Characters / In the Flesh

Kieren Walker

The protagonist, a teenage Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferer trying to reintegrate back into community, which he's never really fit in to start with.

• Affectionate Nickname: Rick calls him "Ren".
• Badass Pacifist: Refused to "give in" to Blue Oblivion.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's normally sweet and kind, but when he gets angry, it gets scary.
• Category Traitor: Simon briefly regards him as one of these.
• Deadpan Snarker: More so in Season 2, when he gets comfortable enough with himself and his condition to joke about it.
  Steve [to Simon]: Well, I hope you like lunch, Simon!
  Simon: Uhh... sure.
  Kieren: It's definitely in his top three meals we don't eat.
• Driven to Suicide: Pre-series, due to Rick's death.
• Gayngst: To be fair, his sexuality made him quite unpopular at the village.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
• Heroic Willpower: What enables him to not eat his father alive when Gary forces him to take Blue Oblivion and turn rabid again, and even to break out of the rabid state by himself.
• Meaningful Name: His surname is Walker.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive guy to Rick's manly man.
• Straight Gay: While he's sensitive and artistic, he exhibits absolutely no stereotypical gay behavior.

Jemima "Jem" Walker

Kieren's younger sister and a member of the Human Volunteer Force (i.e. a zombie hunter). Used to be very close to her brother, but after the traumatic events of the rising, she views him as merely a monster, identical to the many ones she had to kill.

• Action Girl: She was a gun-toting HVF member during the Rising.
• Big Brother Worship: Initially. She feels betrayed by his suicide, and has complicated feelings about PDS sufferers since she lost many close friends to them. As the series continues, their relationship starts to become restored to its initial closeness.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Her first appearance is listening to loud music and swearing at her parents. She gets better, though.
• Bring My Brown Pants: She suffers from incontinence due to her PTSD in season 2, including having to put towels on her mattress.
• Delinquent Hair: Jem's purple-dyed hair in Series 1 is likely not looked upon well by the rural, conservative townspeople of Roarton. Plus, it emphasizes her teenage rebellion.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Suffers from increasingly bad nightmares during season 2.

Amy Dyer

Kieren's best friend and another PDS sufferer (the two met while in rabid state and often hunted together). She's unaffected by her actions in her rabid state and tries to convince Kieren that their condition is a blessing.

• Cloudcuckoolander
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: To Kieren, platonically.
• The Pollyanna: Always upbeat and cheerful.
• Transhuman Treachery: Believes zombies to be the superior race.

Simon Monroe

One of the Twelve Disciples of the Undead Prophet, introduced in series 2 as Amy's beau but soon enters into a relationship with Kieren.

• Addled Addict: In life, his substance abuse was through the roof, and he eventually died of an overdose.
• Badass Preacher: Comes to Roarton on a mission from the Undead Prophet.
• Crucified Hero Shot: Gets several of these in his flashbacks.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Doubly so due to his undead state.
• Heel–Face Turn: His affection for Kieren makes his way less extremist.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Takes a bullet for Kieren - albeit with no consequence, due to being undead and all.
• Straight Gay: Yeah, poor Amy.
• Straw Nihilist: In his own words, from a very early age he believed life to be completely meaningless.
• Transhuman Treachery: Well, he is a member of the Undead Liberation Army, so.

Rick Macy

Kieren's best friend and first love. Him getting killed in action is the reason for Kieren's suicide.

• Armoured Closet Gay: In his case, it's quite literal.
• Kill the Ones You Love: Fortunately, subverted. Bill's father tries to get him to do this to Kieren. Rick warns Kieren instead.
• Manly Gay / Straight Gay: He was in the army, for one thing.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Worked hard to appease his father.
• You Are What You Hate: His denial of being both gay and a zombie stems from his father's hatred of anything deviating from the norm.

Bill Macy

The leader of the Human Volunteer Force, unwilling to accept the new state of things. Also unwilling to accept other things, like his son's sexuality.

• Double Standard: He has an extreme prejudice for PDS sufferers, whether they're rabid or not, and their supporters. However when his own son comes back as a PDS sufferer himself, he aggressively asks everyone to just accept Rick back with open arms as if he was still normal. As a result, this caused many to see Bill as having a double standard on the whole matter.
• The Heavy: The main villainous presence in the first season.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Seconds after being forced to realize he killed his real son, his actions in the pilot catch up with him courtesy of Ken Brown's shotgun.
• Kick the Dog: His main hobby.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Has a stricken case of this after realizing he's just killed his own son.
• Offing the Offspring: Kills Rick after the latter forces his father to accept the fact that he's a PDS sufferer.
• Selective Obliviousness: When Rick returns, Bill refuses to accept the reality that his own son is a PDS sufferer even when everyone else can see it. In fact, he even goes as far as to angrily dismiss anyone whenever they try to tell him otherwise.

Maxine Martin

Introduced in series 2 as the new MP for Roarton, she quickly reveals her anti-undead sentiments...but her actions may be hiding a deeper motivation.

• Alliterative Name
• Big Bad: For season 2, together with the Undead Prophet.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She seems quite nice in her initial appearance.
• Black Boss Lady: She's the newly-elected MP.
• Faux Affably Evil: She may act polite, but when she gets you alone, she's ruthless.
• The Fundamentalist: Although her motivations turn out to be quite different from what they seem at first.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Her evilness is really all to try to bring her deceased brother back to life.

Philip Wilson

A local councilor and the son of Kieren's nurse.

• Ambition Is Evil: He's not evil per se, but his desire to grease the pole does lead to some unpleasant behavior on his part.
• Boy Meets Ghoul / Stalker with a Crush: He has an unhealthy obsession with Amy, which manifests in his visits to a local undead brothel. However, the latter trope is subverted, as he doesn’t stalk her and tries to find different outlets for his feelings for her.
• Love Redeems: His love for Amy makes him significantly kinder and more accepting, to the point of speaking up directly against his boss to protect the rights due to her and all those like her.
• The Dragon: To Maxine in series 2.
• The Stoic: He rarely smiles, and Mrs. Lonsdale mentions that he was always frowning, even as a baby, but he never lashed out verbally or otherwise against anyone.
• When He Smiles: (which mostly happens around Amy).
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Amy gets stabbed while they're together, and dies in his arms as he carries her to the hospital.