The Last Post: Who's Who guide to new Jessica Raine drama

The Last Post Jessica Raine
(Image credit: BBC/Bonafide Films/Coco van Oppe)

The Last Post, starring Jessica Raine, kicks off on BBC1 on Sunday evening, so here's our guide to who's who in the lavish new drama set on a military base in 1960s Aden

The Last Post, starring Jessica Raine, kicks off on BBC1 on Sunday evening, so here's our guide to who's who in the lavish new drama set on a military base in 1960s Aden.

What's the story?

In the bustling port of Aden in the 1960s, the British Army faced a deadly battle to keep order in one of the few remaining colonies in the fading British Empire. This is the backdrop of BBC1’s compelling new six-part drama The Last Post, which centres on the perils and dilemmas experienced by a Royal Military Police unit stationed in Aden, now part of Yemen, in 1965. While the soldiers deal with hostility from insurgents, their personal lives also come to the fore as much of the action is seen through the eyes of the officers’ wives living on the military base...

Who's who in The Last Post...

Major Harry Markham (Ben Miles) and Mary Markham (Amanda Drew)

(Image credit: Amanda Drew Last Post)

The stoic commanding officer of the Royal Military Police unit in Aden is protective of his men and anxious about the rise in local insurgency. Mary, Harry's loyal wife, is pregnant with her second child, is a shoulder to cry on for the other spouses and tries to protect her young son, George.

Lieutenant Ed Laithwaite (Stephen Campbell Moore)

Last Post Stephen Campbell Moore

(Image credit: BBC/Bonafide Films/Coco van Oppe)

The forward-thinking soldier struggles to obey orders with which he doesn’t agree, and his marriage to Alison also causes tensions.

Alison Laithwaite (Jessica Raine)

Jessica Raine Last Post

Ed’s unhappy and often drunken wife is carrying on a less than secret affair on the base, but as dark clouds gather, what will the future hold?

Captain Joe Martin (Jeremy Neumark Jones)

Last Post Joe Martin

(Image credit: BBC/Bonafide Films/Coco van Oppe)

The young officer arrives to replace outgoing and popular Captain Page (Joseph Kennedy), but a challenging secret threatens to overwhelm him.

Honor Martin (Jessie Buckley)

Honor The Last Post

(Image credit: BBC/Bonafide Films/Coco van Oppe)

Joe’s new bride is thrilled to be starting her marriage in Aden, but soon experiences issues.

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.


Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 


David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.


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