Career snapshot
Selected work
- Young Dracula
- Catch-22
- 1917
- The Pitt
Performer file · DC Simon Evans
Gerran Howell
A Welsh actor who first became widely known in the title role of Young Dracula. Later screen work includes Catch-22, 1917 and the medical drama The Pitt.
Reviewed guide · Sources & corrections
In Ludwig
DC Simon Evans
The role is confirmed through the programme’s official production material. Plot interpretation remains in the character and episode records.
Core cast profile
Gerran Howell in Ludwig
Core police team · Series 1
Profile overview
DC Simon Evans
Howell plays DC Simon Evans, one of the detectives who turns the team’s theories into practical inquiry. Evans helps cover the essential connective work of a case—following leads, handling information and responding to the changing direction set by Carter and John.
Career context
Work beyond Ludwig
Howell began acting in local school productions and a weekly Cardiff improvisation workshop, according to his own account in an interview with IMAGINE. His long-running title role in CBBC’s Young Dracula was followed by adult ensemble work including Catch-22, 1917 and The Pitt. Big Talk Studios named him as DC Simon Evans in its 2024 Ludwig cast announcement; Warner Bros. Discovery lists him as Whitaker in The Pitt.
Howell told IMAGINE that Young Dracula taught him how to work on a set, while the scale of Catch-22 taught him to listen and observe other performers. He also discussed the preparation involved in playing a quiet character: understanding what the character wants and holds back without simply making those feelings explicit. These comments describe his wider practice, not a documented method for playing Evans.
Role analysis
The casework that connects the clues
Spoiler-light · character and performance
Inside the story
What the character changes
Evans’s place in the ensemble lets the series show how John’s deductions affect the wider investigation. He is close enough to observe the supposed James’s unusual behaviour but busy enough with the case for the disguise to remain plausible. The character also gives the station scenes pace and texture.
Performance note
How the role works on screen
Howell’s performance combines procedural focus with lightly comic reaction. That balance prevents the team from becoming either faceless support or a collection of punchlines: Evans remains a working detective even when John’s methods disrupt the normal order of an inquiry.
Verified career record
Selected credits and recognition
Series 1 regular · 6 episodes
Selected television
- Young Dracula · Vladimir Dracula
- Catch-22 · Kid Sampson
- The Pitt · Dennis Whitaker
- Emerald City · Jack
- Suspicion · Colin Stagg
Selected film
- 1917 · Private Parry
- Queen and Country · Kitto
- Freedom’s Path · William
Career route
- Local drama productions and a Cardiff improvisation workshop, in Howell’s own account
- Long-running title role in CBBC’s Young Dracula
- Later ensemble work including Catch-22, 1917 and The Pitt
- Six-episode Series 1 record as DC Simon Evans in Ludwig
Watch and read
Verified appearance guide
Series 1 regular · 6 episodes
Sources: commons.wikimedia.org · creativecommons.org · bigtalkstudios.com · comedy.co.uk · press.wbd.com · imaginemagazine.co
Howell’s Series 2 update
In the Radio Times interview reported by AOL on 24 March 2026, Gerran Howell said he would not return for Series 2, while expressing a hope that a future return remained possible. That hope is not a confirmed later appearance. Source.
Ethan Cole and Caitlin Sullivan are the new constables in the second-series cast. Source.