Showtrial reveals first look at season 2 of Line of Duty producers' hit drama

The first-look images of the new season are now in, and they give us a glimpse into some of the action to come, which obviously includes some crowded climate protests being manned by many police officers, as well as a glimpse at multi BAFTA Award-winning actor Adeel Akhtar as defence solicitor Sam Malik.

In one image (below), we see Akhtar looking pensively across the room as he's surrounded by paper coffee cups and files, clearly in the midst of the perplexing case at hand. In another (above), Akhtar is caught up in the throngs of a climate protest and seems to have made it past police officers who are holding protesters back.

Akhtar has more recently been on our screens in Netflix's Fool Me Once, but has wowed viewers in series such as Sherwood, Sweet Tooth and Ghosted, as well as films like Ali & Ava.

Another image also gives us a sneak peek at Michael Socha's (The Gallows Pole) Justin Mitchell, who we can see wearing a suit and taking the stand in the middle of a courtroom.

Described as a "charismatic and cocky police officer", we're sure much of the drama will centre on Socha's character, who we're led to believe is Officer X.

Socha is, of course, known for his roles in This Is England and its resulting TV series spin-offs, as well as having starred in Chernobyl, Time and, more recently, BBC's The Gallows Pole.

According to the official series synopsis: "When high-profile climate activist Marcus Calderwood (Barney Fishwick) is left for dead in a violent hit and run, he uses his dying moments to apparently identify his killer - a serving policeman.

"But who is this unnamed Officer X? What does his own history reveal about the nature of trauma and revenge, and was Marcus’s death a tragic accident or pre-meditated murder?"

It continues: "As public outrage reaches fever pitch, the series asks what happens when a trial is dominated by cultural divisions and if the truth is ever clear cut. Is a fair trial even possible when tensions are riding so high?"

The new series comes from World Productions, known for producing the likes of Vigil, Line of Duty and Save Me, so you just know this instalment of Showtrial is set to be a nail-biting one.

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As well as Socha and Akhtar, the cast for Showtrial season 2 also includes Nathalie Armin (Unforgotten), Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones), Fisayo Akinade (Heartstopper), Tom Padley (The Lost Pirate Kingdom), Kerrie Hayes (Blue Jean), Barney Fishwick (Living) and Francesca Annis (Flesh and Blood).

Joining the extensive cast is also Nina Toussaint-White (Bodyguard), Zoe Telford (Men Only), Ali Khan (A Haunting in Venice), Daniel Kendrick (Inside Man), Frankie Wilson (Against the Ice) and Anna Próchniak (The Tattooist of Auschwitz).

Anna Wilson-Jones (Victoria), John Light (Around the World in 80 Days), Aidan McArdle (Spy/Master), Daisy Badger (The Sandman), Flora Montgomery (The Crown), Pearce Quigley (Detectorists), John Marquez (Doc Martin) and Anna Healy (Mother’s Day) make up the rest of the Showtrial season 2 line-up.

Showtrial is due to return to BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year.

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