Anna is a 38-year-old mother of two working as a lifestyle columnist for Bath Living magazine. Reeling from her divorce, she feels insecure about re-entering the modern dating pool. To save her job during a corporate transition, she pitches an article series where her children pick her dates without using apps. She is fiercely protective of her kids and struggles with self-doubt regarding her age and career relevance.

Will is an ambitious journalist at Bath Living, eight years younger than Anna. He confidently pitches ideas to management and embraces digital media trends, presenting a threat to Anna's traditional column. Beneath his cocky exterior, he values family loyalty and puts his career on hold to help care for his disabled brother.

Dan is Anna's ex-husband who quickly reinvents himself after their marriage ends. He takes up cycling, improves his physical fitness, and moves in with a woman in her twenties. He often clashes with Anna over parenting duties and household expectations, preferring a structured, minimalist lifestyle over her chaotic one.

Jess is Anna and Dan's teenage daughter. She is highly observant of her parents' shifting dynamics and faces typical adolescent challenges, including online bullying from a classmate. She often acts as a sounding board for her mother and actively participates in selecting dates for the magazine column.

Ethan is Anna and Dan's six-year-old son. He is sensitive to the changes in his family structure, occasionally experiencing regression like bed-wetting following the divorce. He approaches life with innocent enthusiasm and eagerly pitches in to help choose dates for his mother's column.

Lottie is Anna's pregnant younger sister who lives in the country with her husband. She frequently visits Bath to check on Anna, bringing flowers and steadfast optimism. She acts as Anna's primary confidante, pushing her to re-enter the dating world and stop wallowing in post-divorce isolation.

Sylvie is Dan's girlfriend, a woman in her twenties who favors a beige, minimalist aesthetic. She maintains an impeccably clean home and willingly adopts traditional gender roles while Dan works. Her put-together lifestyle and youthful appearance frequently trigger Anna's insecurities.

Noah is Anna's widower neighbor. He is fiercely protective of the overgrown hedge dividing their properties, leading to frequent disputes with Anna. Socially awkward but dependable, he keeps to himself while quietly mourning the loss of his wife, Gemma, who died eight years prior.

Michael is the local mail carrier and a passionate Jane Austen enthusiast who works part-time at the Jane Austen Centre. He enjoys Regency-era cosplay and deeply values intellectual conversation, making him a polite and respectful companion who values friendship over forced romance.

Loretta is a cancer survivor who mistakenly believes Anna also has the illness due to a head lice treatment bonnet. She is vibrant, outgoing, and actively participates in charity work and speed dating events. She quickly becomes a warm, supportive friend to Anna.

Jonathan is the owner and manager of Bath Living magazine. Facing lagging revenue, he brings in new management and demands more relatable, vulnerable content from his writers. He values Will's modern ideas but gives Anna a chance to prove herself with the dating column.

Crispin is a manager from Apex Media, the company investing in Bath Living. He is blunt, demanding, and solely focused on capturing a younger demographic. He pushes his writers to share raw, emotional details of their lives to generate reader engagement.

Neil is a recently divorced father of a child at Ethan's school. He uses fishing to cope with his divorce but harbors deep resentment toward his ex-wife and aggressive hostility toward cyclists.

Caleb is a 27-year-old waiter who invites Anna to a college house party. He is carefree, adventurous, and lives entirely in the moment, representing the spontaneous youthfulness Anna feels she has lost.

Ryan is a local theater performer and minor television star. While physically attractive, he is highly self-absorbed, arrogant, and behaves inappropriately toward women when in private settings.

Penny is a student at Jess's school who engages in relentless online and passive-aggressive bullying. Her actions cause severe emotional distress for Jess and require school intervention.

Andre is Ethan's handsome swim coach. He is physically fit, attentive, and enjoys active pursuits like rock climbing, serving as an ostensibly perfect candidate on paper.

Simon is Will's younger brother who sustained debilitating injuries in a car accident. He sings in a community choir for people with disabilities and relies on his family for daily care.

Deedee is a tall, blonde headhunter. She assists Will by searching for career advancement opportunities in larger markets.

Rory is Will and Simon's father. Following the death of his wife, he relies on his sons to help provide constant care for Simon.

Seb is Lottie's husband and Anna's brother-in-law. He lives a quiet life in the country with Lottie and is notably squeamish around blood.

Jane is a woman Michael meets online who shares his deep appreciation for Jane Austen's literature. She attends the Regency ball with him and helps Anna style her hair for the event.

Steph is Anna's coworker at Bath Living. She enjoys the social aspects of the office and frequently encourages Anna to go out with the group, though she often expresses frustration when Anna declines.

Kelly is a coworker of Anna's at Bath Living. She offers highly filtered, superficial advice about modern dating apps, suggesting Anna use bikini photos to attract more attention.

Maeve is Will's former girlfriend. They met in a bookshop, but she eventually declined his marriage proposal, leaving him heartbroken and cautious about serious commitments.

Roger is an older gentleman who attends a speed dating event in Bath. He possesses a warm, grandfatherly demeanor and quickly strikes up a connection with Loretta.