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Brassic star Michelle Keegan stars in first look at ITV's dark new crime drama The Blame

We have our first look at the drama's leading stars: Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth.

Michelle Keegan as DI Emma Crane and Douglas Booth as DI Tom Radley standing in an office looking at the camera.

David Hindley/ITV

Published: Tuesday, 28 July 2026 at 2:50 pm

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Last month, we were treated to an official trailer for ITV's The Blame – and now we finally have some first-look images of the gripping new series, which is based on Charlotte Langley's debut novel.

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Led by Brassic's Michelle Keegan and The Sandman's Douglas Booth, the new series has been described as "part propulsive mystery, part social commentary, part love story" and is set to "tackle big questions around policing and will take an unflinching look at who we can really trust".

Well, we can get a sense of the tension to come as the new images show a slew of characters including Keegan's DI Emma Crane and Booth's DI Tom Radley, who can both be seen separately attending crime scenes, one looking to be in the woods and the other, in a cordoned off residential area.

Other images show Ian Hart (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) as DCI Kenneth Walker manning the investigation in front of a pinboard of maps and informaton, as well as Nathan Mensah as DC Lewis who can be seen walking around a car.

Whilst the pictures don't give too much away, they certainly add to the excitement for the upcoming drama, which sees Keegan take on another leading drama role after successful stints in Ten Pound Poms, Fool Me Once and Brassic.

Michelle Keegan as DI Emma Crane in The Blame standing outside in a car park, looking to the side whilst surrounded by cars and police tape.

Michelle Keegan as DI Emma Crane in The Blame. David Hindley/ITV

The six-part drama unfolds in the "seemingly quiet town" of Wakestead where a murder rocks the local community – but Keegan's Emma soon discovers that there could be corruption afoot.

Ian Hart as DCI Kenneth Walker in The Blame.

Ian Hart as DCI Kenneth Walker in The Blame. David Hindley/ITV

The synopsis continues: "As DI Emma Crane (Keegan) and DI Tom Radley (Booth) dig deeper into what starts as a tragic death that sends shockwaves through the town of Wakestead, a murder enquiry soon spirals into a tangled web of lies, institutional cover-ups and moral compromise.

"As the clock ticks and trust fractures, Crane must navigate both a murder investigation and the treacherous politics inside her own team."

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The Blame also stars Gavin Spokes (Slow Horses) as DC Joel Stevens, Nigel Boyle (Line of Duty) as digital forensic technician Brett Shergill, Joe Armstrong (Gentleman Jack) as ice-skating coach Kyle Frasier, Matilda Freeman (Passenger) as Sophie Madsen and Josh Bolt (Masters of the Air) as DC Douglas James.

As of now, a release date for the series hasn't been confirmed but has been slated to arrive this autumn.

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The Blame will be coming to ITV and ITVX this autumn.

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Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Morgan Cormack, smiling against a lime green background

Morgan CormackDrama Writer

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.

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