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Danny (Ralf Little)

Didsbury born Danny is the middle-class foil to Gorton ghetto lad Seamus. He was geekier than Shay when they first met at the tender age of 12 - and he still is now. Occasionally in awe of his best mate's swagger, and always aware of his own bourgeois beginnings, Danny is nonetheless tenacious in his band tastes. And if we're absolutely honest, knows even more about music than his best mate.

Ever enthusiastic and just a tad naïve, he's exactly what's needed to kick start Shady Music. If only Danny can get past Shay's arty mood swings, and stop interfering with the talent, he might have the next Factory Records on his hands.

Shay (Carl Rice)

Shay works very very hard at being cool - the strut, the skinny jeans, the drawl - he has them all. If only the bands he claims to like weren't quite so ridiculous. And if only he wasn't a secret Shania Twain fan...

Shay was the first of the Finnegan family to hold down a proper job, and is too smart to go the same way as his petty criminal father. Always feigning diffidence, but Shay really cares about this record label. Music is art, and he's in it for all the right reasons. If it happens to attract the birds too, that's a bonus.

Tony (Johnny Vegas)

Shay's dad Tony is a petty criminal with hidden depths. When he's not nicking his son's last twenty or next door's satellite dish, he deals with Shay's sulking, wife Lorraine's drinking habits and offers life guidance to Danny's dad. That's not all; Shay's love of music is in the genes. Tony and Lorraine toured the Manchester pub circuit in the 70s, and while their double-act was ill-fated there remains a fair dollop of spice in their marriage. Tony can most often be found aiding and abetting Manchester master criminal Big Stu or enjoying the ambience of The White Horse.

Swing (Joel Fry)

Swing writes gangsta rap and works in Comet. Mates with Danny and Shay since way back when, he's fully supportive of their music venture. However, when it becomes clear You're A Ho is not going to get him signed to Shady, Swing turns his attention to another matter close to his heart: Nancy from the coffee shop. All he has to do now is pluck up the courage to talk to her...

Lou (Christine Bottomley)

Lou is Manchester's foremost music critic. Quick-witted and even quicker talking, what she doesn't know about the scene isn't worth knowing. Lou alternately mothers the lads and kicks them up the arse. If truth be told, most of their triumphs stem from her advice and brimming contacts book, but as long as they're living the dream - and she has a steady supply of new bass-players to flirt with - she's happy.

HearKittyKitty (Beverly Rudd and Faye McKeever)

Droylsden duo, HearKittyKitty, work in Manchester's Superb'uns bakery. Regularly seen around town drinking Lambrini (and doing the dance), they arrive at Shady headquarters armed only with a boom-box and a couple of goose-bump inducing voices. While Tina has a penchant for label boss Danny, Marie's time is divided between potato-based junk food and a constant battle with her bowels. If the lads can make a hit out of this pair, they've got more gumption than they think.