Series one of the detective drama starring David Mitchell was a huge hit in 2024, becoming the channel’s biggest new scripted show since 2022. It attracted more than 9.5 million viewers across 28 days.

Now a second series is expected to be shown soon, although a transmission date has yet to be revealed.

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David Mitchell will return as John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, while Anna Maxwell Martin will also be back as his sister-in-law, Lucy Betts-Taylor.

Best known for his role in the comedy Peep Show, David Mitchell was born in Headington and was a pupil at Abingdon School, before going to university at Oxford University’s New College.

David Mitchell with Anna Maxwell Martin and Dylan Hughes (Image: BBC/Big Talk Studios/Olly Courtney)

Ludwig is set in Cambridge, with Mitchell playing a reclusive puzzle-setter who assumes the identity of his missing twin brother, DCI James Taylor, to investigate his disappearance.

During the first series John Taylor became surprisingly adept at solving murders, despite his lack of experience.

The synopsis for season two, which has once again been written by show creator Mark Brotherhood, says: “Picking up from the end of series one, master puzzle-setter John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor (Mitchell) is now a crime scene consultant, working alongside DCI Russell Carter on ‘impossible’ crimes for the Cambridge Police Authority.

“No longer having to masquerade as his brother, he’s openly more ‘Ludwig’ than ever – brilliant at solving puzzles but hopeless at everything else.

“But John’s identical twin brother, James, is still missing, and now that he’s an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating.

“Of course, John won’t stop and neither will Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), John’s sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James – a puzzle needs solving and a husband and father needs bringing home.

“One masquerade may have ended, but a new one has just begun.”

Mark Bonnar in Ludwig (Image: BBC/Big Talk Studios/Olly Courtney)

Dipo Ola is expected to return as DCI Russell Carter, Dylan Hughes as Henry Betts-Taylor, Dorothy Atkinson as DCS Carol Shaw, Ralph Ineson as Chief Constable Ziegler.

New additions to the cast will include Line of Duty’s Mark Bonnar as newspaper editor Gareth Fisher, Fleabag’s Sian Clifford as local MP Joanne Kemper, Black Mirror’s Ben Ashenden as DC Ethan Cole and After the Flood’s Rumi Sutton as DC Caitlin Sullivan.

Speaking about series two, Mr Mitchell said earlier this year: “When you watch the second series, you realise there’s still quite a lot of obfuscation involved in his role, because not everyone in the police force is entirely on side with his appointment.

“And of course, he’s still got to cover up the fact that for a long time he was solving cases while impersonating a police officer.

“And if that ever gets out, well, five murderers will walk free, and he won’t walk free himself.”

Scammers have been using information about missing pets posted online to trick heartbroken owners into paying vast sums of money for things like made up vet surgeries.

After monitoring vulnerable pet owners using social media posts, posters and online adverts for lost animals, the scammers will contact owners pretending to be veterinary staff.

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The callers will pretend the pet has been found, but say it is seriously injured and requires urgent surgery, pressuring the owner into paying a large vet bill over the phone before they can be reunited.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “We’ve been made aware of this particularly heartless scam affecting people who are advertising their missing pets.

FILE PHOTO. Police have issued a warning (Image: TVP)

“This is a cruel tactic that preys on the emotional distress and love people have for their pets.”

Police advised that people never make payments over the phone to caller who has contacted them unexpectedly, and to verify any claims made independently, for example, by contacting the vet surgery they claim to be from using a trusted phone number.

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The force also advises that people should ‘be wary’ of pressure tactics, like being rushed into making a payment, ask for proof from any caller and never share personal or financial details with unknown callers.

Any instances of fraud or a suspected scam should be reported to Action Fraud.

The police added: “Scammers are exploiting people at their most vulnerable – let’s not give them the opportunity.”

Initailly debuting back in 2021, Jeremy Clarkson’s farming documentary has found global success.

Fans all over the world have tuned in via Amazon’s streaming service to watch the former Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter’s agricultural adventures.

Set at his own Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire, the series also covers his Cotswolds pub, The Farmer’s Dog, which opened in Asthall back in 2024.

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Viewers have been eagerly waiting to find out the series five release date ever since filming officially wrapped in September 2025.

Now, a confirmed date has been given by Prime Video this afternoon (Monday, April 20), with the first episodes set to be released in June.

Despite previous suggestions that some of the series would be coming out in May, it has now been officially stated to start on Wednesday, June 3.

This came in a social media post across the Prime Video accounts, which said: “Not long now… Clarkson’s Farm Series 5 drops 3rd June.”

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Across the first four series of Clarkson’s Farm, Mr Clarkson documents his attempt to run Diddly Squat, after his tenant farmer retires, quickly discovering how hard it is to grow crops, manage sheep and turn a profit.

The early series follow a full farming year as he battles the weather, machinery breakdowns, sheep chaos and tight margins, while gradually adding things like wilding projects, a farm shop and a restaurant that repeatedly runs into planning rows.

Later episodes bring in new ventures such as pigs, goats, mushrooms and more “farm‑to‑fork” ideas, as he experiments with regenerative agriculture and searches for ways to make the mixed arable and livestock business financially viable.

By series four, Kaleb is away on tour, and Lisa is tied up with a new product line, leaving Clarkson to juggle the farm largely on his own, bring in a new farmhand, and even try to buy and revive a local pub as another strand of his attempt to keep Diddly Squat afloat.