Death Valley Series 2: Everything We Know So Far

We all loved Happy Valley, the BBC’s West Yorkshire-set, Sarah Lancashire-led crime drama with incredibly dark overtones (and if you loved Sally Wainwright’s writing, make sure you tune into her latest series Riot Women). The antithesis, ironically, is Death Valley the BBC’s Wales-set, Timothy Spall-led crime comedy which launched in 2025 to almost immediate rave reviews.

Joined by disarmingly friendly cop DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth), Spall plays eccentric retired actor and national treasure John Chapel. Entirely set in Wales and mostly filmed in Penarth, when series 1 of this cosy crime series launched, it had us scrambling to book a Welsh staycation ASAP. And with series 2 officially on the way, we are sure we have some more picturesque landscapes to look forward to – as well as plenty of crime-fighting action. Here is everything we know so far.

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Janie Mallowan (GWYNETH KEYWORTH), John Chapel (TIMOTHY SPALL) in Death Valley. (© BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway)

Death Valley Series 2: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

With its cosy similarities to other recent hits like The Thursday Murder Club, McDonald and Dodds and the ever-beloved Grantchester, it is almost no surprise Death Valley was an instant hit. According to the BBC, the Welsh comedy attracted the BBC’s largest UK overnight audience for a new scripted show in five years. As BBC Cymru Wales’ head of commissioning Nick Andrews said at the time, ‘The numbers in Wales have been huge! It’s lovely to see our neck of the woods providing both the bucolic backdrop and a cast of amazing characters who have the UK sitting on the edge of their seats week in week out.’

Death Valley is available to stream on BritBox across the pond, where it is was also a runaway success.

John Chapel (TIMOTHY SPALL) & Janie Mallowan (GWYNETH KEYWORTH) in Death Valley. (BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway)

Penned by BAFTA-nominated writer Paul Doolan (who is best known for his work on Mammoth, Trollied and Bloods), lead star (and British acting legend) Spall says he is ‘delighted that the show has been received so well, and audiences have embraced the warm and eccentric nature of John and Janie’s partnership’.

Looking ahead to series 2, ‘I’m really looking forward to revisiting this unlikely duo with the brilliant Gwyneth Keyworth as they take on more crime solving escapades in Wales,’ Spall says.

Filming got underway in August 2025. Here’s what we know.

John Chapel (TIMOTHY SPALL) in Death Valley. (BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway)

What Will Happen?

Death Valley centres on an unlikely crime duo: retired actor John Chapel (Spall) who was once the star of a hit detective TV show called Caesar – and disarming young cop DS Janie Mallowan (Keyworth), who happens to be one of his biggest fans.

Together they form an odd pair with opposing instincts that actually end up combining to create a stellar crime-fighting duo. Every week they come together to get to the bottom of a mysterious murder case, and the same will be true of series two, which picks up a few months after the series one finale.

Watch the trailer below for a taste of the action.

Now promoted to Detective Inspector, Janie is busier than ever, and with too much paperwork to rifle through. To make matters worse, she’s been ignoring her friend John since finding out he’s been secretly dating her mother. But when a community payback group experiences a horrific murder and DCI Barry Clarke forces her to bring John back in as the department’s consultant, the two are reluctantly reunited.

When John is called on to help with the investigation, he is attempting to re-enter the world of acting, caught on the set of an epic Welsh fantasy TV series (cue eccentric costumes). As he is pulled back into the world of the police, he and Janie are challenged with investigating a murder in a coastal fishing village, journeying to a sustainable commune, and plummeted in the competitive world of rugby, grappling to bring justice to mid-Wales at every turn.

And to conquer these varying crimes, we of course need a stellar supporting cast…

Micheal Mallowan (Owen Teale) & DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) in Death Valley series 2. (BBC/BBC Studios)

The Cast

Spall and Keyworth are back leading Death Valley as John Chapel and DS Janie Mallowan, joined by regular cast members Alexandria Riley as Helen Baxter, Steffan Rhodri as DCI Barry Clarke, Melanie Walters as Yvonne Mallowan and Rithvik Andugula as DC Evan Chaudhry. Game of Thrones star Owen Teale, meanwhile, joins as Janie’s father, Michael Mallowan.

Warren (Hammed Animashaun), Liam (Jacob Ethan Tanner), John Chapel (Timothy Spall), Angela (Alexandra Roach), Polly (Jane Horrocks) & Sally (Hannah Daniel) in Death Valley series 2. (BBC/BBC Studios)

On the guest star front, they’ll be joined by:

• Jane Horrocks as Polly
• Hammed Animashaun as Warren
• Alexandra Roach as Angela
• Roisin Conaty as Karen
• Mark Lewis Jones as Gareth
• Jim Howick as Randall St. Clair
• Asim Chaudhry as Omar
• Tori Allen Martin as Amanda
• Amit Shah as Ash
• Liz Carr as Fiona Challoner
• Jacob Ethan Tanner as Liam
• Hannah Daniel as Sally
• Ben Mcgregor as Joe
• Libby Mai as Tina
• Lynn Hunter
• Rhiannon Clements
• Mike Bubbins

…Though no news just yet on the part these stars will play in the plot.

Release Date

Death Valley series 2 will air on Sunday 17 May 2026 at 8.15pm on BBC One. All episodes will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

It will be made up of six episodes, each 45 minutes long.

Catch up on Death Valley series 1 on BBC iPlayer.