ITV’s Until I Kill You is the kind of TV show that sticks in your brain for weeks, months, even years after viewing. Based on the horrifying true story of Delia Balmer who was repeatedly assaulted and almost killed by her boyfriend John Sweeney in 1990s London, the show has received rave reviews for its confronting, unflinching portrayal of the horrors of domestic abuse.
Based on Balmer’s memoir, Living With a Serial Killer, the show follows Delia’s journey from the early, hopeful days of her relationship with John, to his terrifying assaults, to the horrible months she spent fearing his return. Ultimately, we discover that John has killed at least two women in the past.
As the spiky Delia, Anna Maxwell Martin gives a brilliant, nuanced performance that serves as a reminder of the importance of unlikeable heroines. After all, victims of assault aren’t always ‘nice.’ “I find Delia a fascinating and complex person,” Martin told The Guardian. “I’ve never had any interest in the audience sympathising with or liking my character. I think that’s shown in the work I’ve done.”
Meanwhile, rounding out the Until I Kill You cast is Endeavour’s Shaun Evans as John Sweeney, Downton Abbey’s Kevin Doyle as David, and Amanda Wilkin as Leah.
Here, we go through the Until I Kill You cast in full, including where you’ve seen them before.
Until I Kill You cast and characters
ITV
Anna Maxwell Martin as Delia Balmer
Anna Maxwell Martin takes on the complex role of Delia Balmer. As she told The Guardian, she chose not to meet the real-life Delia until the series had been almost entirely shot. “I can’t really say why, I just never have before when I played real people,” she explained. “You are studying people, their mannerisms and so on. If you were sat in a room with them, you might end up staring at them in a fairly weird way. For this, I watched tapes of Nick Stevens interviewing her, which was really useful.”
