The BBC and Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions (The Salisbury Poisonings, Crossfire, Domino Day) have today released a first-look image from the return of Tony Schumacher’s The Responder, ahead of its launch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year.

The critically acclaimed and six-time BAFTA-nominated, International Emmy winning BBC drama is penned by Schumacher and will see actors Martin Freeman, Adelayo Adedayo (Unsaid Stories; Timewasters), MyAnna Buring (The Salisbury Poisonings; The Witcher), Warren Brown (Ten Pound Poms; Luther), Josh Finan (Baby Reindeer; The Gentlemen), Emily Fairn (Mary & George; Black Mirror), Philip S McGuinness (The Batman; The Alienist) and Faye McKeever (Little Boy Blue; The Moorside), Mark Womack (The Vanishing Man; Playing the Field) and Amaka Okafor (Bodies; Greatest Days) reprise their roles.

As previously announced, joining the cast for series two of The Responder will be Adam Nagaitis (The Terror; Chernobyl), Bernard Hill (Wolf Hall; Lord of the Rings, Titanic) and Ian Puleston-Davies (Tin Star; Pennyworth).

The first series of The Responder held a mirror up to the emotional extremes of life on the front line of British policing – sometimes darkly funny, sometimes painfully tragic, always challenging. Released on the BBC in January 2022 it attracted 9.6m viewers (episode one 28-day figure), making it one of the year’s biggest new dramas. Sold in over 195 territories, with Fremantle handling global distribution, it fast became one of the biggest dramas of 2022.

The Responder (5x60’) is written by Tony Schumacher and produced by Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions, who were recently named Production Company of the Year at the Edinburgh Television Awards 2023, for BBC One and iPlayer. It is directed by Jeanette Nordahl, Mounia Akl, and Charlotte Regan. It is produced by Barrington Robinson with Laurence Bowen, Chris Carey and Toby Bruce serving as executive producers for Dancing Ledge Productions. Rebecca Ferguson is the executive producer for the BBC. Filming took place in 2023 in and around Liverpool with support from the Liverpool Film Office. Fremantle is handling global distribution for the series.

Series one of The Responder is available to watch on BBC iPlayer (see link below).