The Tower II: Death Message cast — who's who in the crime drama series

The Tower II: Death Message is the next installment to the hit crime thriller series The Tower on ITV.

The second series is based on the second book in Kate London’s Metropolitan series of novels, after The Tower series focused on the first book.

Following the horrific Portland Tower ordeal, this series sees the much-loved characters return with new cases to solve.

Determined cop DS Sarah Collins (Gemma Whelan) is now on Homicide Command tasked with investigating a cold case of a missing schoolgirl who vanished 26 years ago.

However, her investigation soon leads her to cross paths with rival PC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif) who has been given a second chance following her role in the Portland Tower incident and has been assigned a domestic violence case.

As well as familiar faces, we'll also be welcoming some new characters to the series, who you can meet below...

Meet The Tower II: Death Message cast

Gemma Whelan as DS Sarah Collins

Gemma Whelan returns as DS Sarah Collins who has transferred to Homicide Command following the fallout from the Portland Tower investigation.

On her first day, her new boss DCI Jim Fedden asks her to reopen the cold case of missing school girl Tania Mills, who disappeared on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral.

Sarah knows that she has been given an impossible challenge, but she throws herself into the mission with her usual resilience and thoroughness. Gradually, she begins to unearth clues that previous investigations overlooked, also helped by the fact that she was Tania’s age back in 1997.

Gemma revealed more about Sarah's thoughts when she's given a decades-old cold case: "She knows that being handed a 25-year-old cold case is a thankless task which everyone, especially her new boss, expects her to fail.

"But I think she rises to the challenge. She thinks outside the box and fairly quickly — just by looking at people, thinking about people in a different way — she develops a vital new lead. She prides herself on that. Even though she knows she’s being disrespected, she says ‘Right, I’m going to prove myself, I’m going to crack this.’ And she does."

Gemma is best known for playing Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones and has had roles in Gentleman Jack, Killing Eve, White House Farm, Uncle and The End of the F***ing World.

Tahirah Sharif as PC Lizzie Adama

Tahirah Sharif plays PC Lizzie Adama, who has been cleared of misconduct for her role in the Portland Tower incident and is back at Farlow Police Station, hoping to prove she can be a good cop.

This time, she teams up with PC Arif Johar to take on a domestic violence complaint against Matt Brannon, who is accused of beating up his girlfriend Georgina Teel and terrorising their six year old daughter Skye. But will she keep to the book this time?

Tahirah shared that this challenging case could be a fresh start for the cop and told What To Watch: "Lizzie is emotionally prepared that she may not have a career going forward, but she's been given a second chance and doesn't want to mess up. Witnessing two people fall from a tower is traumatizing and must change a person, so Lizzie's less naïve now and has more of an edge."

Tahirah is known for her roles as Rebecca Jessel in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Bly Manor, Carrie Norton in Waterloo Road and Cindy Carter in A Town Called Malice. She has also starred in Casualty and A Christmas Prince.

Emmett J Scanlan as DI Kieran Shaw

Emmett J Scanlan portrays police boss DI Kieran Shaw who was having an extramarital affair with Lizzie and got embroiled in the Portland Tower misconduct. Having put their affair behind them, Lizzie and Kieran try to keep things professional, but their mutual attraction still remains.

The slippery cop is told he needs to work with DC Steve Bradshaw on Operation Perseus, a task force to bring down local crime lord Shakiel Oliver.

Asked about what lengths DI Shaw would go to protect his own skin, Emmett shared: "When I hear that question, I get a little bit protective. Basically, he will protect himself like anyone else would. But he puts his own skin on the line every time he puts on that uniform, every time he endeavors to take down the bad guy. He is a brave man. He isn’t a coward. Even though he flirts with and partakes in selfish acts he himself isn’t selfish. His core isn’t selfish. Or maybe it is. You decide."

One of Emmett's first major TV roles was playing Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks and went on to star in BBC Two drama The Fall, Peaky Blinders, Kin and The Deceived.

Jimmy Akingbola as DC Steve Bradshaw

Jimmy Akingbola reprises his role as DC Steve Bradshaw, who is also now at Homicide Command alongside his former work partner, DS Sarah Collins. There's rivalry and also a sadness that their friendship turned sour.

Talking about his character, Jimmy revealed: "At the end of season one he was spiraling a bit. His personal life wasn’t great. He had just blown up a friendship — with Gemma’s character Sarah Collins — that actually meant a lot to him. But what he had left was his career and the knowledge that he was really good at his job and that his colleagues knew this and valued him for it.

