BBC crime drama Strike returns for its fifth season Troubled Blood, with Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott tasked with unearthing what happened to a woman who went missing in the 1970s.
Running alongside that, Robin is dealing with her divorce from Matthew, and both protagonists continue to wrestle with their feelings towards one another.
“I think due to everything that happened in the previous series, there’s got to be some sort of mutual understanding and affection between Robin and Strike, as much as they try to downplay that,” said Holliday Grainger. “They are firm friends now and I think that’s the difference from previous series. Now there’s genuine friendship and trust. But it always gets to the stage where they question if there is anything more and whether they should act on it.”
Tom Burke added: “He allows himself to be a bit more vulnerable around her and he’s a little freer with how he feels about her too, partly because he’s been encouraged to by his family. It’s a weird mixture of feelings, he thinks it is incredibly dangerous for him and is trying not to feel those things.”
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Joining stars Burke and Grainger are a handful of familiar faces and a big batch of new characters, with Trouble Blood boasting “the largest cast of any of the adaptations to date”, according to director Sue Tully.
Read on for your full rundown of the returning cast members and new faces in Strike: Troubled Blood.
Strike: Troubled Blood main cast
Tom Burke plays Cormoran Strike
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Who is Cormoran Strike? An army veteran who runs his own private detective agency.
Speaking about Strike’s upbringing in Cornwall, which is explored in season 5, Burke said: “I wouldn’t be able to pin it down exactly how it affects him but I think there is a different sense of periphery when you spend your life in a city to when you spend your life in open places. There is something about his physicality, you feel like he’s spent a lot of time strolling along the beach or over some cliffs. There’s just something about his line of sight and the way he takes in a room.
“I feel he’s been shaped by so many things, growing up in squats, living in London, the whole Cornwall side and then there’s his university life which helped shape his intellect. I feel like it all fits together.”
Where else have I seen Tom Burke? Most recently, he appeared in Netflix’s The Wonder with Florence Pugh and Joe Bartons’s The Lazurus project. You might also recognise him from BBC drama The Musketeers.
Charlie Price plays young Strike.
Holliday Grainer Plays Robin Ellacott
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Who is Robin Ellacott? Robin entered the frame as Strike’s temporary secretary before becoming his partner after impressing him with her snooping skills.
“She’s in the midst of a divorce with Matthew and it’s not easy but she’s got a new found independence” said Grainger. “Her relationship with Matthew was quite restrictive and now she’s autonomous she can really get stuck into her work.”
Where else have I seen Holliday Grainger? Other prominent work includes BBC surveillance drama The Capture, historical fiction drama The Borgias, History’s Bonnie and Clyde and ITV drama Where the Heart Is.
Strike recurring cast
Kerr Logan plays Matthew Cunliffe
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Who is Matthew? Robin’s soon-to-be ex husband who cheated on her three times. The pair are working through their divorce in season 5.
Where else have I seen Kerr Logan before? His CV includes Netflix’s Alias Grace and BBC drama Showtrial.
Sarah Sweeney plays Lucy
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Who is Lucy? Strike’s sister. Unlike her brother, she doesn’t have a good word to say about their mum.
Where else have I seen Sarah Sweeney? You might have watched her in FX’s Bastard Executioner or coming-of-age film Cider With Rosie.
Ben Crompton plays Shanker
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Who is Shanker? Strike’s friend and former flatmate.
Where have I seen Ben Crompton before? He’s best known for Game of Thrones.
Jack Greenlees plays Sam Barclay
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Who is Sam Barclay? He used to serve in the army. He now does occasional work for Strike at the agency.
Where have I seen Jack Greenlees before? His CV includes BBC drama The Trial of Christine Keeler and period drama Harlots.
Christina Cole plays Izzy Chiswell
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Who is Izzy Chiswell? She previously appeared in Lethal White. Izzy is the daughter of Jasper Chiswell, an MP who was blackmailed and eventually killed by his son Raphael.
Where have I seen Christina Cole before? Her credits include legal drama Suits and Sky One’s Hex.
Strike guest cast
Abigail Lawrie as Margot Bamborough
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Who is Margot Bamborough? She mysteriously disappeared back in 1974 while she was on her way to meet a friend at the pub.
Where have I seen Abigail Lawrie before? You might recognise her from crime drama Tin Star.
Sophie Ward as Anna Phipps
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Who is Anna Phipps? Margot’s daughter. She asks Strike to solve the mystery of her missing mother.
Where have I seen Sophie ward before? She’s appeared in Heartbeat, Holby City, BBC One’s Land Girls and Sarah Phelps’ A Very British Scandal as Ian Campbell’s first wife.
Linda Bassett plays Joan Nancarrow
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Who is Joan Nancarrow? Strike’s aunt. She raised him when his mum took off. Strike goes to visit her in Cornwall on learning of her cancer diagnosis.
Where have I seen Linda Bassett before? She’s best known as Nurse Phyllis Crane in Call the Midwife, Queenie Turrill in Lark Rise to Candleford and Ella Khan in East is East.
Ian Radford plays Ted Nancarrow
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Who is Ted Nancarrow? Strike’s uncle. He’s struggling to cope with his wife’s illness.
Where have I seen Ian Radford before? Most people will recognise him from Coronation Street.
Samuel Oatley plays DI George Layborn
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Who is DI George Layborn? A detective who assists Strike and Robin with the case. His dad was the second detective to lead the investigation in the 1970s.
