Lennie Godber

Lennie Godber arrives at Slade Prison as a nervous first-time offender, young, gawky and out of his depth among hardened lags. He's assigned to share a cell with veteran con Fletcher, whose wary tutelage he soaks up eagerly, hoping to survive his sentence with his optimism and decency somehow intact.

Beckinsale plays Godber with such open, guileless warmth that he becomes the show's moral centre without ever seeming saintly. His scenes with Fletcher work because he's a genuine foil, not a punchline: naive enough to ask the obvious questions, sharp enough to earn real affection rather than pity.