- Greasy Greg (Gregory Richards) - Charming and ruthless lawyer/businessman. Owns a quarter of Sunset Beach.
- Cruella (Olivia Richards) - Spiteful alcoholic wife of Greggie. Frequently seen engaged in manic cat-fights with Annie.
- Spawn (of Spelling) (Sean Richards) - Gregory and Olivia's hopelessly good-natured but annoying son.
- Smurf (later Bimbi when she changed heads) (Caitlin Richards/Deschanel) - Hopelessly wet and annoying daughter of Gregory and Olivia.
- Dimples (second head only) (Cole St John/Deschanel) - Alleged former jewel thief and soon to be husband of Caitlin. Impressively wet, but supposed to be charming and rakish.
- Trey (Armando Deschanel III) - Token baby of the Beach, of continuously uncertain parentage.
- "Aunt" Bette Katzenkazrahi - Batty and wonderful multiple divorcée. Best friends with Greggie and Olivia, and brother of Del.
- Emily Davis - Teenage daughter of Bette, and unfortunate co-conspirator in Sean's attempts at rap.
- Dead Boy (Del Douglas) - Hardheaded businessman, usually dead, though later to return in frequent hell-based fantasies courtesy of daughter Annie.
- Collagen (Annie Douglas) - Insane best friend of Ben. Much given to wild fantasies, temper tantrums and tortuously complex plotlines.
- Whispering AJ (Armando Deschanel Jnr) - Heir of the town's original founder, and former lover of Olivia and Elaine. Owns another quarter of Sunset Beach.
- Lookie-Likie Leo (Leo Deschanel) - AJ's youngest son. Highly talented at disappearing unexpectedly.
- Franchesta (Francesca Vargas) - Bitchy ne'er do well, destined for sticky end sparking constantly persevering whodunnit.
- Jude Cavanaugh - Heroic type. FBI agent specialising in cases where he has strong emotional involvement.
- Bungalow (Casey Michum) - Big blond lifeguard. Very little upstairs, hence the name. All round good guy and Meg's best friend.
- Doctor Martial Law (Rae Chang) - Icy doc, fancies Casey. Has no plot, and is never likely to.
- Michael Bourne- Lifeguard. Frequently low in plot, but generally trustworthy and dependable.
- Little Miss Bubblewrap (Vanessa Hart) - Nickname somewhat nonsensical for the first few months, but I like it too much to put it on hold. Investigative reporter.
- Vixen Virginia (Virginia Harrison) - Old friend of Michael's, and spectacularly bonkers with jealousy towards Vanessa.
- Jimmy Harrison - Son of Virginia and serial hero worshipper of Michael.
- Miracle Man (Tyus Robinson) - The Beach's head medical man. Solid and dependable type, with a lasting crush on Vanessa.
- Mark Wolper - Hyperactive good guy. Works for Ben, but joins in the general Sunset Beach habit of suspecting him of killing just about everybody.
- Tiffany Thorne- Manic and light-fingered teenager always on the lookout for someone to pay the bills.
- Spike - Tiff's dog. Currently mute, but develops a habit in smart one-liners once ownership passes to Greggie.
- Elaine Stephens - Insanely anti-male owner of the local coffee shop. Likes everybody so long as they don't date her daughter.
- Paula Stephens- Cop, and daughter of Elaine. Constantly heralded by all as a Wonderful Person, to the vast annoyance of Gabi.
- Gobby (Gabi Martinez) - Fiendish and untrustworthy half sister of Paula.
- Thickardo (Ricardo Torres) - Detective, but nobody quite knows how he made it through the exams. Loathes his brother-in-law Ben with a fiery burning passion.
- Father Fit (Antonio Torres) - Younger brother of Thickardo and Maria. A priest who has problems keeping his vows.
- Dumbo (Maria Torres-Evans) - Largely dead, but frequently heard torturing Ben with flashbacks. His wife, who died under suspicious circumstances.
- Madwoman Barwoman Carmen (Carmen Torres) - Cheerfully insane mother of Thickardo and co. Practicing medium.
- Bad To The Bone (Mrs Moreau) - Bonkers dabbler in the magical arts, and friend of Madwoman Carmen.
- Eddie Connors- Cop. Impressively brainless and buckets of fun. Jealous former lover of Annie. One of the squarest jaws on television.
- Tight Pants (Tim Truman) - Blond, sulky and sometimes evil ex-fiancé of Meg. Has a remarkable ability to get himself almost murdered, by Ben/Derek/whoever.
- Amy Neilson - Bitchy former girlfriend of Sean's, and participant in cursed jewel plottage.
- Brad Nichols - Teenage co-conspirator in madcap plottings of Amy.
- The Plank (Hank Cummings) - Meg's down to earth, former farmer father. Easily swayed into Ben-hating by Tim.
- Joan Cummings - Meg's mother, generally reliable and steadfast.
- Sister Sara (Sara Cummings) - Meg's unpredictably bitchy sister, destined for immense soppiness with Casey.
- Del (Derek Evans) - Brother of Ben. Generally cheerful all round good egg.
- Hell's Nanny (Tess Marin) - Sometime guardian of Benji. Loyalties questionable, boyfriend inadvisable, temper incendiary.
- Whingy The Translucent Toddler (Benji) - Scarily pale-faced child of varying parentage. Backstory highly confused.
And the two main characters:
- Smeg (Meg Cummings) - Goodie two shoes with fluctuating Kansas accent. Fiddles with her hair constantly. Likes everyone, to an insane degree.
- TGO "The Gorgeous One" (Ben Evans) - Moody, sulky Brit given to impressive bouts of brooding. Hobbies are being hit over the head and held prisoner, not necessarily at the same time. Owns another quarter of Sunset Beach.

Nicknames © John and Pauline, Channel 5 Television, UK.