29 April 2024 – Popular drama series Granite Harbour returns to Aberdeen for a new three-part, second series as Lindo (Romario Simpson), Bart (Hannah Donaldson) and the police team investigate two fatal cases with dark consequences at their heart, immersing the Major Investigations Team in the granite city’s criminal underworld.

When drug kingpin Grace McFadden’s (Lesley Hart) notorious fixer turns up dead, the MIT have their work cut out to find the source of a new cocaine and ketamine compound flooding the streets. Fearing an impending drugs turf war is brewing, the team fight to uncover the truth.

Meanwhile, Lindo investigates the case of pregnant stowaway, Mariam (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh), who claims her partner was killed on their journey across the sea. At the dockside, Lindo and Bart’s suspicions are raised by the guarded behaviour of Captain Anders Nielsen (Søren Malling) and his protege Axel Berg (Christopher Rygh) from the Stolthet, a Norwegian cargo ship which recently arrived in Aberdeen.

After complications and conflicts arise, DCI MacMillan pulls Lindo and Bart off the stowaway murder case. However, Lindo has other ideas, refusing to give up on his hunch the Stolthet’s crew are guilty of something sinister.

With the drug investigation making slow progress, Monty and Mallick are further frustrated by the McFadden family’s unwillingness to cooperate.

As the investigation pulls the team in different directions, Lindo faces an added problem when his estranged father, Grantley, arrives for a visit from Jamaica. However, it’s clear he’s got an agenda of his own.

Made by LA Productions, Granite Harbour is the latest drama made in Scotland alongside the likes of Lockerbie, Nightsleeper and Shetland.

Granite Harbour debuts on the BBC Scotland channel, followed by BBC One and iPlayer. All three episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from Thursday 2 May.

Interview with Dawn Steele (DCI Cora Macmillan)

How does it feel to be back for a second series of Granite Harbour?

It feels amazing to be back! We didn’t know how the first series was going to go what with it being a brand new drama, you know you never know how these things are going to turn out. And we were thrilled that we got another chance to explore these characters and these stories because I think there’s a lot more to do with all the other characters. As a cast we all get on really well so it was lovely to be back in Aberdeen and in Glasgow.

Why do you think Granite Harbour proved to be a fan favourite?

The thing is with Granite Harbour is it’s a good detective, drama series with a really good story set in gorgeous Aberdeen – the lovely granite city. But also, you know, there’s no swearing, there’s no blood, there’s a little bit of violence but it’s quite a family friendly drama, actually. There isn’t many cop shows like that – it’s got a very different energy and I know a lot of people liked the first series because it was a bit different and also it’s set in lovely Aberdeen which the viewers loved.

What is the storyline this time around?

Well, obviously, I can’t give too much away but there’s a lot to do within our dynamic of detectives together. I really enjoyed that this year – we get to explore a bit more about their families, their backgrounds, their stories. Also, there’s a fantastic story about immigrants coming over to this country to escape war and that is kind of combined with a bit of a drugs story within Aberdeen. The two stories weave together really nicely…I don’t want to give too much away! It’s really nice this year because we get to have a lot of overseas actors with us which was just fantastic – artists from Stockholm, Copenhagen, Norway and it was great to really explore that side of it.

Can you describe your character?

My character? Well, she’s the boss – Cora’s the yes/no woman. She has to decide what happens and who goes where and she’s got to keep her team together which, actually, this year, is quite hard because of where the story goes – there are lots of different threads. The team splits – two of the detectives think one thing, the other two think another thing. Really, Cora is in the middle and she’s got to make the decisions – and she really does! I think she’s quite funny, you know, she’s got a dry sense of humour. She is fair, I think and this [policing] is her life. She’s been doing it her whole life. We don’t know much about Cora, yet. We don’t know her background, her family but in this storyline we get to meet one of her old school chums Grace McFadden – it was a joy to film with the lovely Lesley Hart who pays Grace on screen.

What is it like filming in Aberdeen?

It’s gorgeous filming in Aberdeen and, this time, I got to go on location there which was lovely. This series I got to spend nearly a whole week in Aberdeen. It’s gorgeous, it’s a beautiful place and it’s really changed since I was first up there.

This time, we were down at the harbour in Aberdeen – I’ve never been down there never mind filmed there so that was really interesting.

How important is the city to the series storytelling?

If we could we would spend all our time filming in Aberdeen – we would. It’s hugely important to show the city itself, the architecture as well as down at the harbour. It’s amazing it’s got all that as a city.

Describe in five words what viewers can expect from Series 2 of Granite Harbour…

This is very hard. Suspense, drama, boats, accents and Scottish Cuisine – I know that that’s six but you ken what I mean!

Time for some police interrogation now… Tell us a secret about one of the core cast?

I’m a detective, I shouldn’t really be telling secrets at all but…I will say that Michelle [Jeram] did not know how to play Uno. I had to teach her. That’s all you’re getting.

Which one of you is the DCI of the group and the most bossy?

Definitely me, I’m not going to lie! I’m not so much bossy, I’m an organiser.

And who is the most by-the-book of the group and why?

Definitely Michelle because she used to be a copper! It’s great to have on set because she corrects any little mistakes we make and she gives you little tips.