Mensahs

Nathan Mensah is making his TV debut in The Blame, alongside Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth.

Nathan Mensah has joined the cast of The Blame alongside Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth.

The actor is making his debut in the second episode of the new ITV drama, airing Monday, 21 September. He plays young police detective Lewis, set on helping Michelle’s character DI Emma Crane uncover the truth about the death of a young girl.

The six-part series dramatizes corruption and systemic misogyny in the police force, after shockwaves are sent through a quiet town when a teenager’s body is found in the woods. With officers turning on each other, DI Crane and Douglas’ character DI Tom Radley dig deeper and are left reeling at the secrets they discover within a tangled web of lies and cover-ups.

“As the clock ticks and trust fractures, Crane must navigate both a murder investigation and the treacherous politics inside her own team,” the synopsis goes on to tease.

Nathan stars as DC Lewis Brimah, which marks his first TV role after working in commercial modelling and brand campaigns. Ahead of the new series airing, he teased his role on social media, writing: “GOD IS GOOD!!! First TV Series Job. Excited to get into this one with such an amazing cast.”

“Biggest congrats Nathan,” one fan replied. Another follower said: “Congratulations!! Bravo.” A third added: “wow! such a great cast, congrats,” while someone else wrote: “Yesss Nathannnnnn.”

Introducing his role in a Q&A during a press event, Nathan shared: “Lewis is a good guy, in fact, he’s a great guy… He’s coming to the system, going through the fast-track graduate scheme which means he hasn’t had the experience that a lot of the other officers and other detectives have.

“But he’s ambitious and he just wants to do a good job, like that is his focus. He’s by the book and he wholeheartedly believes in the job.

“He believes in the system, he believes in the people that he works with, and he has a very strong moral compass. He’s a very simple man, he believes things are black and white, there’s right and wrong, good and bad.

“For me, what I found really interesting is seeing someone like Lewis placed in an environment that is morally complicated, and how he navigates those areas without losing his integrity.”

Nathan went on: “He felt like me, like the new guy coming in, not necessarily seasoned but working with the vets. He just wants to do a good job and he really cares.”

The six-part series also marks the first time Michelle has played a police officer, as she revealed she couldn’t believe she’d not played one before. She previously shared a personal link to her role in The Blame, saying: “The thing is, my dad was in the police force, he was an inspector since he was 17.

“So I used to go to him and go, ‘Dad, what do you think about this?’ And when I was doing the meeting scenes, it was quite a high-up rank, so I was like, ‘How would you talk to people in the police force and how was your body language?’ I used to go to him quite a lot for resourcing.”

Michelle elsewhere revealed she was “hooked” on The Blame from the moment she read the script, and hailed her character as being “a strong female in a male-dominated environment”.

She went on: “She’s one of those girls that will take no nonsense, and it just felt exciting. We love to see it on screen and there’s not enough of it on screen.”

The Blame continues on Monday, 21 September at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX