It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Kris Marshall made his breakthrough as Nick Harper in the beloved BBC sitcom My Family. Born in Bath on April 1, 1973, Marshall’s portrayal of the carefree eldest son kick-started his acting career and won the hearts of viewers across the UK.
My Family, which first aired in 2000, centered around the quirky Harper family living in London and ran for over a decade, producing 120 episodes before concluding in 2011. The show delivered a perfect blend of humor and warmth, with various cast changes over the years as actors followed new paths.
Marshall, the son of an RAF navigator, experienced a somewhat unconventional upbringing—living in Hong Kong and Canada before settling in the UK after his parents’ divorce. Despite early setbacks at school, he found his calling in drama and trained at Redroofs Theatre School in Berkshire.
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As Nick Harper from 2000 to 2005, Marshall’s character was known for finding himself in comical scrapes and trying his hand at various ill-fated jobs—from being a stripper to a stuntman—all with his family’s support. During this period, Marshall also appeared in films like Love Actually (2003) and TV series such as Murder City and Funland. After leaving My Family, he gained wider recognition playing DI Humphrey Goodman in Death in Paradise between 2014 and 2017, a role he reprised in the spin-off series Beyond Paradise starting in 2023.
Many of Marshall’s co-stars have also built impressive careers. Robert Lindsay, who played family patriarch Ben Harper, has accumulated numerous accolades, including BAFTAs and Tonys, across a career spanning 50 years. His notable roles include Wolfe Smith in Citizen Smith and appearances in series such as Atlantis, Galavant, Genius, and Bounty Hunters. Lindsay also portrayed King John in the Maleficent films and appeared in Sherwood and Generation Z recently.
Zoe Wanamaker, who portrayed Ben’s wife Susan Harper, has been a mainstay on British screens since the early 1970s. Her diverse film and TV credits include Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Britannia, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, and Showtime’s The Man Who Fell to Earth. In 2024, she starred as Charlie Hungerford in Bergerac.
Daniela Denby-Ashe, who played Janey Harper—the Harpers’ only daughter—was well known for EastEnders before joining My Family. Post-show, she appeared in Torchwood, The Bill, Absolutely Fabulous, and Waterloo Road, as well as lending her voice to the Channel 5 series Colin and Justin’s Hotel Hell.
Gabriel Thomson, who took on the role of youngest son Michael Harper, was once considered for Harry Potter before Daniel Radcliffe secured the role. After acting breaks and university studies, Thomson returned to the screen in 2014’s The Lost Choices and various short films.
Later cast member Keiron Self joined in series 3 as Roger Bailey Jr., bringing with him experience from television and theatre. The Newport-born actor has also been seen in Still Open All Hours, Bittersweet Symphony, and A Christmas Number One, a film he helped write.
The enduring appeal of My Family lies not only in its sharp wit and relatable characters but also in the impressive talent of its cast, many of whom continue to entertain audiences across film and television.