Daphne is a 70-year-old resident of Hammersmith who has spent the last fifteen years confined to her luxurious apartment. Realizing she wants more from her future, she buys a whiteboard and a new mobile phone to execute a specific plan for making friends. She possesses a sharp, outspoken personality and a taste for fine things. She harbors a colorful past that she keeps strictly hidden from her new acquaintances.

Art is a 75-year-old actor struggling with a dwindling career and financial anxieties. He frequently feels ignored by society due to his age, prompting a rebellious compulsion to shoplift small items. He joins the community center's senior club to save on his heating bill but soon finds himself deeply invested in the group. He carries heavy guilt regarding his estranged family.

Lydia is a 53-year-old former food stylist who gave up her career to raise her two daughters. With her children away at college, she faces an empty nest and a profound loss of identity. She takes a job running the local senior citizens' social club hoping for a quiet, gentle group. Instead, she finds herself managing a chaotic assembly of strong personalities while quietly suspecting her husband is losing interest in her.

Ziggy is an 18-year-old high school student facing the daunting responsibilities of single fatherhood. Living in a rough government-funded housing estate, he tries to avoid local gangs while rushing to drop his baby off at the community center nursery. He dreams of attending university to study computer science but constantly struggles to balance his education with his immediate childcare needs.

William is a retired paparazzo and Art's lifelong best friend. As a Black senior citizen, he occasionally faces prejudice, which Art fiercely resents on his behalf. William provides Art with emotional support, practical help, and a willing partner for their dark-humored games.

Jeremy is Lydia's husband, a man who has grown increasingly distant and dismissive of his wife. He frequently belittles Lydia, attributing her concerns to hormones or delusion. His late hours and secretive texting cause deep insecurity in his marriage.

Kylie is Ziggy's infant daughter. She attends the nursery at the Mandel Community Center while her father finishes his final year of school. She becomes an unexpected bonding point for the older members of the community center.

Maggie Thatcher is a scruffy, nervy dog initially owned by Pauline. Following a sudden accident at the community center, the dog is left without an owner. The senior group decides to share custody of her, turning her into a communal pet and a project for a television talent competition.

Pauline is a rigid, humorless retired headmistress who attends the first gathering of the senior club. She brings her dog to the meeting and harshly lectures the group leader right before an unfortunate structural failure at the center ends her life.

Anna is an older woman and former long-distance truck driver who aggressively drives her mobility cart. She stands out with her brightly dyed hair, viewing her gray roots as a blank canvas, and casually mentions outliving her five husbands.

Ruby is an older woman originally from Bangladesh who attends the senior social club. She is a dedicated knitter who continually creates oversized, confusing garments and deeply misses her late husband of fifty years.

Alicia is a red-haired high school student who plays the oboe. She catches Ziggy's eye at school and shows interest in him, though she is wary of the complicated elements of his life.

Floyd is a gang leader operating within the council estate where Ziggy lives. He uses intimidation and pressure to rope vulnerable young people into running illegal errands for him.

Lucky is a young foster child attending the community center nursery. He is completely nonverbal, making him a quiet presence until he begins participating in the nativity play alongside Art.

Jenna is Ziggy's former junior prom date. After an unplanned pregnancy, she relinquished daily responsibility for their baby to live a standard teenage life, occasionally dropping by for brief visits.

Mr. Wingate is Ziggy's computer science teacher. He recognizes Ziggy's academic potential and offers him extra tutoring for university admissions, giving the teenager a glimpse of hope for his future.

Jack is Daphne's late husband. Although he is no longer present, Daphne still talks to him aloud to simulate conversation, holding onto memories of the luxurious life they once shared.

Janine is the woman who runs the nursery at the Mandel Community Center. She manages the childcare for local parents, including Ziggy, but is strict about her operational hours.

Sidney is a man Daphne meets as part of her plan to find a partner. He presents himself as a safe, dependable companion with a son who works as an aid worker.

Penny Rogers is a police constable who halts a minibus full of community center members. She boards the vehicle searching for a specific suspect wanted by the Metropolitan Police.

Kerry is Art's estranged daughter. She and her mother left Art decades ago following a family tragedy, leaving an enduring rift that Art longs to repair.