The Stolen Girl cast: Where have you seen Denise Gough and the stolen girl before?
The Stolen Girl has found a new audience after premiering on a major streaming service last year and moving to linear broadcast this season; the stolen girl is at the center of a five-episode drama that has renewed interest in its lead, Denise Gough. That attention matters now because Gough’s career spans high-profile screen roles, award-winning theatre work and a personal history she has spoken about publicly.
The Stolen Girl plot and Denise Gough as Elisa Blix
Gough plays Elisa Blix, a mother whose daughter is excited about her first sleepover at a new friend Josie’s house despite Elisa’s initial reservations. After meeting Josie’s mother, Rebecca Walsh, Gough’s character feels reassured and allows her daughter to attend. When Elisa arrives to pick up her daughter the following day, she finds that Josie’s family—and her own little girl—have vanished. The series is comprised of five episodes, was written by Catherine Moulton and is based on the novel Playdate by Alex Dahl.
Cast details: co‑stars and character names
Alongside Denise Gough, the cast includes Holliday Grainger as Rebecca Walsh, Bronagh Waugh as DI Shona Sinclair and Michael Workéyè as Kabel Negate. The ensemble also features Ambika Mod, noted for playing Em opposite Leo Woodall in a separate project, and Jim Sturgess, who previously played Dex opposite Anne Hathaway in a 2011 film.
How the series has been distributed and when it airs now
The series initially gripped viewers on a streaming platform last year and later began airing on a national broadcaster, helping it win a fresh wave of viewers. It now appears in a weekly broadcast slot on Wednesdays at 9pm and is available to stream in full on that broadcaster’s online service.
Denise Gough’s screen credits and television recognition
On television, Gough’s recent and notable work includes playing the villain Dedra Meero in the Star Wars show Andor, a role tied to a Peabody Award win in 2023. She played the title role in the drama Paula in 2017, and portrayed Dr Alison Walden in two episodes of The Fall. She received a BAFTA nomination for her work in the 2021 three‑parter Too Close. Her TV credits also include appearances in Casualty, The Bill, Silent Witness, Holby City, Stella and Apple Tree Yard, and she has been seen in productions titled Under The Banner Of Heaven, Robin Hood and Who Is Erin Carter? on a major streaming service. On film, Gough appeared alongside Claire Foy in H Is For Hawk and has credits in Colette, The Other Lamb, Monday and Martyrs Lane. She is also linked to a yet‑to‑be‑confirmed role in an upcoming film directed by Greta Gerwig.
Stage career, awards and recent theatre work
Gough is a multi‑award‑winning theatre performer. She won an Olivier Award and a Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for her turn as Emma in People, Places and Things; she reprised the role in 2024 after the play’s 2015 run. For her work in Angels in America, both in the UK and the US, she was nominated for a Tony and won another Olivier. She is currently performing in a West End production, sharing the stage with Billy Cruddup in the play High Noon.
Personal background: upbringing, education and difficult experiences
Gough was born in Wexford and raised in Ennis, County Clare. One account in the public record describes her as the seventh of eleven siblings born on February 28, 1980; another account describes her as one of ten children, an inconsistency that is unclear in the provided context. Her father worked variously as a fisheries head and as an electrician, and her mother qualified as a marriage counsellor. Her family home was described as bustling but impeccably maintained; Gough has recalled that her mother made curtains, stitched clothing and fashioned new outfits for pre‑loved toys. One unusual family detail given in public material is that her mother was pregnant for nine‑and‑a‑half years.
Gough left school at 15 and later graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in Wandsworth in 2003. She has said she took up drama for the “pure love of it” and performed in school plays rather than nurturing a childhood ambition to be an actor. Gough has spoken candidly about a traumatic episode in her teens: at 14 she became involved with a 21‑year‑old who would collect her from school, and she has said, “I was groomed, ” adding that she did not realise what had happened until she later received a lot of help. She has also described a period of obsession with smoking and boys during adolescence, and public coverage of her life has framed her journey as one from abuse to periods of homelessness.
Additional context and publicity notes
The Stolen Girl’s script credit to Catherine Moulton and its source novel by Alex Dahl have been highlighted in coverage as part of the show’s creative background. Public mention has also been made of a new edition of Living Legends, described as a 100‑page all‑colour celebration of Taylor Swift, available in newsagents or online and priced at £8. 99. One writer identified in coverage is Shaun, named as an Evening News Editor with over a decade of experience reporting on pop culture; he is noted as a BAFTA Rocliffe‑winning scriptwriter who has written episodes of a soap opera, contributed to an official Steps musical titled Here & Now, worked on multiple Offie Award‑nominated plays, studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia and has said he will happily talk at length about the television series Desperate Housewives.
The stolen girl remains the central mystery of the five‑part drama, and Denise Gough’s presence in the title role—backed by the stage and screen track record outlined above—has been a key reason audiences and critics have kept talking about the series.
