The brand new four-part thriller is executive produced by Bodyguard and Line of Duty<\/a> creator Jed Mercurio, and penned by former Line of Duty star Maya Sondhi \u2013 she played Maneet Bindra \u2013 meaning that DI Ray is sure to have plenty of twists and cliffhangers in store for viewers.<\/p>\n Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Killing Eve<\/a>), Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica), and Maanuv Thiara (Landscapers) also star in the drama.<\/p>\n Read on for everything you need to know about the cast and characters in DI Ray.<\/p>\n Who is DI Rachita Ray?\u00a0<\/strong>A Birmingham-based police detective, she\u2019s offered a coveted job in the Homicide department after she gaining media attention for deescalating a violent incident in the city centre.<\/p>\n Parminder Nagra has said that her on-screen character Rachita is \u201clike a female Columbo in a green coat\u201d.<\/p> \u201cShe\u2019s conflicted about her own identity and the piece raises a lot of questions about what happens in the workplace, and whether she\u2019s hired for a case that\u2019s culturally specific or if she\u2019s hired because of her ability, that\u2019s a constant question in her mind,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as a detective she\u2019s just persistent and hard-working, she doesn\u2019t stop. She\u2019s like a dog with a bone and she\u2019ll keep asking questions to get to where she needs to be \u2013 she\u2019s like a female Columbo in a green coat!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Where have I seen Parminder Nagra before?\u00a0<\/strong>She first rose to fame as the football-playing Jess in Bend It Like Beckham, before going on to star in the likes of E.R., Intergalactic, Black-ish, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fortitude, 13 Reasons Why\u00a0, The Blacklist and more.<\/p>\n Who is DCI Kerry Henderson?\u00a0<\/strong>Rachita\u2019s brand new colleague, who initially acts coolly towards her.<\/p>\n Gemma Whelan said of her character: \u201cWhen we first meet her, Kerry really feels that Rachita has been given a bump up before she\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Kerry\u2019s view, everyone else has worked their way up through the ranks and earned their place in the team, whereas Rachita has had a \u2018have a go hero moment\u2019 as Kerry sees it, and hasn\u2019t earned her job title. And so for Kerry, Rachita has got to prove herself, she\u2019s got no time for her initially and gives her a hard time.\u201d<\/p>\n Where have I seen Gemma Whelan before?\u00a0<\/strong>She recently played another police detective, DS Sarah Collins,\u00a0in drama series The Tower. Meanwhile, international viewers will know her as Yara Greyjoy in the epic HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and she\u2019s also starred in the likes of Gentleman Jack<\/a> (as Marian Lister), Emma., Upstart Crow (as Kate), Killing Eve (as Geraldine), The End of the F***ing World, and White House Farm.<\/p>\n Who is DCI Martyn Hunter?\u00a0<\/strong>Rachita\u2019s colleague and secret partner, who proposes to her early on in the series.<\/p>\n \u201cYou meet Martyn at an awards ceremony where Rachita is receiving an award. He congratulates her, and then there\u2019s a reveal that actually they\u2019re in a relationship, which they\u2019ve been trying to keep secret because of work politics.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he\u2019s pretty keen to make it official and to let it be known that they are an item, so he proposes to her early on in the series,\u201d Jamie Bamber said of his on-screen character.<\/p>\n Where have I seen Jamie Bamber before? <\/strong>The actor is perhaps best known for Battlestar Galactica (as Apollo), Law & Order: UK, and Marcella<\/a> (as DI Tim Williamson). He also recently played Sam in ITV\u2019s sequel to Innocent, and Col. Alexander Coltrane in Strike Back.<\/p>\n Who is PS Tony Khatri?\u00a0<\/strong>A family liaison officer with South Asian heritage who joins Rachita\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Tony is very comfortable in his skin, and in his South Asian heritage. He\u2019s at peace with it more than Rachita is. He wears a Kara on his wrist and he\u2019s quite proud of his identity,\u201d Maanuv Thiara said.<\/p>\n Where have I seen Maanuv Thiara before?\u00a0<\/strong>He played DC MacBride in the recent HBO Max series Landscapers, starring Olivia Colman, and Terrence in Ted Lasso. He also starred as Vihaan Malhotra in Line of Duty, and Reggie the Photographer in Brassic.<\/p>\n Who is\u00a0<\/strong>Supt Ross Beardsmore?\u00a0<\/strong>The team\u2019s boss.<\/p>\n Where have I seen Ian Puleston-Davies before?\u00a0<\/strong>He played Arthur Pennyworth in Batman prequel series Pennyworth, and Frank Jackson in Tin Star. He\u2019s also known for Marcella, Viewpoint, Hatton Garden, A Confession, and Coronation Street, among other projects.<\/p>\n Who is Navin Kapoor?\u00a0<\/strong>The initial suspect in a murder case, after a young man is found dead and the team learns that he was secretly dating Navin Kapoor\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n Where have I seen Ryan McKen before?\u00a0<\/strong>He starred in the 2019 series of Line of Duty alongside DI Ray co-star Maanuv Thiara, and has appeared in the likes of Game of Thrones, Bancroft (as\u00a0Daanish Kamara<\/span>), Dave Me, Strangers, Silent Witness, and in Temple as D.I. Rob Moloney.<\/p>\n DI Ray will debut on ITV on Monday 2nd May 2022.\u00a0 For more to watch, check out more of our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Flora Carr Published: Wednesday, 27 April 2022 at 12:00 am New crime drama DI Ray arrives this May on ITV, starring Bend It Like Beckham star Parminder Nagra in the title role of police detective Rachita Ray. The brand new four-part thriller is executive produced by Bodyguard and Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14514,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-scaled.jpg",2560,1706,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/meet-the-cast-of-itv-thriller-di-ray-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Flora Carr Published: Wednesday, 27 April 2022 at 12:00 am New crime drama DI Ray arrives this May on ITV, starring Bend It Like Beckham star Parminder Nagra in the title role of police detective Rachita Ray. The brand new four-part thriller is executive produced by Bodyguard and Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/14513"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Parminder Nagra plays DI Rachita Ray<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/di_ray_episode_1_05_0-54cf9fa.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Gemma Whelan plays DCI Kerry Henderson<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Jamie Bamber plays DCI Martyn Hunter<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Maanuv Thiara plays PS Tony Khatri<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/di_ray_episode_1_29_0-db03618.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Ian Puleston-Davies is Supt Ross Beardsmore<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/di_ray_episode_1_24_0-4486251.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Ryan McKen plays Navin Kapoor<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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