Watch Doctor Who star Sharon D Clarke in action in gripping Ellis teaser
The detective drama premieres on Channel 5 later this week.
A first-look clip from Channel 5 drama Ellis shows Sharon D Clarke's detective in a tense interrogation, as a young person's life hangs in the balance.
The series follows DCI Ellis as she is dispatched to police stations around the country to help push forward cases that have run cold, but she often gets a frosty reception from the detectives who have become stuck on the investigation.
Above, we get to see why she's so good at what she does, offering her analytical view of events and appealing to an uncooperative suspect's humanity as the information he holds could prevent another innocent death.
If you want to know what happens next, tune in to Ellis on Channel 5 at 8pm on Thursday 31st October 2024.
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The synopsis for Ellis episode 1 reads: "When 18-year-old Rowan Edwards is found dead, DCI Ellis is called on by ACC Alison Leighton to take over the investigation.
"Rowan's girlfriend Maggie has not been seen since Rowan’s death, and they need results fast.
"Rowan's mother, an ex-MP, has doubts about the capabilities of the local force, but the current Senior Investigative Officer is sure he has the murderer in his sights and is less than impressed to have been shunted off the case.
"He assigns DS Chet Harper to keep an eye on Ellis, not trusting her at all. Ellis starts to dig under the surface of the town and soon sees that in Hanmore, parents know nothing about the lives of their children."
Clarke, who previously played Grace O'Brien, grandmother to Ryan (Tosin Cole), on Doctor Who, told Radio Times magazine that she developed a backstory for her character beyond what we see in the show.
"I wanted her to be from a multicultural place, so she’s from Tottenham, North London, which is where I grew up," she explained. "She’s tough; she has worked her way up to the top despite the endemic racism in the force."
Clarke also spoke to Irene Afful, who made history as Merseyside Police's first Black female inspector, about her real-life experiences on the force and how they could help shape Ellis as a character.
"It was just really insightful to hear it from someone who’d gone through it," the actor told press at the Ellis launch event.
"It wasn’t like we’re trying to make this story real, no. She’d lived this life, so it was just – any nugget, any gem she could give us, I just soaked it all up and tried to put it into Ellis."
In an interview with RadioTimes.com and other press, she added that she hoped to capture Afful's "steely grit" as well as her ability to find "some humour" amongst the "madness" of her career.
Ellis is available to stream on Channel 5.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
