Channel 4 drama Indian Summers returns this Sunday with a brand new series at 9pm. Julie Walters and Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Nikesh Patel star in series two – find out more about the key cast and characters below.

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Ralph Whelan – Henry Lloyd-Hughes

Ralph is an ambitious administrator and a key cog in the crumbling British Empire in India. Now he's eyeing the top job, Viceroy of India, while secretly coming to terms with a son he never knew he had.

Where you've seen him before...

Henry Lloyd-Hughes is probably still best-known for playing shaven-headed school bully Mark Donovan in The Inbetweeners, but if you've been following carefully you'll have seen him in Parade's End opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and 2014 movie Madame Bovary – not to mention playing Fleur Delacour's besotted date Roger Davies in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire....

Cynthia Coffin – Julie Walters

Cynthia, the charismatic owner of the Royal Simla Club, will do anything to keep beloved Ralph's political ambitions on track.

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Where you've seen her before...

From Educating Rita to Harry Potter, Dinnerladies to Mamma Mia!, Julie Walters is the most recognisable star in Indian Summers. She most recently featured in 2015 drama Brooklyn alongside Jim Broadbent and Saoirse Ronan.

Aafrin Dalal – Nikesh Patel

Aafrin is now a fully paid-up member of the Indian Civil Service, doing his bit for the British administration. But he's also grown painfully distrustful of the good of the Empire, secretly sympathising with Indian nationalists. Which side is he on really?

Where you've seen him before...

Nikesh Patel recently featured in action movie London Has Fallen, but before that had a recurring role in Sky Living drama Bedlam opposite Humans star Gemma Chan.

Alice Whelan – Jemima West

Ralph's sister Alice is now married to seemingly upstanding English banker Charles Havistock – and trying to keep the fact of her tryst with Aafrin in series one a secret. But her husband is a dangerous man...

Where you've seen her before...

Jemima West was last seen in the most recent series of ITV's Endeavour, but the Anglo-French actress is probably best known for her role as Isabelle Lightwood in fantasy series The Mortal Instruments.

Charles Havistock – Blake Ritson

Banker Charles drove his wife Alice away three years ago, forcing her to escape to India. Now she has returned to him, and the pair are in India together. But the reunion is far from happy.

Where you've seen him before...

World Without End and Da Vinci's Demons star Blake Ritson joins Indian Summers for series two. You might also remember him from BBC drama Upstairs Downstairs.

Lord Hawthorne – James Fleet

The aristocratic Lord Hawthorne is the main contender for the role of Viceroy. Ralph better be wary of him.

Where you've seen him before...

Best known as nice but dim Hugo in The Vicar of Dibley, seasoned British actor James Fleet was also a key part in Brit comedy classic Four Weddings and a Funeral.

The Maharajah of Amritpur – Art Malik

One of the most powerful princes in India, the Maharajah meets James Whelan to discuss the upcoming negotiations over the future of Indian rule.

Where you've seen him before...

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It's been over 30 years since Art Malik shot to fame for his role in ITV's The Jewel in the Crown, as English-educated Indian Hari Kumar. A brilliant career followed, from action movie True Lies to Bond thriller The Living Daylights via a two-year stint on Holby City. He's set to appear in the revival of Cold Feet on ITV.

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