BBC’s Death Valley series two slated as ‘no Ludwig’

The show follows the unlikely partnership between DS Janie Mallowan, played by Gwyneth Keyworth and Timothy Spall’s retired actor John Chapel as they solve various crimes around Wales.

A synopsis for series two shares: “Series two picks up a few months after the events of series one.

“Janie has been promoted to Detective Inspector and is busier than ever, with paperwork stacking up quicker than she can clear it.

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Gwyneth Keyworth and Timothy Spall are back for a second series of Death Valley (Image: BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway)

“To make matters worse, she’s been ignoring John since finding out he’s been dating her mum.

“Janie’s hand is forced after a murder in a Community Payback group when DCI Barry Clarke forces her to bring John Chapel in as the department’s consultant.”

The first episode of the second series aired last night (Sunday, May 17) on BBC One, but reviews were mixed.

Anita Singh of The Telegraph gave it just three stars out of five and stated that the programme is “no Ludwig”.

“Death Valley (BBC One) was the BBC’s highest-rated scripted comedy in five years when it launched in 2025,” she wrote.

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David Mitchell as John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor (Image: BBC/Big Talk Studios/Olly Courtney)

“Was there nothing else on? Either that or Timothy Spall has a very committed fanbase, because this is a serviceable cosy crime drama but nothing out of the ordinary.

“It is, for example, no Ludwig, which does the quirky amateur sleuth thing in a far superior way.”

Ludwig, set in Cambridge starring Peep Show actor David Mitchell, has been a huge hit for the BBC.

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The show is set to return to our screens later this year (Image: BBC/Big Talk Studios/Olly Courtney)

The channel has announced that season two is due to be screened later this year, but has not yet provided any dates.

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 grew up in Headington and was a pupil at Abingdon School.

He also worked for Oxford University Press as a general dogsbody and proofreader, but was rejected from Merton College, instead studying at Cambridge.

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Sian Clifford as Joanne Kemper MP (Image: BBC/Big Talk Studios)

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

Mr Mitchell’s co-star Anna Maxwell Martin, who plays Lucy, the wife of a missing detective who enlists his puzzle-loving twin brother (both played by David Mitchell) to solve the mystery, has confirmed that filming has now finished for season two.

She recently told the Radio Times: “Season two is cracking. It’s really, really good.

“I can’t tell you anything because my mind’s gone blank and I’ll probably be killed and I don’t know what I’m allowed to tell you!

“But what I can say is it’s really, really good, I think it’s even better than season one.”