Where have I seen Samuel Oatley before? He played Tzim-Sha in Doctor Who‘s The Woman Who Fell to Earth and The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos.
Kenneth Cranham plays Dennis Creed
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Who is Dennis Creed? A serial killer who murdered seven women. Some people believe that he was responsible for Margot’s death.
Where have I seen Kenneth Cranham before? Older viewers will know him from ITV sitcom Shine On Harvey Moon. More recently he has appeared in comedy-drama Finding Alice, ITV’s The Good Karma Hospital, mini-series Hatton Garden and historical drama The White Princess.
Ruth Sheen plays Pat Chauncey
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Who is Pat Chauncey? The agency’s secretary. She’s good at her job but the atmosphere between her and Strike is frosty.
Where have I seen Ruth Sheen before? You might recognise her from Sky’s Brassic, Prime Suspect 1973 and ITV’s Unforgotten.
Jonas Armstrong plays Saul Morris
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Who is Saul Morris? A PI hired by Strike. Robin isn’t especially keen on him.
Where have I seen Jonas Armstrong before? Recently, he appeared in BBC dramas Floodlights and Hollington Drive, Channel 5’s The Drowning and ITV crime drama The Bay.
Anna Calder-Marshall plays Janice Beattie
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Who is Janice Beattie? A nurse who worked at the same practice as Margot.
Where have I seen Anna Calder-Marshall before? She’s appeared in Harlots, Sky Atlantic’s The Third Day and Covid-19 drama This England.
Carol MacReady plays Irene Hickson
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Who is Irene Hickson? A receptionist at the practice and Janice’s friend.
Where have I seen Carol MacReady before? She’s had minor roles in EastEnders and Doctors.
Dayo Koleosho plays Samhain Athorn
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Who is Samhain Athorn? His father was a drug addict who claimed to have killed Margot.
Where have I seen Dayo Koleosho before? His credits include Doctors and Holby City.
Claire Dunbar plays Deliah Athorn
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Who is Deliah Athorn? Samhain’s mother. She lives with her son.
Robin Askwith plays Steve Douthwaite
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Who is Steve Douthwaite? A former patient of Margot’s who is questioned by Strike and Robin.
Where have I seen Robin Askwith before? More recently, he appeared in crime drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries and comedy-drama Last Train To Christmas. You might also recognise him from Confessions of a Window Cleaner and Coronation Street.
Jack Morris (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) plays the 1970s version of Steve.
Tracey Wiles plays Donna Diamond
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Who is Donna Diamond? Steve’s wife. She runs a B&B with him.
Where can I seen Tracey Wiles before? She’s appeared in Netflix’s The Sandman and Doctors.
Cherie Lunghi plays Gloria Conti
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Who is Gloria Conti? A receptionist who worked at the practice. She was in a relationship with gangster Luca Ricci.
Where have I seen Cherie Lunghi before? You might recognise her from Unforgotten.
Young Gloria is played by Jessica Impiazzi.
Sutara Gayle plays Kim Sullivan
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Who is Kim Sullivan? Anna’s partner. Kim is a psychologist.
Where have I seen Sutara Gayle before? She has appeared in BritBox’s Magpie Murders and Silent Witness.
Madhav Sharma plays Dr Gupta
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Who is Dr Gupta? He was a partner at the practice.
Where have I seen Madhav Sharma before? He has appeared in both EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Daniel Peacock plays Nico Ricci
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Who is Nico Ricci? A gangster and one of the people suspected of killing Margot.
Where have I seen Daniel Peacock before? You might have watched him in Only Fools And Horses.
Young Nico is played by Andy de la Tour (Good Omens, Doctors).
Philip Cornwell plays Carl Oakden
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Who is Carl Oakden? His mother worked as a secretary at the practice. He went on to write a book about Margot’s disappearance.
Where have I seen Philip Cornwell before? He’s worked on numerous kids’ TV titles. You might have watched him in The Bill and he also played Dave in Alan Partridge.
Kierston Wareing plays Leda Strike
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Who is Leda Strike? Strike’s mum. She was absent from much of his childhood.
Where have I seen Kierston Wareing before? She played Kirsty Branning in EastEnders.
Other cast members include:
- Fionnula Flanagan (Lost, The Others and Brotherhood) as the present day Oonagh Kennedy, Margot’s best friend.
- Genevieve Hulme-Beaman (Burn It All, Rebecca’s Boyfriend) as young Oonah.
- Sam Woolf plays young Roy Phipps, Margot’s husband. Michael Byrne (Coronation Street) plays present day Roy.
- Jacob James Beswick (Andor) as gangster Luca Ricci
- Giles Matthey (Once Upon a Time) as Paul Satchwell, a photographer Margot was romantically involved with. Oonagh believes that he killed her friend.
- Morgan Jones (The Spanish Princess) as DI Bill Talbot, the detective who was initially assigned to the case.
- Crispin Letts (Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express) as Gregory Talbot, Bill’s son. He gives Strike a box of his father’s notes to help with the investigation.
- Carys Bowkett (The Suspect) as Cynthia, the woman Anna believed was her mother until she learned about Margot’s disappearance.
- James Corrigan (This England) as Strike’s brother Al Rokeby.
- Syrus Lowe (The Bill, The Five) as Max Priestwood, Robin’s flatmate.
Strike: Troubled Blood airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 11th December. Check out more of our Drama coverage or find out what’s on with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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