Fans have been anticipating the return of the BBC drama Strike for the adaptation of The Ink Black Heart, the sixth novel in the detective series by JK Rowling. However, did you spot a very special cast member in season five? Tom Burke's mum actually starred as a major role in the show - find out more…
In season five, Troubled Blood, Tom's mum Anna Calder-Marshall starred alongside him as Janice Beattie, who Tom's character Cormoran and his partner Robin Ellacott interview while investigating an historic death.
It eventually turns out that Janice is actually the murderer, and poisoned several people over the years. She also attempts to kill Cormoran Strike, and as they wait for the police she tells him that his death would have been a special one.
Tom touched on having his mum join the show, telling Radio Times: "Inevitably during a four-month shoot you’ll be hit with the lurgy and our scenes happened to coincide with the day when I was suffering. It was nice to have that extra little bit of sympathy than I normally would have had."
© Nick HarveyFans were loving the revelation, with one posting on Reddit: "She's amazing isn't she? That's how I found out who she was. I was watching the scene for the first time and thought to myself 'this woman is an amazing actress, I need to pause it and Google her' and it both added to and ruined the rest of it for me when I resumed playing." Another person wrote: "WHAT," while a third added: "I wonder if she ever buys him chocolates, just to keep him guessing."
Anna has starred in shows including Anna Karenina, Lovejoy and Saint-Ex. She also appeared in Inspector Morse, Harlots and Les Miserables.
Tom's father, David Burke, 90, is also an actor, and has starred in Heartbeat and Midsomer Murders. Amazingly, he has also starred in a project opposite his son in BBC's The Musketeers, where Tom played Athos.
Strike season six will return to our screens soon, with the synopsis for the new season reading: "When frantic, desperate Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.
"Robin informs Edie that the agency is too busy to take on her case and thinks nothing more of it until a few weeks later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart. Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity."
