British police drama set in rural village with BBC Showtrial star confirms new-season release date

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The highly anticipated second season of Ellis, the police drama featuring Sharon D Clarke and Andrew Gower, will be released soon! Fans won’t have to wait long to watch it.

In the 5 series, actor Clarke, known for Showtrial, plays the lead role of a detective chief inspector. She partners with DS Chet Harper (played by Gower) to help struggling police stations in the countryside solve crimes.

The show premiered its first season in October and November 2024 and was quickly renewed for a second season in May 2025. Now, a first look at the new season is here, showing the main characters tackling fresh investigations.

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Season two will reveal more about the secrets, motivations, and deceit in each story. It starts on Tuesday, March 10th at 9pm on Channel 5, and the next episode will air the next night at the same time.

DCI Ellis, still riding high from her recent successes, is brought in to solve difficult cases in struggling communities across northern England. Alongside her partner Harper, she investigates a series of unsettling deaths and fractured towns, pushing her skills and strength to the limit.

In season two, the detectives leave the countryside – where the death of a well-liked figure stirs up old conflicts – and head to a gritty industrial town. There, the death of a young woman uncovers a secret system of control and abuse.

I’ve been following Ellis since it came out, and it’s been getting a really great reaction! People seem to love it – right now it has a 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb, based on over 4200 ratings. I even saw one review that gave it an 8 out of 10, and they called the mysteries totally intriguing!

It’s a really enjoyable show. The lead detective, DCI Ellis, is tough and doesn’t put up with nonsense, but she’s also understanding. She’s a bit of a mystery herself, and we gradually learn about her difficult past as she investigates crimes across the country, they said.

One viewer praised Sharon D Clarke’s performance in the leading role, highlighting her strong stage presence and captivating delivery. They also noted that the actor playing Harper became more appealing throughout the show, and that the two performers had great chemistry together.

In our review at Digital Spy, we only gave the first season two stars. We noted that while the actors tried to bring emotion to their roles, the show didn’t develop the characters enough.

Ellis returns to 5 on Tuesday 10 March.

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2026-02-27 16:50