The Doc Martin star reprises his role as real-life London Met detective Colin Sutton. <\/p>
We don\u2019t witness any attacks in Manhunt<\/a> II: The Night Stalker, ITV\u2019s fact-based drama about the serial rapist and burglar also known as the Minstead Rapist. But sensitive insights into the trauma experienced by the attacker\u2019s victims \u2013 all elderly women \u2013 have an upsetting and powerful impact, on both the viewer and on <\/span>Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, played by Martin Clunes for the second time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The drama is a sequel to Manhunt, which aired back in 2019, and this latest follow-up (based again on the real-life Sutton\u2019s accounts of his time in the London Met Police) picks up with Colin following his success at catching high-profile murderer<\/span> Levi Bellfield<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n At the beginning of episode one, Colin is asked to carry out a review on a lengthy enquiry, Operation Minstead, described by one colleague as a \u201cblack hole\u201d. He\u2019s there to shadow the investigating team, offering a fresh perspective \u2013 and puncturing a few egos along the way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The long-running police investigation has so far failed to catch \u201cthe Night Stalker\u201d, a man who targets, burgles, and sexually assaults older women, between the ages of <\/span>68 and 93, in south east London<\/span>. He\u2019s been active since 1992, almost two decades before our drama picks up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Early on, one concerned colleague suggests that Colin has been handed a \u201cpoisoned chalice\u201d in Operation Minstead. \u201cI don\u2019t think you take a scalp like Bellfield\u2019s without making a few enemies,\u201d the colleague warns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Whatever the case, it\u2019s clear that Sutton is going to ruffle some feathers, no matter how tactfully he inserts himself into the investigation. Armed with a clipboard, he\u2019s tasked with making notes and offering suggestions. He gets a frosty welcome, and the more insight he offers, the frostier it gets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On his first day on the job, a crime (suspected to have been committed by the Night Stalker) is committed, and Colin must argue his case to visit the crime scene.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Given a gloomy storage space as an office, he begins compiling his case notes \u2013 despite his colleague\u2019s warnings to not get too involved. He watches back police interviews with the victims, his emotions clear. As his wife Louise (<\/span>Claudie Blakley<\/span> ), a police analyst, correctly surmises, Colin won\u2019t be able to rest until he\u2019s thrown his hat in the ring and offered his assistance to solve the Night Stalker case \u2013 poisoned chalice or not.<\/span><\/p>\n The format \u2013 following an old-fashioned copper who offers a fresh pair of eyes on a case \u2013 feels similar the to the recent Stephen Lawrence drama, Stephen<\/a> (also an ITV series), starring Steve Coogan. It\u2019s familiar ground, but no less addictive for it. By the end of episode one, Colin has identified the holes in the investigation. He\u2019s hooked \u2013 and so are we.<\/p>\n