Olivia Colman joins second film of ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher‘.

ITV has announced Bafta award-winning actress Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur, Twenty Twelve, Rev) has joined the cast of ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II.’

In the two-hour film, Colman will co-star alongside Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Submarine, Red Riding), who returns to the role of Jack Whicher in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II : The Murder In Angel Lane. Colman will play Susan Spencer, who employs Mr Whicher as a private inquiry agent to investigate the savage murder of her niece, 16 year old Mary.

Also starring is, William Beck (Casualty, Hustle), who reprises his role as Chief Inspector Dolly Williamson, and Tim Pigott-Smith (Downton Abbey, Strike Back) returning as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Richard Mayne. Shaun Dingwall (Above Suspicion, Rock & Chips) stars as Inspector George Lock and William Postlethwaite as Mary’s lover Stephen Gann.

They are joined by Mark Bazeley (The Body Farm, Accused), Sean Baker (Call the Midwife, Silent Witness) and Alistair Petrie (Whitechapel, Cranford).

The original film which aired in April 2011 was Produced by Hat Trick Productions and written by BAFTA award-winning Neil McKay (Appropriate Adult, Mo, See No Evil: The Moors Murders). The stories are based on the best-selling book by Kate Summerscale, and the life and times of Inspector Jonathan ‘Jack’ Whicher, the real-life pioneering detective who worked in the newly established Detective Branch of the Metropolitan Police during the 19th Century. Kate has given her blessing to the new film.

Laura Mackie part of the ITV Commissioning team comments: “We’re delighted Paddy Considine has agreed to reprise his role as Jack Whicher, the most celebrated detective of his day. Neil McKay has taken the character and produced a gripping and compelling story”.

Hat Trick’s Head of Drama Mark Redhead (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, Bodies) will executive produce the film, Rob Bullock (Case Sensitive, Mutual Friends) will produce and Christopher Menaul (See No Evil: The Moors Murders, Zen) will direct.

Mark Redhead adds: “After Jack Whicher left the Met, he continued with his vocation as a detective as one of the first so-called “private inquiry agents”. This story launches him into that career, and he becomes involved in a disturbing and puzzling murder case which brings him into conflict with powerful figures including his former colleagues in the Metropolitan Police.”

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II will be filming over the next four weeks in Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and central London.