Karen Pirie season 2 cast: Lauren Lyle and Chris Jenks star
Lauren Lyle and Chris Jenks return for the crime drama's second season.
Three years after the first season debuted, Karen Pirie is finally back to take on another case, with Lauren Lyle stepping back into the shoes of the Fife-based detective.
She is joined once again by her team including Chris Jenks's Mint and Zach Wyatt's Phil, plus newcomer Isla, played by Saskia Ashdown and, this time, her friend and professor of forensic anthropology and archaeology River, played by the show's writer Emer Kenny.
Meanwhile, there are a whole host of new actors joining the series to take on key roles in relation to the case, with the list including James Cosmo and Frances Tomelty. But who else stars in the season and where else might you have seen them all before?
Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of Karen Pirie season 2.
Karen Pirie cast: Who stars in season 2?
Below is the main line-up for Karen Pirie season 2 on ITV. Read on to find out more about the cast and characters.
- Lauren Lyle as DI Karen Pirie
- Chris Jenks as DC Jason Murray
- Zach Wyatt as DS Phil Parhatka
- Steve John Shepherd as DCS Simon Lees
- Emer Kenny as River Wilde
- Rakhee Thakrar as Bel Richmond
- Saskia Ashdown as DC Isla Stark
- James Cosmo/Jamie Michie as Brodie Grant
- Frances Tomelty/Madeleine Worrall as Mary Grant
- John Michie/Jack Stewart as Fergus Sinclair
- Julia Brown as Cat Grant
- Mark Rowley as Mick Prentice
- Kat Ronney as Bonnie
- Conor Berry as Andy
- Stuart Campbell as Kevin
- Thoren Ferguson as DI Anderson
- Helen Katamba as DC Laurel Blair
- James Fleet as TBC
- Tom Mannion as TBC
- Tommaso Basili as Gabriel Porteous
Season 1 cast and characters include:
- Jhon Lumsden/Alec Newman as Ziggy
- Jack Hesketh/Michael Sheffer as Weird
- Buom Tihngang/Ariyon Bakare as Alex
- Gilly Gilchrist as DI Barney MacLennan
- Kevin Mains/Stuart Bowman as DI Jimmy Lawson/Chief Supt Lawson
- Gemma McElhinney as PC Janice Hogg
Lauren Lyle plays DI Karen Pirie
Who is DS Karen Pirie? Karen is a recently promoted DI who in season 2 is heading up the investigation into Catriona Grant's kidnap.
Where have I seen Lauren Lyle before? Lyle is best known for her role as Marsali in Outlander, and has also appeared in Vigil, Broken, Holby City, The Outrun, Toxic Town and The Bombing of Pan Am 103.
Chris Jenks plays DC Jason Murray
Who is DC Jason Murray? Jason, also known as "The Mint", is a DC on Karen's team.
Where have I seen Chris Jenks before? Jenks is best known as Steve Morley from Sex Education, but he has also had roles in Vigil and Beyond Paradise.
Zach Wyatt plays DS Phil Parhatka
Who is DS Phil Parhatka? Phil is a diligent and driven detective who is in a secret relationship with Karen.
Where have I seen Zach Wyatt before? Wyatt has previously had roles in Urban Myths, The Witcher: Blood Origin and Timestalker.
Steve John Shepherd plays DCS Simon Lees
Who is DCS Simon Lees? Lees is Karen's boss and a DCS in Fife. He respects Karen, but struggles to trust her as she frequently plays by her own rules.
Where have I seen Steve John Shepherd before? Shepherd has had roles in films including Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Layer Cake, as well as series such as Lunch Monkeys, EastEnders, Silent Witness, Hetty Feather, London Kills and Agatha Raisin.
Emer Kenny plays River Wilde
Who is River Wilde? River is Karen's best friend who she confides in. She is also a professor of forensic anthropology and archaeology, who is working with Karen on the Cat Grant case.
