Brand-new ITV detective drama Karen Pirie adapts one of Val McDermid’s most popular novels, The Distant Echo – but with a few twists.
Where that book was set between the 1970s and 2000s, the series is set between the 1990s and 2022. Meanwhile Karen Pirie, who only came into that novel near the end, takes centre stage here, as she does throughout the rest of McDermid’s books series.
The character is played here by Outlander star Lauren Lyle, while her trusty DC Jason Murray, AKA The Mint, is played by Sex Education‘s Chris Jenks.
Meanwhile, with action taking place across two timelines throughout the series, one in 1996 and another in 2022, this means that some of the characters are played by two actors to show them at different stages in life.
But who else stars in the three-part ITV series and who do they play? Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of Karen Pirie.
Lauren Lyle plays DS Karen Pirie
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Who is DS Karen Pirie? Karen is a determined DS who at the start of the series is promoted to head up a team looking into the 1996 unsolved murder of Rosie Duff.
Where have I seen Lauren Lyle before? Lyle is best known for her role as Marsali in Outlander, and has also appeared in Vigil, Broken and Holby City.
Chris Jenks plays DC Jason Murray
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Who is DC Jason Murray? Jason, also known as “The Mint” is a DC assigned to help Karen with her investigation.
Where have I seen Chris Jenks before? Jenks is best known as Steve Morley from Sex Education, but he has also appeared in Miracle Workers and The Athena.
Zach Wyatt plays DS Phil Parhatka
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Who is DS Phil Parhatka? Phil is a diligent and driven detective who has history with Karen, and at first gives her the cold shoulder because she is promoted to a job he wanted.
Where have I seen Zach Wyatt before? Wyatt previously played Jimi Hendrix in Urban Myths and is set to star in Witcher prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin.
Jhon Lumsden/Alec Newman play Ziggy
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Who is Ziggy? Ziggy is one of three men who, when they were students, had a drunken night our and claimed to have found Rosie Duff’s body. Like the others he finds himself back at the centre of the investigation into her death when the case is reopened almost 26 years later. The character is played by Jhon Lumsden as a student and Alec Newman as an older adult.
Where have I seen Jhon Lumsden before? Lumsden has previously appeared in Doctors and had an uncredited background role in The King’s Man.
Where have I seen Alec Newman before? Newman has had numerous high profile roles, including appearances in The Last Kingdom, Shetland, Waterloo Road, Unforgotten and Silent Witness.
Jack Hesketh/Michael Sheffer play Weird
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Who is Weird? Weird is one of three men who, when they were students, had a drunken night our and claimed to have found Rosie Duff’s body. Like the others he finds himself back at the centre of the investigation into her death when the case is reopened almost 26 years later. The character is played by Jack Hasketh as a student and Michael Sheffer as an older adult.
Where have I seen Jack Hasketh before? Hesketh previously appeared in Serbian series Besa.
Where have I seen Michael Sheffer before? Sheffer has had roles in series including The Salisbury Poisonings, Chernobyl, The ABC Murders and Bodyguard, while he has appeared in films such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Anna Karenina.
Buom Tihngang/Ariyon Bakare play Alex
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Who is Alex? Alex is one of three men who, when they were students, had a drunken night our and claimed to have found Rosie Duff’s body. Like the others he finds himself back at the centre of the investigation into her death when the case is reopened almost 26 years later. The character is played by Buom Tihngang as a student and Ariyon Bakare as an older adult.
Where have I seen Buom Tihngang before? Tihngang played Ryan’s friend Tibo in Doctor Who season 12, while he has also appeared in Death in Paradise, Endeavour and Cheaters.
Where have I seen Ariyon Bakare before? Bakare plays Carlo Boreal in His Dark Materials and has also recently appeared in Crossfire, Good Omens, Carnival Row and Thirteen. He has also had roles in Doctor Who, Casualty and Lewis amongst other series.
Gilly Gilchrist plays DI Barney MacLennan
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Who is DI Barney MacLennan? Barney was a DI who led the investigation surrounding Rosie Duff’s death back in 1996.
Where have I seen Gilly Gilchrist before? Gilchrist plays Geordie Chisholm in Outlander, while he has also appeared in Emmerdale, Versailes, Fortitude, Casualty and Taggart, as well as having a background role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
Kevin Mains/Stuart Bowman play DI Jimmy Lawson/Chief Supt Lawson
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Who is DI Jimmy Lawson/Chief Supt Lawson? Lawson is a former DI who was involved in the case surrounding Rosie Duff’s death in 1996. In 2022 he is now Chief Superintendent who Karen reports to as she reopens his former case.
Where have I seen Kevin Mains before? Mains is best known for appearing in Shetland, River City and Father Brown amongst other series.
Where have I seen Stuart Bowman before? Bowman has recently appeared in Alex Rider, The Control Room and Grantchester, while he has previously also had roles in Deadwater Fell, The Serpent, Bodyguard and Taggart.
Gemma McElhinney plays PC Janice Hogg
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Who is PC Janice Hogg? Janice is the PC who is flagged down by the drunken boys when they claim to have found Rosie Duff’s body.
Where have I seen Gemma McElhinney before? McElhinney has previously appeared in films Outlaw/King and Wild Rose, as well as the series Mrs Wilson and Two Doors Down.
Emer Kenny plays River Wilde
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Who is River Wilde? River is Karen’s best friend who she confides in.
Where have I seen Emer Kenny before? Kenny, who has also written the series, has previously had major roles in The Curse, Father Brown and also EastEnders, in which she played Zsa Zsa Carter.
Rakhee Thakrar plays Bel Richmond
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Who is Bel Richmond? Bel is a podcaster who runs a successful podcast on the Rosie Duff case. It is because of the public pressure this creates that the case is reopened.
Where have I seen Rakhee Thakrar before? Thakrar is known for appearing in EastEnders as Shabnam Kazemi and Emily Sands in Sex Education, as well as having roles in series such as The Girl Before and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Karen Pirie begins on Sunday 25th September at 8pm on ITV and ITV Hub. You can also get a 30-day free trial of ITV Hub+ on Amazon Prime Video here.
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