10 Best British TV Characters Of The Decade

With so much great British TV, Humans seems to get a little forgotten about. This is a real shame, as it has been some of the best written and acted sci fi on these shores for a while, with a collection of great characters. Best of all is Niska, one of the first batch of sentient robots who are forced to hide from a society which would surely demand their destruction out of fear of a cyborg uprising.

Played brilliantly by the diminutive Emily Berrington, Niska’s small stature belies a fearsome nature. We first see her hiding out in a robot brothel (naturally), but she is soon leading the fight for android civil rights. The show sets itself the lofty goal of exploring what it is to be human, and Niska is at the heart of this. She is a campaigner, a leader among (synthetic) men and women. It’s an inspirational performance, rabble rousing and uplifting.

Beyond that, she’s undeniably cool. Unafraid to tussle with anyone, she is forever underestimated, but manages to out-brawl everyone in her path. The ending of season three set her off on a new path as some kind of godlike figure; Humans has seemingly now been cancelled, but if it’s ever resurrected, it seems Niska’s going to be more important than ever.