s quite altruistic like Tony, and when her mum dies it’s almost like she can start to have her own life and make her own choices. For Rosa that means training to become a teacher and firing up part of her brain she wasn’t able to use as a carer."

Suzanne played Tess Bateman in the medical drama Casualty from 1996 to 2021, and has also starred in Brookside and Holby City. Suzanne has also had roles in plenty of dramas so viewers will recognise her from shows such as The Pembrokeshire Murders, Keeping Faith, In My Skin, Ridley, Silent Witness, and Tree on a Hill.

Stephen Walters is Rob

Stephen joins the cast as Tony's colleague, fellow cabbie Rob. Explaining his character, Stephen said: "Rob is an ex-military man, he served in Afghanistan and now works as a taxi driver, which is how he knows Tony. We find out that Rob is a drug addict and possibly suffers from mental health issues too. He’s a character who looms in the cafe that Tony goes to, and he provides a nice contrast to Tony. I toyed with the idea that Rob had been watching Tony for a while and senses that he’s a loner, that’s why he approaches him. When you see Rob for the first time he’s just plucked up the courage to talk to Tony.

"There are some gaps for the audience to fill in for themselves about Rob, and a lot of what’s interesting about this man is not actually said out loud. I’ve learned that audiences are quite smart, they have their own ideas on characters and I like that ambiguous tone."

Stephen is best known for his role as Angus Mhor on Outlander, as well Shetland, where he played Thomas Malone. Stephen has also starred in Silent Witness and Vera and took on the role of Zeppo in the television series Slow Horses.