The Irregulars is available to stream
on Netflix UK and Ireland now,
but, if like us,
you've already mainlined all eight episodes
you're probably still mulling over that shock ending
and what might happen next. You're not the only one.
Here are six of the most Googled questions
about the show.
1. Who stars in The Irregulars?
The Irregulars has a hugely talented cast
made up of new and familiar faces.
Let's break it down a little.
Heading it up is 24-year-old Thaddea Graham as Bea,
the no nonsense leader of the gang.
Graham is a relative newcomer.
Although she's had big roles in shows like Curfew and Us,
this is by far her biggest profile gig to date.
She's backed up by Darci Shaw as Bea's sister Jessie.
Jojo Macari as Billy,
who you might recognise from Sex Education and Cursed,
and McKell David as wise-cracking Spike.
His first screen role
was in the first-ever episode of Black Mirror, aged just 14.
The gag also gets in new recruit in the form of Harrison Osterfield,
as a mysterious posh boy named Leo, secretly Prince Leopold.
Taking on the icons roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson
are Henry Lloyd-Hughes,
who you may have seen in Killing Eve
and The Inbetweeners,
Royce Pierreson from Line of Duty and The Witcher.
Alice is played by Eileen O'Higgins.
Also appearing in season one are Rory McCann,
AKA "The Hound" from Game of Thrones,
as The Bird Master,
and Edward Hogg from Pennyworth, as Leo's weaselly footman Daimler.
The evil mastermind behind everything is Clarke Peters
as the sinister and apparently nameless Linen Man.
You may have seen him in shows like Marvel's Jessica Jones,
The Wire, His Dark Materials.
2. Is The Irregulars based on a book?
The answer to this is a little complicated.
Basically, yes, but also no.
The characters of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson were, of course,
created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887,
first appearing in his novel A Study in Scarlet.
That book quickly establishes
the genius detective with a drug habit,
his stalwart sidekick Watson,
and their shared home and workplace 221b Baker Street in London.
The book also featured the Baker Street irregulars
a gang of street urchins
that Holmes uses as spies throughout London.
But the gang have changed quite a bit for the TV show, mind.
In the books, they're all boys
and they appear in a mere three stories;
A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four,
and The Adventure of the Crooked Man.
So, while The Irregulars definitely has its origins
in Conan Doyle's work,
the characters and stories are entirely new,
invented by show runner Tim Bidwell.
3. Was there a real life Prince Leopold?
Leo, played by Harrison Osterfield,
is one of the most intriguing characters in this show
a handsome young prince with a secret.
At home, he is Prince Leopold the son of Queen Victoria.
He leads a lonely life of seclusion forced on him by illness,
with only his footman Daimler for company.
He's much happier on the streets,
getting into adventures with the irregulars,
and trying to cop off with Bea at every opportunity.
But was he, in fact, based on a real person?
This is an easy one to answer.
Yes, there really was a Prince Leopold,
and yes, he genuinely suffered from haemophilia,
a rare blood condition
that made him especially susceptible to injury.
Tragically, it would be the cause of his death aged just 30
after he fell and suffered a blow to the head.
As far as we know, however,
the real Leopold never went on any crime-fighting capers
in the streets of London.
Then again, perhaps Queen Victoria hushed it all up.
4. Who does Bea end up with?
One of the main tensions in season one of The Irregulars
is the love triangle between heroic Bea,
buff young bruiser Billy, and shy Leo.
At the start of the series,
there's clearly a growing romantic tension
between Bea and Billy,
but then Leo rocks up wearing that fabulous blue jacket
and Bea is instantly smitten.
Although she's weary
of this new member of gang at first,
it's not long before they share their first kiss,
breaking Billy's heart.
Over the course of the season,
the relationship between Leo and Bea blossoms,
but he can't keep his double life secret forever
and Bea is furious
when Daimler tells her the truth about Leo's royal heritage.
Of course, their falling out doesn't last
and by the end of the season they've patched things up
but is it too little too late?
Leo has been set up to marry someone far more suitable
in the eyes of the crown, Helena Augusta.
The season ends with Bea and Leo saying their goodbye's,
perhaps forever.
But no one really believes that.
Maybe we'll see Leo cross paths with his old flame again,
but the history books say
that the real Prince Leopold married Helena Augusta.
So, perhaps Billy is still in with a shot, after all.
5. Does Sherlock die in The Irregulars?
At the end of season one,
Sherlock played by Henry Lloyd-Hughes,
vanishes into the rip to be with his lost love Alice.
And though Watson tries desperately to stop him,
the great detective is pulled through
seemingly never to be seen again.
It's a devastating note to end the first season on.
Will this be the last we see of the great detective?
6. What does The Linen Man want?
Although he initially appears to be a friend of Jessie,
the mysterious Linen Man
is eventually revealed to be a diabolical mastermind,
intent on opening the rip, no matter the consequences.
But what does he want?
Jessie meets him in the first episode
where he appears to her in a psychic vision.
He tells her how she can use her growing powers
to read the minds of others.
Later, he tells Jessie about the rip
and cunningly manipulates her into seeking it out.
We also learn, that like Jessie, he too is an ipsissimus,
a powerful psychic.
He says that he's coming to London to help her close the rip forever.
When he arrives, however, he reveals his true plan:
to absorb the powers from the other side of the rip
and become all-powerful.
He also, rather creepily,
wants Jessie to have children with his son
so that he can breed a race of powerful ipsissimuses,
or is it ipsissimi?
We need Leo to explain collective nouns to us again.
Unkindness is the collective noun.
A collective noun is--
-I know what a collective noun is. -Of course.
Do you have any unanswered questions
about The Irregulars
or do you know the correct pluralisation
of ipsissimus?
Let us know in the comments below
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