Monday 22 February 2021

Traces returns to Alibi for a second series later this year and will see Molly Windsor (Make Up, Cheat) reclaim her role as Emma Hedges, alongside Martin Compston (Line of Duty, The Nest) as Daniel Macafee, Laura Fraser (The Pact, Better Call Saul) as Prof. Sarah Gordon, Jennifer Spence (Trigger Me, You Me Her) as Prof. Kathy Torrance and Michael Nardone (The Night Manager, Guilt) as DCI Neil McKinven.

Produced by RED Production Company (It's A Sin, Years and Years) for UKTV and BBC Studios Distribution, the suspense-fuelled thriller was based on an original idea by best-selling crime writer Val McDermid where forensic science takes centre stage. Amelia Bullmore returns to write the second series with Jess Williams (Grantchester, Call the Midwife). Nicola Shindler (It's A Sin, Happy Valley) will executive produce, alongside RED's Michaela Fereday (Finding Alice, Scott & Bailey).

Set in Scotland and exploring the world of SIFA, the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science, series one introduced Emma Hedges (Windsor), Prof. Sarah Gordon (Fraser) and Prof. Kathy Torrence (Spence) who together used the rigors of forensic science to uncover the truth about the murder of Emma's mother.

Series two will continue to delve into the world of forensic science, as the women of SIFA carefully analyse traces of evidence to help get to the bottom of who's behind a series of cruel bombings in Dundee. The city is on edge as the pressure rises to identify the mystery bomber before the next bomb goes off.

The first series of Traces recently aired on BBC One, with the first episode achieving an audience of 6.7 million viewers*. BBC Studios, the international distributors of the series, have brought series one to audiences far and wide across 20 territories so far, including the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Iran, Japan through to Finland.

The new series of Traces joins an ever-growing slate of scripted dramas for Alibi, including the recently announced Annika, starring Nicola Walker, The Diplomat, produced by World Productions, and a second series of We Hunt Together, produced by BBC Studios.

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For more information, please contact:
Kelly Phelps, Publicist, UKTV

Notes for Editors:

• Episode one has received a 30-day consolidated figure of 6.7 million viewers across all-screens

About Alibi
Sky 132/826, Virgin 126/200, BT 312/382, TalkTalk 312, TV Player On demand on Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk Alibi is the only TV channel dedicated to crime drama, investigating the best selection from the genre and premiering hit series from around the world such as Harrow, Evil, Briarpatch and Tommy.

Alibi stepped into UKTV Original crime drama series with guaranteed thrills, twists and turns including hit series Traces, starring Molly Windsor and Martin Compston and We Hunt Together starring Eve Myles and Babou Ceesay.

Now in its 14th series, Murdoch Mysteries has found a safe space on the channel while newcomers Hudson and Rex have become hugely popular additions. British crime dramas including Death in Paradise, Father Brown and Silent Witness give the viewers another chance to catch their favourite shows.

About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and scripted drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers. UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

corporate.uktv.co.uk |press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress

About RED Production Company:
RED Production Company, a STUDIOCANAL Company, was founded in 1998 to work with the best writers on modern, innovative, and entertaining programming. The Manchester-based indie has produced some of the UK's most successful and award-winning dramas, including Russell T. Davies' It's A Sin for Channel 4, Cucumber, Queer As Folk and Years and Years, Sally Wainwright's Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, Lenny Henry's Danny and the Human Zoo, Dan Sefton's Trust Me, Tony Marchant's Butterfly, Traces, written by Amelia Bullmore, Danny Brocklehurst's Come Home, Harlan Coben's The Five, Safe and most recently, The Stranger, all with lead writer Danny Brocklehurst; and Finding Alice, written by Roger Goldby and Simon Nye for ITV. Forthcoming series include Ridley Road, written by Sarah Solemani for BBC and Harlan Coben's Stay Close, with lead writer Danny Brocklehurst for Netflix.

About Nicola Shindler:
Nicola Shindler OBE is a prolific, multi award-winning British television producer, who has worked with some of the most lauded names in television and created some of its most memorable series. With over 25 years' experience in television and renowned for her relationships with writers, Nicola has worked with an array of prolific writing talent to produce some of the UK's most successful and award-winning dramas, including Years and Years, Happy Valley, Queer As Folk, Traces, Last Tango in Halifax, Butterfly, Harlan Coben's The Stranger and most recently It's A Sin and Finding Alice. Forthcoming series include No Return for ITV, Ridley Road for BBC and Stay Close for Netflix.

In 2019, Nicola was awarded an OBE and took home one of BAFTA's highest honours, the Special Award, for her services to British Broadcasting. In 2021, Nicola launched new production company, Quay Street Productions to make contemporary, provocative, entertaining, and engaging drama, building on her reputation to deliver compelling drama. Previously, Nicola founded RED Production Company in 1998, where she was Chief Executive for twenty years, and she also previously served as chief executive and chief creative officer at StudioCanal UK.