The wonderful Nicola Walker is back on screens as Hannah Stern in BBC One’s The Split, but not for long…
It’s the third and final series of the legal drama, and Hannah is going to be a hugely missed character.
Nicola’s also set to star in upcoming new BBC drama, Marriage, alongside Sean Bean.
Let’s take the opportunity to look back at some of the other characters Nicola’s played.
Who do we love and who could we live without?
1) Nicola Walker as Hannah Stern – The Split
Well, what can we say about Hannah apart from the fact she’s an absolute queen?
What we love most about Hannah is how normal she is, despite having a high-flying legal career, two high-maintenance sisters and three children.
She’s not perfect, she knows she has her flaws, but she’s prepared to own her mistakes – including her affair with Christie.
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We adore Hannah’s relationships with the women in her family.
She’s maternal to fragile Rose, tough-talking to wayward Nina and brutally honest with mum, Ruth.
Hannah’s also got a wonderfully dry sense of humour and delivers some perfect one-liners throughout the three seasons of The Split.
She’s also smart and has a dress-style to die for. Can we be Hannah when we grow up please?
Maybe without the complicated marriage drama though.
2) Ruth Evershed – Spooks
Nicola’s first big role was in BBC One’s classic spy drama Spooks and also one our fave Nic roles.
She played Ruth, a terrifyingly intelligent polyglot, who was involved in a will they, won’t they romance with colleague, Harry.
Nicola’s scenes with Peter Firth who played Harry were delightful to watch. Meanwhile, fans have called Ruth “bonkers but brilliant”.
Sadly, Ruth was killed off in series 10, to the huge distress of fans. Ruth and Harry looked like they were about to get their happy ending too.
3) Cassie Stewart – Unforgotten
Nicola Walker starred alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar in ITV’s cold case drama Unforgotten.
She played Cassie from the first series until the fourth, working alongside DI Sunil “Sunny” Khan.
Unforgotten looks at the home lives of its main characters, as well as focusing on the more procedural stuff. When we’re introduced to Cassie, she’s living with her dad, Martin (Peter Egan).
Read more: Dermot O’Leary ‘very excited’ over role in series 3 of The Split
By series three, Cassie’s job had become too much for her and she had a nervous breakdown, causing her to take time out of the job.
She requested early retirement, but was refused.
Cassie changed hugely over the four seasons, her breakdown showing that even the most seemingly accomplished and together person can suffer with mental illness.
Cassie died in the final episode of season 4, following brain injuries after she was involved in a horrible car crash.
Like Nicola’s other characters, Cassie was complex, but her intelligence and warmth made her extremely likeable. Fans were left absolutely gutted by her death.
4) Gillian Greenwood – Last Tango in Halifax
While Last Tango in Halifax is absolutely full of loveable characters, Gillian was a bit of a slow-burner.
Sheep farmer Gillian didn’t approve of her dad Alan’s relationship with Celia to begin with. And she clashed horribly with Celia’s daughter, Caroline (Sarah Lancashire). This wasn’t helped when Gillian had a one-night-stand with Caroline’s not-quite-ex husband John.
Gillian also had a dark secret – that she’d murdered her abusive husband, Eddie, dad to her son, Raff.
Fortunately, Gillian thawed towards Caroline and the two of them became as close as sisters.
Gillian confessed the truth about Eddie to Caroline. Once Gillian began to let her walls down, it was easy to see that she was very damaged by her marriage.
This explains why Gillian was a consistent cheat later when she became engaged to childhood sweetheart, Robbie.
5) Annika Stranhead – Annika
Nicola really, really loves her roles in crime dramas.
In Annika, she plays Annika Stranhead, a single mum recently made DI and sent to head up special Marine Homicide Unit in Scotland.
She’s is described as “sharp, witty and enigmatic” – Nicola really has a type.
Annika is different to Nicola’s other roles as she breaks the “fourth wall”, talking directly to the camera/audience, Fleabag style.
Annika aired on Alibi in 2021 and was the channel’s biggest ratings hit since 2014, according to RadioTimes.com. We’re willing to bet that Nicola’s casting has something to do with this.
It’s not yet known if there will be a second season.
6) Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson – River
Another crime series by Abi Morgan who writes The Split, but this time Nicola played a dead DS.
She haunted the mind of her former colleague DI John River, who wanted to find out who murdered her. River heard his dead friend’s voice in his head.
Stevie was another sharp and funny character but kept a lot of inner conflict hidden, even from River. As he delved deeper into her murder, River discovered more about her and saw sides to Stevie he didn’t know.
While River was a great series, we can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to know Jackie before her brutal murder.
The Split starring Nicola Walker airs Mondays at 9pm on BBC One and all episodes are available to watch now on iPlayer.
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