Kevin McKidd and Laura Fraser Join BBC's The Young Team

Kevin McKidd and Laura Fraser have joined the cast of The Young Team, the BBC drama about a teenager growing up in Airdrie, Scotland.

The series is a television adaptation of Graeme Armstrong's novel of the same name. It centres on Azzy Williams and his friends. The casting was reported by Deadline on 19 October 2026.

McKidd will play Mr McGiver, Azzy's headteacher. Fraser will play Angela, Azzy's mother. The two roles provide the adult anchor to a story told largely through teenagers.

Newcomer Jakob James Smith will play Azzy himself. Connor Newall will play Big Kenzie, one of Azzy's close circle. Scot Greenan will play Eck, another friend in the group. Together, the three young actors carry the central friendship at the heart of the show.

They were found through an open casting search in North Lanarkshire. More than 1,000 people applied. Open casting means anyone in the area could put themselves forward, rather than the production approaching only actors with agents and professional credits. It is a route often used when producers want young performers who know a particular place and accent from first-hand experience.

Paul McGuigan is directing the series. The director leads the creative work on set and shapes how each episode looks, sounds and moves. He will guide both the newcomers and the more established cast through the shoot.

Synchronicity, an independent production company, is producing The Young Team for the BBC. Producing for a broadcaster in this way means making the series under a commission, which is an order from the channel. Fox Entertainment Global is distributing the series, meaning it handles sales to broadcasters and platforms outside the United Kingdom.

What makes this line-up stand out is the balance. Smith, Newall and Greenan are fresh faces chosen from a very large local search. McKidd and Fraser bring long screen experience in the key adult parts around them. For viewers, this means a Scottish-set teen drama led by newcomers, with familiar support close by.

No broadcast date has been given in the details reported so far. Filming and release plans will be announced by the BBC in due course.