"So he has used this to re-center himself; he’s enjoying where his life is right now. But I think there’s a slight itch, that boxer’s itch. He knows there might be something more out there, a challenge that might be worth getting back in the ring for."

Jimmy shot to stardom as PC Neil Parker in Holby Blue and then Antoine Malick in Holby City. He has gone on to star in Bel-Air, Kate & Koji and In the Long Run alongside Idris Elba.

Michael Karim as PC Arif Johar

Michael Karim is back as PC Arif Johar, who is partnered up with Lizzie on the domestic abuse case.

Michael's previous acting work includes Jekyll and Hide, The Bay, The Rook and What's Love Got To Do With It?

Ella Smith as DC Elaine Lucas

Ella Smith plays DC Elaine Lucas, Sarah's new partner at Homicide Command whose work nickname is 'Fat Elaine.' Initially, the pair don't get along due to their different personalities — Elaine is cantankerous and Sarah is very dedicated to her job, who also has the misconception that Elaine is lazy.

Ella spoke about Elaine's unflinching humor in the workplace: "I think Elaine is a character who very much sees abusive name-calling at work as the badge of honor that it is in policing. She’s almost embarrassed at the snowflakey attempt by DS Collins to defend her. Elaine is hard policing and she doesn’t suffer fools. She can fight her own battles and doesn’t need DS Collins to sweep in and save her from anything. Elaine puts her in her place immediately about that."

Ella made her TV debut in an episode of Holby City in 2006 and then went on to act in ITV drama Strictly Confidential, Cape Wrath, Babylon and St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold.

Tamzin Outhwaite as Cathy Teel

Tamzin Outhwaite stars as Cathy Teel, Georgina's mother. Cathy is a former drug addict who lost custody of her daughter and is desperately trying to get that precious lost time back.

Although she has given up drugs, Cathy is still trying to be angelic for the sake of her daughter’s menacing boyfriend, Matt Brannon. She knows all about Matt and knows that Georgina is in danger.

Tamzin said of the gritty details about her character: "We decided she might have been a bit of a hippy. That’s where the blue hair, trying to hold onto her youth, comes in. We thought she was a bit of a traveler. She got in with a group of people just drinking and smoking weed which turned into something deeper and heavier and grimier. She was a hardcore crack and heroin user to the extent that she lost custody of her own child.

"That time you never get back. Now she’s clinging onto the Cathy before, the Cathy that had her life in order, the Cathy that was a mum, that could have got it together but just went off the rails. It feels like she is stuck in a time yet at the same time is desperate to move forward onto something new. She is so complex really. There is so much to her... characters like this are not written all the time. She is not a villain and she’s not a hero. She’s a very flawed character but you want her to be all right."

Tamzin is well known for playing Mel Owen in EastEnders and has since appeared in the army series Red Cap, crime drama New Tricks, Death In Paradise and Ridley Road.

Charley Palmer Rothwell as Matt Brannon

Charley Palmer Rothwell is Matt Brannon, a local resident who is accused of beating up his girlfriend Georgina.

Charley is the son of EastEnders legend Patsy Palmer and has had roles in Dunkirk, Legend, iBoy, Play or Die, Our Girl and The Other Fellow.

Niamh Cusack as Claire Mills

Niamh Cusack portrays Claire Mills, whose daughter Tania has been missing for 26 years.

Elaborating more on her complicated character, Niamh explained: "Claire is very proud of her daughter’s achievements. You feel that she was probably living through her daughter. There is no-one else in her life-her marriage is over. Perhaps she is a little bit overcontrolling without meaning to be. Overprotective. Her life is with that child. And she has been betrayed and let down by her ex-husband. Her core relationship, the love of her life, is Tania, her only child. Nothing has replaced that."

Niamh became a household name playing Dr. Kate Rowan in Heartbeat and has appeared in a wide range of films TV shows, such as Agatha Christie's Poirot, Five Minutes of Heaven, In Love with Alma Cogan, Silent Witness and The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.

Who else stars in The Tower II: Death Message?

Also starring in The Tower II: Death Message are...

• Rosa Coduri as Georgina Teel

• Faith Delaney as Skye Brannon

• Stuart McQuarrie as DCI Jim Fedden

• Brian McCardie as Ray Walker

• Bobby Lockwood as DC Lee Coutts

• Rosalie Craig as Katherine Herringham

• Rebecca Calder as Abigail Levy

• Tristan Sturrock as Adrian Stephenson

• Camilla Beeput as Julie Woodson

• Jack Shalloo as PC Colin Ryle

• Laurie Delaney as Mary Shaw

• Mark Monero as James Adama

• Buckso Dhillon-Woolley as Nabila Adama