BBC’s groundbreaking Scottish crime drama returns with “a taut and twisty story”

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The popular Scottish crime drama An t-Eilean ( The Island ) is coming back for a second season. The series, which originally aired in 2025, was a first-of-its-kind high-quality Gaelic drama and became BBC ALBA’s most successful and well-known production ever.

Sorcha Groundsell, known for her role in His Dark Materials, will return as Detective Sergeant Kat Crichton in the upcoming season of the crime drama, which promises a compelling new mystery.

Building on the popularity of the first series, Bill MacLeod, commissioning editor for BBC ALBA, says the second series of An t-Eilean will be full of suspense and unexpected turns. The story begins with Kat feeling overwhelmed – she’s struggling at work, caring for her sick father, and dealing with minor crimes in her community.

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When a young woman’s body is found on the shore, Kat suddenly finds herself investigating a murder. As she digs deeper into the case, she uncovers the hidden lives and painful secrets of the island’s youth, and is forced to face not only the mystery, but also her own personal connections to the community.

The story continues with Ruaraidh MacLean (Sam James Smith), Kat’s former enemy who now leads the local youth group. When he suspects other young people on the island have also disappeared, he gets pulled back into Kat’s investigation, and the case starts to focus on people they both know.

This story plunges the characters into a frightening and disturbing game as they chase a serial killer, revealing a world of shocking corruption along the way.

Production on the four-episode series, created by Nicholas Osborne and co-written with Mairead Hamilton, will start this spring. Filming will primarily take place on location in the Western Isles, with Black Camel Pictures producing the show for BBC ALBA, BBC FOUR, and BBC iPlayer.

MacLeod expressed excitement about bringing back the internationally recognized show. “An t-Eilean” will once again immerse audiences in a stunning natural setting, featuring a suspenseful and unpredictable story that will keep them captivated until the very end.

David Smith, director of Screen Scotland (which helped fund An t-Eilean), shared this view, stating that the show brought Gaelic drama to a global audience and exceeded all expectations.

The second season will continue to build on the success of the first. Although Screen Scotland doesn’t usually fund additional seasons of a show, An t-Eilean is so important to Scottish culture that we’ve made an exception and provided support.

An t-Eilean season one is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

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2026-02-18 13:19