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Tuesday 3 November 2020

Shelley Conn, Natalie Gumede, Sharon Rooney and John Thomson join the cast of ITV’s McDonald & Dodds

Shelley Conn, Natalie Gumede, Sharon Rooney and John Thomson, have joined the cast for the second film of ITV's McDonald & Dodds, alongside leading actors Jason Watkins and Tala Gouveia.

Filming is underway on the second series of the contemporary detective drama following the success of the feature-length films which aired earlier this year on ITV, produced by leading independent production company, Mammoth Screen, an ITV Studios company.

The new series sees Tala Gouveia (Cold Feet) and BAFTA award winning actor  Jason Watkins (The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jefferies, The Crown) reprise their roles as the smart and ambitious DCI McDonald and the humble, and quietly brilliant DS Dodds in three new murder mysteries. They are joined in the second film by guest cast members Shelley Conn (Liar), Natalie Gumede (Strike), Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary) and John Thomson (Cold Feet).

Returning cast includes James Murray as Chief Superintendent Houseman, Jack Riddiford as DC Darren Craig with Lily Sacofsky joining as DC Milena Pachiorkowski.

Set in picturesque Bath, the series pairs feisty DCI McDonald, who has recently transferred from London's Met Police, with the unassuming DS Dodds, who has been happy in the background for most of his working life. To McDonald's surprise they form an unexpectedly effective crime solving partnership.

The second film, entitled We Need To Talk About Doreen, stars Sharon Rooney as Doreen, part of a group who have travelled to Bath for the weekend to celebrate their friend Angela's (Joy McAvoy) birthday. Whilst out on the town celebrating, Doreen, Angela, Hilary (Shelley Conn), Melissa (Maya Coates) and Cath (Kat Ronney) get chatting to some players from the Bath Eagles Rugby Club, including its strapping new signing Dominique Aubert (Tomos Gwynfryn). They are invited to a party thrown by rugby club chairman Jimmy (John Thomson) at his home and happily attend with other members of the rugby team and Dominique Aubert's agent Deborah (Natalie Gumede).

But the following morning, as most of the party are nursing their hangovers, the body of one guest is discovered near a railway tunnel and McDonald & Dodds are called in to investigate.

Robert Murphy, creator and executive producer, has written the first two films with Kam Odedra (Gangs of London) writing the third. Directors are Alex Pillai (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Rebecca Rycroft (Malory Towers) and Ian Aryeh (In The Long Run) McDonald & Dodds will once again be filmed in the West Country.

The new series has been commissioned by ITV's Drama Commissioner Huw Kennair Jones and Head of Drama, Polly Hill.  Huw will oversee production of the drama from the channel's perspective.

Damien Timmer (Endeavour, Poldark) and Preethi Mavahalli (Noughts + Crosses, The War of the Worlds) are the executive producers for Mammoth Screen, an ITV Studios company, alongside writer Robert Murphy (Vera, Shetland, DCI Banks). The producer of the new series is Sarah Lewis (Noughts + Crosses, Victoria).

The first series is available to view via streaming platform Britbox.  Series one launched with a consolidated rating of 6.4m and a 26% share of the available audience and boasted an impressive guest cast list alongside Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins which included Robert Lindsay, Rosalie Craig, Ellie Kendrick, Susannah Fielding, Joanna Scanlan, Michele Dotrice, Freddie Fox and Hugh Dennis.

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