Lesley Manville plays Susan Ryeland and Tim McMullan plays Atticus Pünd in Magpie Murders, with the main cast and their roles listed below.
This is where the television story begins, so the cast below introduces the original company rather than separating people into returning and new arrivals. Susan’s publishing contacts and family occupy the modern strand. Pünd’s suspects inhabit Saxby-on-Avon and Pye Hall inside Alan Conway’s manuscript. Several performers play a person in each world, but Manville and McMullan lead the stories as Susan and Pünd themselves.
Who plays who?
The original company
Lesley Manville
Susan is the editor who connects the cases. Her attention to a manuscript’s wording and structure becomes useful outside the office, but publishing remains her profession rather than simply an excuse to investigate. Manville’s other roles include Cyril Woodcock in Phantom Thread and Princess Margaret in The Crown.
Tim McMullan
Pünd is the detective created by Alan Conway. He investigates inside the novels and also appears in Susan’s imagined conversations, so he can be present beside her without becoming a separate modern policeman. McMullan played Arthur Valentine in Foyle’s War; film viewers may recognise him from Shakespeare in Love.
Alexandros Logothetis
Andreas is Susan’s partner, connecting her life in Britain with the possibility of a home in Greece. He has a relationship with her beyond whichever manuscript is occupying her attention. Logothetis played Nikolas Kyritsis in The Island and appeared in The Durrells; Adults in the Room is another film credit.
Claire Rushbrook
Katie is Susan’s sister, bringing family history into a life increasingly crowded with writers and investigations. Rushbrook and Manville also played sisters in Sherwood, though those characters have a different relationship. For another leading performance, try Rushbrook as Ava in Ali & Ava; she also played Linda in My Mad Fat Diary.
Conleth Hill
Alan is Pünd’s creator and the difficult novelist Susan knows professionally. His habit of turning people into fictional material makes his relationships essential to understanding his books. Hill is widely recognised as Varys in Game of Thrones. Holding offers another substantial role, as Sergeant PJ Collins, while Vienna Blood features him as Mendel Liebermann.
Michael Maloney
Charles is Susan’s publisher, placing him at the business end of the manuscripts she edits. He and Susan approach the same book from different professional positions: one must manage its commercial future, while the other is responsible for the editorial work. Maloney played Mark in Truly, Madly, Deeply and Edward Heath in The Crown.
Daniel Mays
Mays plays the police officers on either side of the divide: Locke deals with Susan, while Chubb belongs to Pünd’s investigations. Their official responsibilities provide a contrast with the editor and the fictional detective. Mays played Danny Waldron in Line of Duty and DCI Peter Jay in Des, two other very different police roles.
Matthew Beard
James Taylor is Alan Conway’s partner; James Fraser is Pünd’s assistant. Their matching first names make the connection easy to spot, but their places in the two men’s lives are different. Beard stars as Max Liebermann in Vienna Blood. He also played Peter Hilton in The Imitation Game and Graham in An Education.
Sanjeev Kohli
Kohli plays Sajid Khan in Susan’s world and Dr Kamal in the first manuscript mystery. His modern and period characters therefore belong to separate circles, even when the programme cuts quickly between them. Still Game viewers know him as shopkeeper Navid Harrid; River City features another continuing role, AJ Jandhu.
Pippa Haywood
Claire is Alan Conway’s sister; Clarissa belongs to the Pye household inside his book. The similar names introduce one of the clearest examples of the author borrowing from his own surroundings. Haywood’s credits range from Helen Brittas in The Brittas Empire and Joanna Clore in Green Wing to Lorraine Craddock in Bodyguard.
Lorcan Cranitch
Max is Susan’s father, while Sir Magnus is the owner of Pye Hall. Cranitch’s doubled casting connects someone from Susan’s personal history with an imposing figure in the manuscript, without making them the same person. Crime-drama viewers may recognise him as DS Jimmy Beck in Cracker. He also played Sean Dillon in Ballykissangel.
Chu Omambala
Omambala plays the two clergymen, Robeson in the contemporary story and Osborne in the village mystery. The exchanged sounds in their surnames are an easy detail to miss when listening rather than reading the credits. His other television appearances include Major Blake in Doctor Who, Ant Rashaida in Spooks and Semer in Liar.
Karl Collins
Collins is Jack White outside the manuscript and Jack Whiteley within it. Whiteley belongs to Saxby-on-Avon, the village Pünd investigates, so the surname helps place him when the story changes period. Collins played DC Danny Glaze in The Bill and Louis Loveday in Hollyoaks; Doctor Who viewers know him as Shaun Temple.
Nathan Clarke
Freddy is Alan’s son, while Frederick belongs to the Pye family. Their names echo one another, but the two households have separate histories that Susan must keep straight. Clarke also appears as Arrash in Alex Rider, another adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s work. His other credits include Munir Al-Yazbek in Tyrant and PC Dan Paxton in Grace.
Other faces to recognise
Other named performers include Karen Westwood as Mary Blakiston, Harry Lawtey as Robert Blakiston, Dorothy Atkinson as Lady Frances Pye and Nia Deacon as Joy Sanderling. Jude Hill plays Sam Blakiston. Around Susan’s investigation, Kate Gilmore is Jemima and Nathalie Armin is Melissa Conway. Their stories belong to the same mystery even though they do not all have separate profiles here.
Hear the story as an audiobook
The UK audiobook of Magpie Murders is read by Samantha Bond and Allan Corduner. The publisher’s audiobook page identifies this edition. Listen to the novel’s version of the two investigations. Save book comparisons until you have finished. Checked 19 October 2026.
Find Magpie Murders on AudibleCast sources
PBS: Magpie Murders cast. Checked 19 October 2026.
Read or listen to Magpie Murders
Magpie Murders
Anthony Horowitz’s novel behind the television adaptation.
Waterstones · print Audible · audiobookPaid links may earn commission, at no extra cost.