Where have I seen Emer Kenny before? Kenny, who also writes the series, has previously had major roles in The Curse, Pramface, Father Brown and also EastEnders, in which she played Zsa Zsa Carter.
Rakhee Thakrar plays Bel Richmond
Who is Bel Richmond? Bel is a former podcaster and now documentarian, who Karen first met when she was reporting on the Rosie Duff case in season 1.
Where have I seen Rakhee Thakrar before? Thakrar is known for appearing in EastEnders as Shabnam Kazemi and Emily Sands in Sex Education, as well as having roles in series such as The Girl Before, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Finders Keepers, I, Jack Wright and Man Like Mobeen, plus the film Wonka.
Saskia Ashdown plays DC Isla Stark
Who is DC Isla Stark? Isla is a DC who Lees brings onto Karen's team from the E-crime team. Lees tells her to spy on Karen for him.
Where have I seen Saskia Ashdown before? Ashdown has had roles in series such as Trust Me, Annika, Six Four, Only Child and The Rig.
James Cosmo/Jamie Michie plays Brodie Grant
Who is Brodie Grant? Sir Broderick Grant is a billionaire and oil tycoon, and the father of Cat Grant.
Where have I seen James Cosmo before? Cosmo is known for his roles in series including Sons of Anarchy, Silent Witness, Death in Paradise, Game of Thrones, Shetland, The Durrells, Chernobyl, His Dark Materials, The Bay, Jack Ryan, Six Four, Nightsleeper and Fear, as well as films such as Trainspotting, Wonder Woman and Outlaw/King.
Where have I seen Jamie Michie before? Michie has had roles in series such as Game of Thrones, Skins, Shetland, Black Mirror, Trust Me, Back to Life, Wedding Season, Somewhere Boy, The Full Monty, Baby Reindeer and Small Town, Big Story.
Frances Tomelty/Madeleine Worrall plays Mary Grant
Who is Mary Grant? Lady Mary Grant is Brodie's ex-wife and the mother of Cat.
Where have I seen Frances Tomelty before? Tomelty has had roles in series including Cracker, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Bone Kickers, Merlin, Casualty, Unforgotten, Peaky Blinders, Apple Tree Yard, Catastrophe, Gangs of London, All Creatures Great and Small, Call the Midwife, Silent Witness, The Nevers and The Woman in the Wall.
Where have I seen Madeleine Worrall before? Worrall has had roles in series including Judge John Deed, Endeavour, Call the Midwife, We Were the Lucky Ones and Disclaimer, as well as films such as Paddington, Mr Holmes, The Huntsman: Winter's War and The Legend of Tarzan.
John Michie/Jack Stewart plays Fergus Sinclair
Who is Fergus Sinclair? Fergus is the father of Cat's son Adam, who also worked for Brodie.
Where have I seen John Michie before? Michie has had roles in series including Albion Market, Brookside, London Bridge, EastEnders, Taggart, Coronation Street, Casualty, Our Girl, Strike Back, Holby City, London Kills, Death in Paradise and Ridley.
Where have I seen Jack Stewart before? Stewart has had roles in series such as Outlander, Payback and Float, as well as films such as The Piper and A Scottish Love Scheme.
Julia Brown plays Cat Grant
Who is Cat Grant? Catriona Grant is the heiress to Brodie's oil fortune. In 1984, she was kidnapped at gunpoint along with her young son Adam.
Where have I seen Julia Brown before? Brown has previously been seen in series including World on Fire, The Last Kingdom, Foundation, Shetland and Payback.
Mark Rowley plays Mick Prentice
Who is Mick Prentice? Mick is a man who Cat had a secret relationship with before her kidnap.
Where have I seen Mark Rowley before? Rowley is best-known for his role in The Last Kingdom, while he has also appeared in series including Luther, The Spanish Princess, The Witcher: Blood Origin, One Day and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Kat Ronney plays Bonnie
Who is Bonnie? Bonnie is Cat's best friend, who witnessed her kidnap.
