Rising TV stars of 2012: Friday Fiver

It's the start of the year, so it's time to start dusting off our crystal balls and making our predictions for the next 12 months. And what better way to start than to look at some rising stars?

It's a bumper crop of talent this year, so narrowing it down to five was a challenge (believe us, there are so many new stars we're excited about). But somehow we managed to select the names of some people we think you should keep an eye out for this year!

Read on to see who made the cut, and then let us know who you're excited about seeing more of in 2012!

Douglas Booth
It's hard to believe that Douglas Booth is only 19 years old. He already has some fabulous roles under his belt, playing Boy George in Worried About The Boy and a love interest for Matt Smith in the wonderful Christopher and His Kind.

Then over Christmas he won a whole new legion of fans with his handsome Pip in the BBC's ace adaptation of Great Expectations. We can see big things ahead for Mr Booth - who's about to play the leading man in a new Romeo & Juliet film. Let's hope he doesn't neglect the small screen for too long - we'd miss him.

Watch Douglas Booth chatting to Digital Spy about his role in Great Expectations below:


Jessica Brown-Findlay
Catching the viewer's eye when part of a large ensemble cast is not the easiest task, but Jessica Brown-Findlay shined as Lady Sybil in ITV's smash hit period drama Downton Abbey. But it's her other credits that have really caught our attention of late...

Terrific as the seriously screwed-up Rachel on E4's Misfits and delivering a brilliantly emotive performance as the tragic Abi in Charlie Brooker's twisted drama Black Mirror, Brown-Findlay clearly has a lot of potential.

Watch a trailer for Jessica Brown-Findlay's appearance in Black Mirror below:



Michael Socha
This 24-year-old star has made a big impact on the television landscape over the past few years. After a brief appearance in the cinematic This Is England, Socha reprised his (now expanded) role as Harvey in follow-up series This Is England '86 and '88.

He also impressed as kind-hearted werewolf Tom in the third series of Being Human and will return to the show in 2012. It says something about Socha that he's twice graduated from a minor role to series regular status - he's got talent and charisma in spades.

Watch Michael Socha speak to Digital Spy about his Being Human role below:



Damien Molony
And speaking of Being Human - fresh out of drama school, Irish actor Molony has been cast in the new series of BBC Three's paranormal drama. He'll play upper-class Hal, the show's new resident vampire.

Having glimpsed some footage from series four, we can confirm that Molony is a fine addition to the show - Hal is every bit as charismatic and captivating as Aidan Turner's Mitchell, but couldn't be a more different from his predecessor. Being Human fans worried about the show's 'reboot' can rest easy.

Vanessa Kirby
Vanessa Kirby might have made a rather swift exit from The Hour, but boy did she make an impression! Vanessa was fab in the role of Ruth Elms, the catalyst for the BBC Two series' mystery plot. We're actually quite disappointed she can't return for series two. But no matter, because Vanessa looks like she'll be keeping very busy indeed.

As well as starring alongside Mr Booth as Estella in the BBC's recent Great Expectations, she's also hard at work on new show Labyrinth (based on the popular Kate Mosse novel). She's in great company - it's being produced by Ridley Scott, and also stars Jessica Brown-Findlay (see above), John Hurt, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton and Katie McGrath. We think she's just getting started...

Watch a trailer for Great Expectations - starring Vanessa Kirby - below:



Who are your rising stars for 2012? Name your own suggestions below!