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Martin Clunes to reprise role in ITV's Manhunt

The actor is returning for the drama's second series

martin clunes manhunt
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
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Martin Clunes is set to return to TV screens soon for the second series of 2019 drama Manhunt. The actor, who recently announced other beloved show Doc Martin was coming to an end after the release of series ten, is currently filming the second instalment for the ITV drama titled Manhunt II: The Night Stalker.

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The 58-year-old star will once again play former London Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton who investigated the real-life murder case of French student Amelie Delagrange.

WATCH: Martin Clunes on the REAL reason Doc Martin is ending

The first season of the four-part show, which first aired last year, told the story of the tragic crimes committed by Levi Bellfield, who killed Amelia and others, before his eventual arrest and sentence to prison.

Levi's murder of Amelie on Twickenham Green in 2004 was later linked to the killings of Marsha McDonnell in 2003 and Milly Dowler in 2002. He remains in prison to this day.

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martin clunes dci sutton© Photo: ITV

Series two of Manhunt is scheduled for release next year

Series two will once again take inspiration from his diaries and follow DCI Sutton as he seeks to pursue a serial rapist from south east London "whose 17 year reign of terror left thousands of elderly people living in fear." 

Executive Producer Philippa Braithwaite, who also happens to be Martin's wife, said in a statement on the new series: "We are very pleased that ITV have given us the opportunity to dramatise another important case that Colin Sutton was involved in just before his retirement from the Force." 

martinclunes manhunt 2© Photo: Rex

Martin will once again play DCI Sutton

"His inquiry has a very different emphasis to the Bellfield case; the victims were elderly and the crimes were unsolved for many years. The drama explores how Colin came late to the inquiry and helped solve it in a matter of weeks, taking an incredibly dangerous serial rapist off the streets."

Along with the Men Behaving Badly actor, stars such as Stephen Wight, Katie Lyons and Claudie Blakley. A release date for Manhunt II has not yet been confirmed, however, filming and production has reportedly begun for a release in 2021. 

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