The Capture season 3: Release date and latest news

Almost four years after the second season of The Capture debuted, the hit thriller series is finally back for its third season on BBC One and iPlayer.

Holliday Grainger is back as Rachel Carey for the show's latest run, once again taking on a major conspiracy involving the deepfake technology known as Correction.

Meanwhile, Paapa Essiedu is also back as Isaac Turner as are a number of other major cast members, and a host of newcomers are joining, including Killian Scott and Joe Dempsie.

But when is The Capture back on our screens, who else is returning to the cast and what is this latest season about?

Read on for everything you need to know about The Capture season 3.

Will The Capture return for season 3?

It will! It was confirmed in April 2025, almost three years after season 2 first aired, that a third season was on the way.

When season 3 was first announced, creator Ben Chanan said in a statement: "I am delighted to join up with Holliday Grainger, Lia Williams, Ben Miles, Ron Perlman, and all our brilliant cast on The Capture again, and to welcome the fantastic Killian Scott to the fold.

"Previous seasons have seen Holliday’s Rachel Carey investigate others as their lives fall apart. Most of all, I am excited that series 3 puts Carey at the heart of the conspiracy."

Fans perhaps shouldn't be surprised that it took so long for a third season to be confirmed. Back in 2023, Chanan told Radio Times that he would have to wait a while for the tech world to catch up with his fictional one, as he always wanted to be one step ahead of the present day.

Chanan said: "I think that the world of deep fakes and fake news and AI, it keeps developing. I think we went quite far with The Capture in terms of what the hell could happen next, in terms of the sort of fear of what could happen."

He continued: "I think we went quite far across the two series, and I almost feel sometimes like I need to take a minute and wait for the news to catch up or for predictions, nightmare predictions of what's next.

"Because it's not so much a futuristic thing, it's kind of a what's happening now thing, and so part of me feels like I need to take a break and unfortunately wait to see where the news takes us and where the world takes us and then respond."

When will The Capture season 3 be released?

The Capture season 3 starts airing on Sunday 8 March, with the first episode becoming available at 6am on BBC iPlayer and airing at 9pm on BBC One.

Episodes will then be released in the same pattern each week on Sundays.

This means that season 3 is arriving almost four years after season 2 aired in 2022. Season 2 also took a long time to arrive after season 1 - a full three years in fact.

Whether there is a season 4 or not, it certainly seems that this will never be a show that returns annually, and more one that comes around every now and then to give us new nightmares about the world of emerging tech.

Who will star in The Capture season 3?

Of course, it wouldn't be The Capture without Holliday Grainger, so she is back as Rachel Carey for this third season. Other returning stars include Ben Miles, Lia Williams and Ron Perlman, as well as Indira Varma, whose character Khadija Khan was introduced in season 2.

Perhaps more of a surprise, Paapa Essiedu is back as Isaac Turner for this new run. The first season's male lead, Callum Turner, didn't return for season 2, so it was unclear at one point whether Essiedu would be back.

Meanwhile, new stars joining for season 3 include Killian Scott, Joe Dempsie, Hugh Quarshie, Linus Roache, Andrew Buchan and Amanda Drew. Many of their new characters are still under wraps.

You can find a full list of the confirmed cast for The Capture season 3 right here:

• Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey
• Paapa Essiedu as Isaac Turner
• Indira Varma as Khadija Khan
• Ben Miles as Danny Hart
• Lia Williams as Gemma Garland
• Ginny Holder as Nadia Latif
• Nigel Lindsay as Tom Kendricks
• Ron Perlman as Frank Napier
• Tessa Wong as Chloe Tan
• Daisy Waterstone as Abigail Carey
• Andy Nyman as Rowan Gill
• Hugh Quarshie as Cameron Yates
• Linus Roache as Colonel Figgis
• Killian Scott as Noah Pierson
• Joe Dempsie as James Whitlock
• Andrew Buchan as Julian Talbot
• Amanda Drew as Angela Stilon

What will happen in The Capture season 3?

The second season ended with Rachel achieving the impossible, bringing Correction into the light via Khadija Khan's interview with a deepfake of Isaac Turner MP.

It has now been confirmed that season 3 will pick up a year after this moment, with the official synopsis saying: "It’s been 12 months since Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger) broadcast a live deepfake of a government minister to the nation, exposing the UK intelligence service’s clandestine video manipulation programme known as Correction.

"Amidst an inquiry into the unlawful use of Correction, Carey has become Acting Commander of Counter Terrorism Command, determined to regain the public’s trust in surveillance technology through the new Operation Veritas camera system.

"And then it happens: a brutal and exceptionally well-coordinated act of terror aimed right at the heart of the British establishment that leaves behind just one witness.

"The more Carey investigates, the deeper she is drawn into an unfolding geopolitical crisis that infects the British political establishment, the security services, and the media. The conspiracy reaches deep into the State, but just who is pulling the strings?Caught in an increasingly violent situation, and with few allies left to trust, what sacrifices will Carey be willing to make?"

The Capture season 3 trailer

A first-look teaser for The Capture season 3 was released on 1 February. A full length trailer was then released on 24 February, and you can watch both of them right here now.

The Capture season 3 will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Sunday 8 March 2026.

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