Bleak Expectations - Cast - Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

• Richard Johnson - Sir Philip ("Pip") Bin
• Tom Allen - Young Pip
• Susy Kane - Pippa Bin, Pip's sister and later Harry's wife
• Anthony Head - Mr Gently Benevolent (full name Gently Lovely Kissy Nice-Nice Benevolent); Jeremy Sourquill
• James Bachman - Servewell, Sir Philip's servant; Harry Biscuit, always eager to assist his friend Pip, but usually with impracticable schemes. Dies tragically in the penultimate episode of series three, but is brought back to life in the next episode by Benevolent for his evil undead army.
• Mark Evans - Mr Wyckham-Post-Forburton...., Thomas' lawyer whose full name took 20 minutes to say and to whom - since he charged by the hour - "his name was his greatest asset"; Revd Supermarket; Waiter; Dr Cure-Some-By-Chance; sundry boys, gentlemen and chavvies. Evans is credited in the cast list of every episode, including, on one occasion when he had no lines, as "sundry trappist monks."
• Sarah Hadland - Lily, Sir Phillip's daughter; Ripely Fecund, Pip's third wife (series 2-5); Miss Christmasham, Sweetly's guardian, parodying Miss Havisham (series 3)
• Geoffrey Whitehead - the entire dynasty of various evil families with equally unpleasant names. In the first series, he is the Hardthrasher clan; Jeremiah (Headmaster), Obadiah (Doctor), Ezekiel (Beadle), Hasdrubal (Admiral), Chastity (Governess) and Buford T (Judge). In the second series, he plays the six Sternbeater brothers; Francis N (Scientist), Emmett (Railway Magnate), Jedrington (Speaker), Avarice (Money-Lender), Pushington (Opium Dealer) and George S (General). In series 3 the family name is Whackwallop. In series 4, the family name is Grimpunch. This was inspired by the film Kind Hearts and Coronets, in which Alec Guinness played multiple members of the same family, all of whom died one way or another during the course of the picture. In similar fashion, Geoffrey Whitehead's characters have similarly short shelf-lives, and get bumped off in various gruesome ways during the series, usually one per episode, although occasionally one will run into the next episode, giving Geoffrey Whitehead an unequalled tally of comedy deaths as different characters. In the penultimate episode of the third series it is revealed that the father of each of these three sets of brothers was one of Benevolent's evil stepfathers. His Stepsiblings were his natural allies. The only good one was General George S. Sternbeater (the black sheep of the family), who is disintegrated while battling against the Martians, although his ghost appears at the end of the episode. In the final episode of Series 3, a Mr Harshsmacker appears briefly at the end, who claims to be the cousin of Bishop Whackwallop. Throughout Series 4 Whitehead plays the Grimpunch brothers, who don't imply that they're in any way related to the other families, and some of whom aid Pip in attempting to defeat Mr Benevolent. In series 5, Whitehead portrays various invariably-doomed members of the Clampvulture family.