Karen Pirie begins filming season 2 with Lauren Lyle, Emer Kenny and more returning

And she isn't alone! Further returning cast members include Chris Jenks (Sex Education) as DC Jason 'Mint' Murray, Zach Wyatt (Timestalker) as DS Phil Parhatka, Steve John Shepherd (Harry Potter) as DCS Lees, Emer Kenny as River Wilde and Rakhee Thakrar (Wonka) as Bel Richmond.

The new season will follow the characters as they reinvestigate the 1984 kidnapping of heiress Catriona Grant and her baby son.

Lyle's portrayal of Karen Pirie has received critical acclaim, for which she was awarded the Best Actress in Television and Audience Award for Favourite Scot on Screen at BAFTA Scotland.

Additional cast includes Saskia Ashdown (Six Four) as newcomer DC Isla Stark, James Cosmo (Braveheart) and Frances Tomelty (Unforgotten) as Catriona's parents and John Michie (Holby City) as Fergus Sinclair.

At the heart of the crime will be Julia Brown (World on Fire) as Catriona Grant, Mark Rowley (One Day) as Mick, Kat Ronney (Dinosaur) as Bonnie, Conor Berry (Schemers) as Andy and Stuart Campbell (The Winter King) as Kevin.

Jamie Michie (Back to Life) will play a young Brodie Grant, Madeleine Worrall (The Legend of Tarzan) a young Mary Grant and Jack Stewart (Outlander) a young Fergus.

The original investigation will be helmed by Thoren Ferguson (Rebus) as DI Anderson and Helena Katamba (The Nest) as DC Laurel Blair.

The show will undoubtedly capture the attention of viewers once again with its interesting plot, which follows young heiress to the Grant oil fortune Catriona Grant, who is kidnapped at gunpoint with her young son, and it's assumed that the motivation is political.

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The logline for the season reads: "The huge investigation creates an uncontrollable press storm… but when the culprits unexpectedly fall silent, the case runs cold. Cat and Adam are never seen again.

"Forty years later, when a man's body is discovered, Karen Pirie is assigned to reopen the case in complete secrecy. With the first key piece of evidence in decades, Karen must try to unlock one of Scotland's most infamous mysteries, whilst battling increasing media attention.

"What happened to Cat Grant and why do sinister forces want the secrets of her disappearance to remain hidden?"

The first season of Karen Pirie was a success for ITV, with the series launch receiving 6.6 million viewers and an average of 5.9 million across each episode.

Karen Pirie will air on ITV1 and ITVX.

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