Channel 5's hit crime drama Dalgliesh is returning with a third season – and stars of Grantchester and The Day of the Jackal have joined the cast!
The new six-part series will return with a two-part story, which will air on Thursday 5 December and Friday 6 December respectively. The remaining episodes are expected to follow a similar pattern in the coming weeks.
Each episode is adapted from a different novel of PD James's book series, with Death in Holy Orders, Cover Her Face and Devices and Desires inspiring this season's stories.
Bertie Carvel will reprise his role as the titular detective, alongside Carlyss Peer as Adam Dalgliesh's co-worker, Kate Miskin, and Alistair Brammer as DS Daniel Tarrant.
© Christopher Barr / Channel 5Joining the cast for the new episodes are Adam James (Vigil, The Day of the Jackal), Richard Lintern (Silent Witness) and Ellora Torchia (Grantchester, The Split), as well as Anton Lesser (Endeavour), Lloyd Owen (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Claire Goose (Silverpoint) and Liz White (The Long Shadow).
Rounding out the cast are Parth Thakerar (Gangs of London), Soni Razdan (War) and Josie Walker (Belfast).
Set in 1979, the new series sees Commander Adam Dalgliesh tackle three "highly charged and highly sensitive cases in different parts of the country".
© Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited / New Pictures CopyrightThe first takes place in West Sussex, where "residents of St Anselm's Seminary are disgruntled by the arrival of their new trustee, Archdeacon Matthew Crampton".
The synopsis continues: "He is here on a crusade to modernise the seminary by selling of its valuable assets – including The Doom, a magnificent altarpiece.
"Next morning, following a bitter argument in church, the archdeacon is found dead at the altar. Commander Dalgliesh and DS Tarrant arrive to investigate. They find that nearly everyone here has a personal grievance with the deceased archdeacon. And several have lied about their movements last night.
"As accusations fly around St Anselm's, the residents are shocked by another death."
In the second story, 'Cover Her Face', Dalgliesh investigates a murder in the Essex home of the Mehtas, a very wealthy family with connections to the British government.
In the third and final story, 'Devices and Desires', Dalgliesh investigates a terrorist plot against a nuclear power station on the Kent coast, where he is soon drawn into a complex hunt for a serial killer.
