BBC's most expensive Gaelic TV drama confirmed to return for second season
Sorcha Groundsell will reprise her role in the landmark production.
Gaelic-language drama An t-Eilean (The Island) has been renewed for a second season on BBC Alba and iPlayer, with Sorcha Groundsell (The Long Shadow) to reprise the lead role.
The four-part series, which debuted a year ago, followed detective Kat Crichton (Groundsell) as she investigated the case of a dysfunctional family consumed by secrets and lies that begin to spill out following a brutal murder.
An t-Eilean was considered momentous as the most expensive Gaelic-language drama in TV history, with Groundsell calling the £4 million investment "hugely important" when the show premiered last year (via The Hollywood Reporter).
"I think it's high time," said the actor, who learned Gaelic as a child. "I think it is really an inspiring time and a necessary time to take ownership of our language and our culture and celebrate it for what it is, which is a source of incredible joy to so many people."
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Reflecting on filming in Gaelic, which she had found "hard to maintain" while working in London, Groundsell continued: "I think a lot of us were feeling some pressure about our levels of fluency.
"If anything, that makes it all the more important to participate in a show like this, because, if we all maintain this feeling that our Gaelic is never good enough to use, no one will ever have a chance to use Gaelic.
"So we have to push through, and we have to reconnect, to keep it alive and to keep it breathing."
That strong sense of determination will carry Groundsell into her second season of An t-Eilean, which is set to be filmed in the Outer Hebrides this spring. The plot will reunite us with Crichton as she tracks another killer on the Western Isles.
Further casting will be announced in due course. One major question still to be answered is whether Industry breakout star Sagar Radia will reprise his role as Crichton's boss, DCI Ahmed Halim (above).
Commissioning editor Bill MacLeod said: "An t-Eilean will once again transport viewers to one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world with a taut and twisty story that will keep them on the edge of their seats until the final few frames."
Arabella Page Croft, executive producer at Black Camel Pictures, added: "We can't wait to get going with this brand-new gripping Hebridean mystery and thrilling tale with DS Kat Crichton at the helm."
An t-Eilean / The Island is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
