Keeley Hawes and David Morrissey to star in The Missing series two

Filming has commenced on series two of BBC's gripping thriller The Missing as it's announced that Keeley Hawes and David Morrissey will lead the cast.

Harry and Jack Williams have returned to pen the eight-part series with Ben Chanan (Cyberbully, The Last Kingdom) directing.

Following the phenomenal success of the first series, which had the nation gripped as Tony Hughes’ (played by James Nesbitt) tragic tale unfolded, this second run offers a new case, new characters and a new location.

Morrissey (The Walking Dead, Extant) and Hawes (Line Of Duty, The Casual Vacancy, Doctor Who), play Sam and Gemma whose daughter Alice went missing in 2003. Told in dual timelines the action will cut to 2014 where a young British woman collapses in the streets of her German hometown. Her name is Alice Webster (played by newcomer Abigail Hardingham), and she has been missing for 11 years.

Her return throws the family into turmoil and it falls to French missing person’s detective Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo reprising his role) to pursue a 12-year-old case that he never let die.

Also joining the cast are Roger Allam (Endeavour, Tamara Drewe), Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad, Peter & Wendy, One of Us), Anastasia Hille (Show White And The Huntsman, Prey) and Daniel Ezra (Murdered By My Boyfriend, Blood Cells).

Writers Harry and Jack Williams said: “While we were writing the first series, we began talking about what the show would have been had Oliver Hughes been found. This story grew out of that discussion. It’s the other side of the coin to series one – an exploration of loss, of freedom, of how the past can shape the present in myriad ways that we cannot fully understand. It’s bigger, more ambitious, and we’re delighted to have such a brilliantly talented cast joining Julien Baptiste for a new case.”

Polly Hill, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, said: “The success of series one and response from the audience was incredible, and I am extremely excited for what the second series holds. Harry and Jack Williams have delivered compelling original scripts yet again, this time with a completely new case from a different perspective. David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes are two of the finest actors in the country, and we are thrilled to have them on board.”