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‘Vigil’: Dougray Scott & Romola Garai Board BBC Drama As Suranne Jones Prepares To Take To The Skies For Season 2

EXCLUSIVE: Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie are headed to the skies for the second season of BBC ratings hit Vigil, while Dougray Scott and Romola Garai are among nine new cast members joining them.

As expected, Jones (Doctor Foster, Gentleman Jack) and Leslie (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey) will return as detectives Amy Silva and Kirsten Longacre. Gary Lewis (His Dark Materials) also returns as DS Robertson.

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In Season 2, Deadline has learnt that the leads will enter the closed and hostile environment of the Royal Air Force as they’re tasked with uncovering the cause of multiple unexplained fatalities at a Scottish military base.

Garai (Becoming Elizabeth, The Hour) and Scott (Crime, Enigma) will take major roles, as will Amir El-Masry (SAS Rogue Heroes, Limbo), David Elliot (The Liberator, Bulletproof), Chris Jenks (Sex Education, Karen Pirie), Tommy Sim’aan (The Midwich Cuckoos, Doctors), Oscar Salem (House of the Dragon, Des), Jonathan Ajayi (Noughts + Crosses) and newcomer Hiba Medina.

Vigil
Suranne Jones in season 1 of ‘Vigil’

Shooting on Line of Duty producer World Productions’ six-part season begins in Spring in Scotland and Morocco. The BBC confirmed it was returning to BBC One and BBC iPlayer nearly a year ago today but casting and plot details have been heavily guarded until now. ITV Studios has international distribution rights.

Simon Heath and Jake Lushington, Executive Producers for World Productions, said in a statement: “We’re excited to be taking the Silva & Longacre investigative partnership into a very different part of the British military, high in the skies rather than deep underwater. We’re also delighted to welcome to the cast two brilliant actors we’ve worked with on previous World shows, Romola Garai and Dougray Scott.”

The BBC’s first season of Vigil was UK television’s most-watched new drama launch since Bodyguard in 2018, with the debut episode taking a consolidated 13.8 million viewers after 28 days. In the U.S. it is on Peacock. The debut run also won an International Emmy and gained a BAFTA nomination for Best Drama Series.

Garai said it was “a huge privilege to be welcomed in as a part of Vigil Season 2 and to be playing such a layered, complex character,” adding: “I can only hope to do justice to the shows continued fascinating, challenging and thrilling storytelling.” Further details of her character weren’t revealed.

Scott added: “I’m delighted to be joining the cast of Vigil series 2 – the first was so highly regarded and widely watched, and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with Tom Edge and Andy De Emmony. Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie are great talents and I’m excited to be working with them.”

Jones said the season had “brilliant new scripts and some amazing additions to the cast,” adding: “Buckle up. It’s quite a ride.” Leslie said creator Tom Edge had written “another gripping case for us to grapple with in a whole new setting.”

Edge is writing the new season, with episodes penned by Maryam Hamidi, James Smythe and Ryan O’Sullivan & Matilda Wnek. Andy De Emmony (The Nest, The Last Kingdom) is the director andMarcus Wilson (Doctor Who, Luther) is producer. Associate Producer is George Aza-Selinger. Executive producers are World’s Heath and Lushington for World Productions, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, and Edge.

BBC Drama Director Lindsay Salt said: “Vigil series one took the country by storm, and I could not be more excited for BBC viewers to find out what comes next. With a highly original mystery and a richly fascinating new world for Silva and Longacre to explore, this is blockbuster television with brains as well as brawn.”

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