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Who's who in Pure?

Channel 4's brilliant new comedy drama Pure is led by a relatively unknown cast, but television fans may recognise a few of the faces from other shows.


Pure follows 24-year-old Marnie who has a form of OCD called Pure O which fills her head with intrusive thoughts of a sexual nature. After these thoughts include her parents for the first time, Marnie leaves Scotland in search of a new life in London.


It's there that she moves in with her old school friend Shereen, meets a whole new gang of friends and realises that she's not the only one who's lost.


Three out of the five leads have starred in an episode of Black Mirror, many have an exciting 2019 ahead with roles in many upcoming dramas and only one is an exciting new face never before seen on television.


Here's where you might have seen the cast of Pure before...


Charly Clive

plays Marnie


Charly Clive is the only truly unknown member of the cast, having only previously performed in front of comedy audiences as part of duo Britney alongside her best friend Ellen Robertson.


In Pure, she plays Marnie, the 24-year-old lead with a form of OCD called Pure O which fills her head with intrusive thoughts. The series follows her as she leaves Scotland in search of a new life in London.


During a recent interview with I Talk Telly, Charly revealed her plans to focus on more serious acting roles after Pure. Read the interview in full here.



Joe Cole

plays Charlie


Joe Cole is best-known for playing John Shelby in hit BBC Two drama Peaky Blinders and fans of Black Mirror will of course recognise him as Frank from the episode Hang the DJ. He has also been in Skins, The Hour and more recently Happy New Year, Colin Burstead on BBC Two.


In Pure he plays Charlie who's in recovery for porn addiction and suffers from erectile dysfunction. He befriends Marnie at Sex Addicts Anonymous and together they work through their own issues in life.


Later this year, Joe will star in Sky Atlantic's new drama Gangs of London, directed by Corin Hardy.



Kiran Sonia Sawar

plays Shereen


Kiran Sonia Sawar's first major television role came in 2016 when she played Salma, the lead role in BBC Three's hard-hitting drama Murdered by My Father which also aired on BBC One. The 75-minute drama saw her character murdered by her father Shahzad in a story about power and the limits of love in communities where 'honour' means everything.


She also played Shazia in Black Mirror episode Crocodile and in 2018 she starred in ITV's Next of Kin and Fox's Deep State. And Kiran has already been seen on the small screen this year in Channel 4/HBO's single drama Brexit starring Benedict Cumberbatch.


In Pure she plays Shereen, Marnie's old school friend who moved to London... I mean, I say friend. Marnie used to bully Shereen at school but as she's so desperate to fit in, she puts Marnie up in her spare room (cupboard) when she comes to London.



Niamh Algar

plays Amber


Niamh Algar will be a familiar face to anyone who saw The Bisexual on Channel 4 last year as she played Tania in Desiree Akhavan's candid six-part series about people's approach to love and sex, and what the love and sex they’re drawn to reveals about them.


In Pure she plays confident ladies-woman, journalist and Queen of Marnie's new gang Amber, whose promiscuity has gained her a problematic reputation. After first meeting in a bar, she begrudgingly offers Marnie an internship and their friendship leaves Marnie questioning her own sexuality.


In the coming months, Niamh will star in Tom Rob Smith's new BBC Two drama MotherFatherSon and Shane Meadow's new Channel 4 drama The Virtues.



Anthony Welsh

plays Joe


If you've watched Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag on BBC Three, then chances are you'll recognise Anthony Welsh as Boo's cheating boyfriend Jack. His first television role was in The Bill and he has also appeared in a number of TV shows including Top Boy, Life's Too Short and the same Black Mirror episode as Pure co-star Kiran Sonia Sawar.


In Pure he plays Amber’s irresistible and unassuming housemate and colleague Joe who throughout the series shares a will-they-won't-they friendship with Marnie.


In the coming months, Anthony will star in upcoming BBC One drama The Trial of Christine Keeler alongside James Norton and Emilia Fox.


Pure starts Wednesday at 10pm on Channel 4


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