True DETECTIVE

SHARON D CLARKE talks about the return of her shrewd crime-fighter

- TESS LAMACRAFT

ELLIS NEW TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY, 9PM, 5 DRAMA

A fractured rural community woven with dangerous grudges and a village bound by fear are the murky backdrops for the cases in the much-awaited second outing of 5's procedural drama Ellis.

Following an acclaimed debut in 2024 with a trio of feature-length instalments, the new fourepisode run comprises two-part investigations which again see tenacious troubleshooter DCI Ellis (played by Sharon D Clarke), accompanied by loyal DS Chet Harper (Andrew Gower), drafted in to unravel mysteries perplexing different police teams across the north of England.

First up, DCI Ellis and Chet are heading to (fictional) Ashenham to investigate the suspicious death of respected local businessman Peter Barron (James Doran), while next week, it's off to (fictional) Elmsly after ambitious university student Abi Marshall (Lisa Ambalavanar) is found crushed beneath fallen scaffolding.

Here, Sharon, 59, whose small-screen credits include BBC1's Holby City, Doctor Who and Mr Loverman, shares her case notes...