Ben Hope

Ben is Charlie Spring's secret, on-again-off-again almost-boyfriend at Truham, older and outwardly indifferent to him in public. He kisses Charlie in empty classrooms and denies him everywhere else, insisting he isn't gay while keeping Charlie tethered to something that never quite becomes real.

Sebastian Croft plays Ben with a chilly, plausible charm that makes his mixed signals land as genuinely confusing rather than cartoonish. The show doesn't excuse him, but it lets you understand exactly why Charlie stays hooked, which is what makes Ben such an effective, uncomfortable contrast to what comes next.