Ellis (TV series)
British television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ellis (also titled Inspector Ellis) is a British crime drama television series for Channel 5 starring Sharon D. Clarke as Detective Chief Inspector Ellis. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2024 on Channel 5 with a three-part series.
Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre
Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre
| Ellis | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Inspector Ellis |
| Genre | Crime drama Detective Mystery |
| Created by | Paul Logue Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre |
| Written by | Paul Logue Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Catherine Mackin Bea Tammer Michele Buck Lucy Raffety Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre |
| Producer | Chris Martin |
| Running time | 47-92 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 5 |
| Release | 31 October 2024 – present |
A second series, consisting of four episodes, debuted on 10 March 2026.[1][2]
Premise
Detective chief inspector (DCI) Ellis and assistant Detective sergeant (DS) Harper are sent to help failing police investigations at different local police stations.[3]
Cast
Main
- Sharon D. Clarke as DCI Ellis[4][5]
- Andrew Gower as DS Chet Harper[4][5]
Recurring
- Allison Harding as Assistant chief constable (ACC) Leighton[4][5]
- Charlotte McCurry as Detective Constable (DC) Kate Trent[4][5][6]
Episodic
Episode 1: Hanmore
- Wayne Fosket as Michael Edwards[4][5]
- Tom McKay as Eric Mercer[4][5]
- Barry O'Connor as Peter Kelly[4][5]
- Chris Reilly as DCI Jim Belmont[4][5]
- Catherine Walker as Louise Edwards[4][5]
- Michael Wildman as Stephen Mason[4][5]
- Kaye Wragg as Linda Bradley[4][5]
- Noa Baurain as Rain Bradley[4][5]
- Tallulah Evans as Carrie Booth[4][5]
- Beau Gadsdon as Amy Mercer[4][5]
- Freya Hannan-Mills as Maggie Bradley[4][5]
- Brian Markey as Charles Braine[4][5]
- Conor Sánchez as Aaron Kelly
- Daire Scully as Rowan Edwards[4][5]
Episode 2: Callorwell
- Orla Charlton as Carla Duffy
- Tim Dutton as DCI Hain
- Jonathan Harden as Adam Reid
- Stephanie Levi-John as Naomi McKeith
- Paul Mallon as Tim Jones
- Sam Marks as DI Jamie Morrison
- Kirsten Foster as CSI Christine Bennett
- Jenny Kavanagh as Jenny Rawler
- Aoibheann McCann as DC Leah Thompson
- Michael McCloskey-Ooi as Mark Reid
- Fionn Ó Loingsigh as Curtis Keogh
- William Travis as Sergeant Frank Landry
Episode 3: Brindleton
- Josh Bolt as DS Archie Dent
- Amanda Drew as DCI Cotton
- Rina Mahoney as Lydia Green
- Charlie De Melo as Leo Braxton
- Michael Simkins as Gerry Rees-Mortimer
- Charley Webb as Abbie Summerfield
- Mark Field as Kane Harrison
- Harry Marcus as Rory Summerfield
- Tama Matheson as Oz Hoffman
- Jade Matthew as Rachel Hoffman
- Shanaya Rafaat as Soraya Mansoori
- Richard Sherwood as Alex Scanlan
- David Sterne as Foster Lang
Episodes 4 & 5: Ashenham[6]
- John Hollingworth as Malcolm Oliver
- Sasha Desouza-Willock as PC Suravi Kareem
- Joel Morris as Joseph Ward
- Niamh Blackshaw as Jade Bell
- Cariad Lloyd as Pippa Ellerson
- Keir Charles as Chris Ellerson
- Sonny Walker as Kelvin Jones
Episodes 6 & 7: Elmsly[7]
- Mark Addy as Elliot Quinn
- Matilda Freeman as Mackenzie Quinn
- Stephen Tompkinson as DCI Chalmers
- Judy Flynn as Wendy Pyke
- Caroline O'Neill as Rosie Watts
- Jack Bandeira as Tim Selby
- Sophie Stanton as Tina Marshall
Production
The series is written by Paul Logue and Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and produced by Company Pictures.[8] The three-part series consisting of two-hour episodes is executive produced by Catherine Mackin, Bea Tammer, Michele Buck and Lucy Raffety. Chris Martin is series producer.[9]
Filming took place in Northern Ireland in the spring of 2024.[10] Filming locations included Dromore in County Down, Gracehill in County Antrim near Ballymena,[11][12]
The series was renewed for a second series with filming scheduled for June 2025.[13]
Broadcast
The series was broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK on 31 October 2024.[14] It was launched internationally shortly after on Acorn TV under the title 'Inspector Ellis'.[15]
The season launched with 'Hanmore' as the pilot and brought in 1.3 million viewers.[16]
It started showing in the Netherlands on BBC NL on 17 July 2026.[17]
Episodes
Series 1 (2024)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Hanmore" | Nick Hurran | Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre (as Siân Martin) and Paul Logue | 31 October 2024 |
| 2 | 2 | "Callorwell" | Ryan Tohill | Siân Martin, Jessica Ruston | 7 November 2024 |
| 3 | 3 | "Brindleton" | Andy Tohill | Maria Ward | 14 November 2024 |
Series 2 (2026)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | "Ashenham: Part One" | Edward Bazalgette | Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre | 10 March 2026 |
| 5 | 2 | "Ashenham: Part Two" | Edward Bazalgette | Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre | 11 March 2026 |
| 6 | 3 | "Elmsly: Part One" | Max Myers | Oliver Frampton | 17 March 2026 |
| 7 | 4 | "Elmsly: Part Two" | Max Myers | Oliver Frampton | 18 March 2026 |
Reception
Writing in the Radio Times, Morgan Cormack said the show was "really rather good" and far from the cosy-crime genre that some viewers may have expected, and that it had some "very topical, gritty subject matter that has some eerie real-world similarities". Cormack also states that “Ellis certainly isn't the first enigmatic detective to grace our screens” but felt that scriptwriter Ejiwunmi-Le Berre successfully created a character "that doesn't fall into the stereotypical tropes".[18]