Rita (Susan White): A 26-year-old working-class hairdresser who enrolls in an Open University course to seek self-fulfillment and social mobility. She is intelligent but lacks formal education.

Frank: A middle-aged, alcoholic university professor who becomes Rita's tutor. He is a disillusioned former poet who takes on the tutorship to pay for his drinking. Frank is fascinated by Rita's unformed intelligence and open personality.

Denny: Rita's husband, who disapproves of her academic pursuits and wants her to focus on becoming a mother instead.

Trish: A cultured, educated young woman who becomes Rita's roommate after Rita leaves Denny. Trish represents the type of person Rita aspires to be.

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