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LGSM Members
Mark Ashton
Played by: Ben Schnetzer
- The Chains of Commanding: When the miners vote to stop taking their donations, Mark goes off on his own, leaving his friends and yelling at Mike for always following him around. When he's later seen talking to Joe, it's clear he's struggling with everything that's happened.
- Chummy Commies: Downplayed, but a Communist flag is briefly seen in Mark's flat and early on he's heckled as a "commie." In Real Life, Mark Ashton was indeed a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
- Deadpan Snarker: Dishes out quite a lot of this.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Quite fond of his leather motorcycle jacket.
- The Leader
- Indy Ploy: Mark's bread and butter.
- Tragic AIDS Story: During the film, Mark runs into an ex-lover who is heavily implied to be dying of AIDS, which helps cause his later Heroic BSoD. At the end, we learn that just three years later he was diagnosed with and then died of AIDS.
Mike Jackson
Played by: Joseph Gilgun
- Deadpan Snarker
- The Lancer
- Never Bareheaded
- Only Sane Man: At times.
Joe "Bromley" Cooper
Played by: George Mackay
- Audience Surrogate: Joe's character was created for the film, a newcomer to both the gay rights and solidarity movements.
- Coming-Out Story: The film is his.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
- Naïve Newcomer
- Nice Guy
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Rarely is he addressed as anything other than "Bromley" by the members of LGSM.
- The Twink
Women's Support Group
Hefina Headon
Played by: Imelda Staunton
- Mama Bear: Along with Sian, she welcomes LGSM to the village and fiercely defends them.
- Rage Breaking Point: She nearly pummels Maureen after she manipulates the Union into cutting off support from LGSM.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She's tough, but also quite fair and accepting. She does not tolerate the homophobic attitudes initially shown to the LGSM.
- Team Mom: As one of the village elders, she's this to the miners and, at times, LGSM. She's generally very respectful, but talks like a stern, no-nonsense mother.
Siân James
Played by: Jessica Gunning
- Mama Bear: Along with Hefina, she welcomes LGSM to the village and fiercely defends them.
