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ITV's Innocent returning for series 2 with ex-Coronation Street actress taking over as star

Photo credit: Dave J Hogan - Getty Images
Photo credit: Dave J Hogan - Getty Images

From Digital Spy

ITV's Innocent is returning for a second series – and this time, it's going to feature a former Coronation Street star in its lead role.

In the crime drama's follow-up instalment, Katherine Kelly is set to play Sally Wright, a schoolteacher who finds herself at the centre of a scandal when she's accused of having an affair with one of her students, 16-year-old Matty Taylor.

Things get even more complicated when Matty is found dead, having been stabbed by a broken beer bottle, and those involved in the investigation start to suspect that Sally was involved somehow. Later, she is convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years, but new evidence comes to light during her stint in prison that could prove she had nothing to do with the murder.

Photo credit: Jeff Spicer - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jeff Spicer - Getty Images

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Upon her release, she becomes hellbent on clearing her name, having already lost her job, her home and her husband (Marcella's Jamie Bamber), and exposing what really happened to Matty. Will she be able to pull it all off?

Nadia Albina (Years and Years), Amy-Leigh Hickman (Our Girl), Priyanga Burford (Press), Shaun Dooley (The Stranger), Lucy Black (Gentleman Jack), Michael Yare (Game of Thrones), Andrew Tiernan (Prime Suspect), Poppy Miller (Line of Duty), Janine Wood (Silent Witness), Laura Rollins (Doctors) and Michael Stevenson (Casualty) will also feature.

"I'm thrilled to be working on this complex and thrilling drama by Matt Arlidge and Chris Lang," Kelly said in a statement. "I look forward to bringing the mix of Sally's fragility and quiet strength to life."

Photo credit: Dave J Hogan - Getty Images
Photo credit: Dave J Hogan - Getty Images

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"Innocent II is a thriller which keeps you guessing to the very end. Chris and Matt's brilliant scripts are compelling and the characters incredibly relatable," ITV Drama Commissioner Huw Kennair Jones added.

Released back in 2018, the first series of Innocent centred on David Collins (Criminal's Lee Ingleby), who was charged with killing his wife Tara. He was incarcerated for seven years before finally being acquitted of the crime due to a legal technicality.

The Bay's Daniel Ryan, Normal People's Fionn O'Shea and Hermione Norris (Spooks) rounded out the cast.


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