STANROCK, LATER SHORTENED TO STAN -  Rupert Grint

A pain, a fighter, continually taunts Wes yet develops magical skills and becomes loyal magical companion to Jenny (whether she wants it or not, and she doesn’t).  Gets cursed by Witch and briefly transformed into a squirrel.  Later when Wes matures and pursues Isabel, Stan left feeling adrift.  His anchor in life, the one he could irritate beyond endurance, has grown up and moved on.  Stan hasn’t.  Early life blighted - his kind expel him from his village, which is unusual.  Imps have a high impudence threshold and for Stan to get thrown out is an achievement.  Later Stan comes to see Queen’s faults, something he once would not have dared even contemplate.  With his record he’s the last to complain about others…


WHESPY, LATER SHORTENED TO WES -  Neil Morrissey

Like Stan, a pain, a fighter and he continually taunts Stan.  Both cause so much trouble they get exiled to earth with Fresdian.  Later Wes falls heavily for the lovely Isabel, daughter of a noble Earl, much to the anger of her family.  He lets her go and tries to be honourable here but eventually the pair are reconciled and make the Kingdom’s oddest couple. Eileen doesn’t count as she’s not Kingdom resident.  Wes and Stan stand up to Witch, Eileen and Queen at differing points.  Wes’s early life tragic - family and village destroyed by Witch.  Wes’s mother insisted on giving birth to him the natural “human” way instead of using the usual magical aids and charms.  That led to a major magical occurrence in the Kingdom, their version of an earthquake, tsunami and volcano all combined.  Wes believes his renowned bad luck record stems from this.  Sadly, the Kingdom believes it too.


DEREK PAIGE - Pierce Brosnan with Alan Titchmarsh! (latter for gardening skills!)

For a woman who gives up royal status, power, influence etc and to do so for a mere human man, that man  must be someone special.  Someone who knows what to do with his fingers and not just in the garden either!  Derek is tall, dark, handsome, a fanatical gardener, devoted to his wife and family, humane, compassionate and shows the good side of humanity.  It frustrates Eileen her old world won’t see that and reject him on the grounds of his species.  Problems erupt when Derek’s enabled to find out who Eileen really is.  He’s devastated by this.  Eileen’s devastated by having to use mind wipes on the man she loves, and that increases when he becomes ill as a result, the first warning sign that charm has been used too often.  Derek is a great father to Jenny, loves being a granddad to Eddie and gets on very well with Paul, much to his wife’s disgust.


MELANBURY, L’EVALLIER’S WIFE - Joely Richardson

Gorgeous, aristocratic, surprised to find herself genuinely falling for her husband and later enjoying sex (her parents never mentioned much about it and the start of her marriage was disastrous as a result.  It was apparent Melanbury seemed to be afraid of being in the same room as L’Evallier, this situation thankfully for both of them changed).  Is prejudiced against hybrids and humans.  Tends to back the Queen but comes to realize Jenny does have her virtues and the monarch is going too far in wanting to force the girl into the Kingdom (though of course if Melanbury had her way no hybrid would go anywhere near the realm, ever).   She and L’Evallier become a real team. And despite her parents’ disapproval of working women, Melanbury becomes the Queen’s correspondence secretary.  Melanbury’s life takes off from this point - she discovers she wants to be useful.