FIRST LOOK Karen Pirie

The hit ITV1 drama is back this July!

Today, ITV1 has released a number of first look images from the highly anticipated second series of cold-case drama Karen Pirie, which sees Lauren Lyle reprise her role as Detective Inspector Karen Pirie, with a riveting new case to solve.

After thrilling audiences as one of ITV’s most-watched dramas, the new three-part series, based on Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain and adapted by Emer Kenny will return in July on ITV1.

These first look pictures offer a glimpse into the thrilling new series and after her bittersweet success in series one, Karen has been promoted to Detective Inspector and seemingly given the authority she has long been fighting for.

Just as she’s getting into the swing of her powerful new role, she is assigned an infamous unsolved case that will put her under intense scrutiny; from her boss, from the media, and ultimately, from sinister forces that would rather the past stayed in the past.

The 1984 case of Catriona and Adam Grant has confounded investigators and intrigued the public like no other. Catriona, the charming young heiress to a vast oil fortune, and her two year old son Adam, were brutally kidnapped at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop in Fife. The ransom notes that followed stirred up an uncontrollable press storm, but when the culprits fell silent, the police faltered, and Catriona and Adam were never seen again.

Now, a man’s body has been discovered, with indisputable links to the original kidnap. With the first piece of evidence in decades, Karen must assemble an unbeatable team alongside her sincere and lovable sidekick DC Jason ‘Mint’ Murray, played by Chris Jenks, and the brilliant, but romantically complicated, DS Phil Parhatka, played by Zach Wyatt.

With the international renown of the kidnap and the constant pressure from Catriona’s father, Sir Broderick Grant, played by James Cosmo, the team take on the biggest challenge of their careers to date. As Karen delves deeper into what happened in the autumn of 1984, political grudges and painful secrets reveal themselves, and it soon becomes clear… the past is far from dead.

Lauren Lyle stars alongside series one regulars Chris Jenks, Zach Wyatt, Steve John Shepherd, Emer Kenny and Rakhee Thakrar alongside new cast members Saskia Ashdown, James Cosmo, Frances Tomelty and John Michie.

Bringing the 1980s to life are previously announced cast members Julia Brown, Mark Rowley, Kat Ronney, Conor Berry, Stuart Campbell, Jamie Michie, Madeleine Worrall, Jack Stewart, Thoren Ferguson and Helen Katamba.

New additions to the present-day storyline include James Fleet, Tom Mannion and Tommaso Basili.

Written by Emer Kenny, Karen Pirie is executive produced by Simon Heath and Emma Luffingham at World Productions alongside Emer Kenny and Val McDermid. The series is directed by Gareth Bryn with Amanda Blue directing episode three, and produced by Marcus Wilson.

Karen Pirie returns later this July on ITV1