Where have I seen Kat Ronney before? Ronney has had roles in series including McDonald & Dodds, Royal Mob, Casualty and Dinosaur.
Conor Berry plays Andy
Who is Andy? Andy is a friend of Mick's.
Where have I seen Conor Berry before? Berry has previously appeared in Schemers and an episode of Dept. Q.
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Season 1 characters
Jhon Lumsden/Alec Newman play Ziggy
Who is Ziggy? Ziggy is one of three men who, when they were students, had a drunken night our and claimed to have found Rosie Duff's body. Like the others he finds himself back at the centre of the investigation into her death when the case is reopened almost 26 years later. The character is played by Jhon Lumsden as a student and Alec Newman as an older adult.
Where have I seen Jhon Lumsden before? Lumsden has previously appeared in Doctors and had an uncredited background role in The King's Man.
Where have I seen Alec Newman before? Newman has had numerous high profile roles, including appearances in The Last Kingdom, Shetland, Waterloo Road, Unforgotten and Silent Witness.
Jack Hesketh/Michael Sheffer play Weird
Who is Weird? Weird is one of three men who, when they were students, had a drunken night our and claimed to have found Rosie Duff's body. Like the others he finds himself back at the centre of the investigation into her death when the case is reopened almost 26 years later. The character is played by Jack Hasketh as a student and Michael Sheffer as an older adult.
Where have I seen Jack Hasketh before? Hesketh previously appeared in Serbian series Besa.
Where have I seen Michael Sheffer before? Sheffer has had roles in series including The Salisbury Poisonings, Chernobyl, The ABC Murders and Bodyguard, while he has appeared in films such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Anna Karenina.
Buom Tihngang/Ariyon Bakare play Alex
Who is Alex? Alex is one of three men who, when they were students, had a drunken night our and claimed to have found Rosie Duff's body. Like the others he finds himself back at the centre of the investigation into her death when the case is reopened almost 26 years later. The character is played by Buom Tihngang as a student and Ariyon Bakare as an older adult.
Where have I seen Buom Tihngang before? Tihngang played Ryan's friend Tibo in Doctor Who season 12, while he has also appeared in Death in Paradise, Endeavour and Cheaters.
Where have I seen Ariyon Bakare before? Bakare plays Carlo Boreal in His Dark Materials and has also recently appeared in Crossfire, Good Omens, Carnival Row and Thirteen. He has also had roles in Doctor Who, Casualty and Lewis amongst other series.
Gilly Gilchrist plays DI Barney MacLennan
Who is DI Barney MacLennan? Barney was a DI who led the investigation surrounding Rosie Duff's death back in 1996.
Where have I seen Gilly Gilchrist before? Gilchrist plays Geordie Chisholm in Outlander, while he has also appeared in Emmerdale, Versailes, Fortitude, Casualty and Taggart, as well as having a background role in Ridley Scott's Gladiator.
Kevin Mains/Stuart Bowman play DI Jimmy Lawson/Chief Supt Lawson
Who is DI Jimmy Lawson/Chief Supt Lawson? Lawson is a former DI who was involved in the case surrounding Rosie Duff's death in 1996. In 2022 he is now Chief Superintendent who Karen reports to as she reopens his former case.
Where have I seen Kevin Mains before? Mains is best known for appearing in Shetland, River City and Father Brown amongst other series.
Where have I seen Stuart Bowman before? Bowman has recently appeared in Alex Rider, The Control Room and Grantchester, while he has previously also had roles in Deadwater Fell, The Serpent, Bodyguard and Taggart.
Gemma McElhinney plays PC Janice Hogg
Who is PC Janice Hogg? Janice is the PC who is flagged down by the drunken boys when they claim to have found Rosie Duff's body.
Where have I seen Gemma McElhinney before? McElhinney has previously appeared in films Outlaw/King and Wild Rose, as well as the series Mrs Wilson and Two Doors Down.
Karen Pirie season 2 will air from Sunday 20th July 2025 on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
