Ridley

Tragic backstory? Check – his wife and daughter are killed in a fire by arsonist Michael (Aidan McArdle) who Ridley now uses to torture himself by visiting in ...

If it took him that long to work out the very glaringly obvious, then the exasperated DCI (Terence Maynard) has a point – he probably shouldn’t be back on the team. By the time the first episode is over, you’ll be begging Monday morning to save you. He’s playing Alex Ridley, a retired detective who has been summoned back as a police consultant by ex-protégée DI Carol Farman ( [Derry Girls](https://metro.co.uk/tag/derry-girls/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P2_LNK3)’ Bronagh Waugh). The twist in these dramas does so often ‘hide in plain sight’, as DI Ridley glumly muses, but the script doesn’t usually start with the winks and nudges 17 minutes in. It’s the classic ITV formula – a dark, miserable murder mystery to chase the Sunday scaries away. [Line of Duty](https://metro.co.uk/tag/line-of-duty/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P2_LNK1) star (double check) [Adrian Dunbar](https://metro.co.uk/tag/adrian-dunbar/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P2_LNK2) back in uniform – well, almost.

Dunbar will be starring as the lead character, detective Ridley, for the first time ever – alongside a cast of British TV veterans.

She’s a brilliant detective, but she does things her own way.” The plot follows the story of detective Ridley as he is then asked to return to another case as a consultant, something that is happening across the UK to real retired officers. [Adrian Dunbar is returning to ITV to star as a leading role in the new, gritty detective drama](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/adrian-dunbar-line-of-duty-ridley-itv-detective-drama-1811052?ico=in-line_link) – Ridley.

Leading the cast of Ridley on ITV is none other than Adrian Dunbar , from Enniskillen as the charismatic Detective Inspector Alex Ridley, who is retiring from ...

They've all got a backstory and somewhere to go and we can keep the audience alive with us by doing that." [here.](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/) To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see [here.](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/) [Dunbar](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/co-fermanagh) ) has retired from the force after years of dedicated service. [The Fall](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/the-fall) actress Bronagh Waugh as DI Carol Farman, a former protégée whom Ridley mentored for many years and is now in charge of investigations. [Line of Duty series seven could be 'three or four episodes', says Adrian Dunbar](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/line-duty-series-seven-could-24800080) [The most watched TV shows in Northern Ireland last year](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/most-watched-tv-shows-northern-24774936) [Detective drama filmed in NI gets renewed for third series](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/tv/dalgiesh-channel-5-detective-drama-24751659) [RTE Late Late Toy Show applications open for 2022 show](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/whats-on/be/rte-late-late-toy-show-24758252) [Enniskillen](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/enniskillen) as the charismatic Detective Inspector Alex Ridley, who is retiring from the police after years of dedicated service. ITV has released details of the plot for the opening episode of Ridley as the series begins. [Line of Duty](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/line-of-duty), Dunbar has also appeared in The Crying Game, Hear My Song, Blood, Five Fables and Broken. [Coleraine-born](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/co-derry) Waugh for her role as Cheryl Brady in Channel 4's Hollyoaks for four years. [Line of Duty](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/line-of-duty) star Adrian Dunbar is finally coming to our TV screens in his new police role in ITV's crime drama, Ridley. [Adrian Dunbar says it 'wasn't a problem' to play another cop in ITV crime drama](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/adrian-dunbar-bronagh-waugh-finally-24709219) [Co Fermanagh](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/all-about/co-fermanagh) man, 64, who is taking on the titular role alongside fellow Northern Irish actor, Bronagh Waugh.

The Gaffer is back. Here's how you can watch Adrian Dunbar's new crime drama series on ITV.

What is Adrian Dunbar's new ITV crime series about? Adrian Dunbar new series: ITV Ridley Cast Fans have been eagerly waiting for the start of Adrian Dunbar's new series and it is finally here. The new crime drama is four episodes long which makes it perfect for bingeing as you stay cosy on the sofa this Autumn. When is Adrian Dunbar's new series on TV? [Line of Duty](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19287588.will-bbc-make-line-duty-series-7/) actor [Adrian Dunbar](https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/national/20513546.adrian-dunbar-teases-prospect-line-duty-film/) is back with a new detective drama and here's how you can tune in.

A veteran homicide detective replaced by his former protégée is enlisted as a consultant on a complex case in ITV's latest crime drama.

The new series draws inspiration from real-life retired detectives who have re-joined police forces in a consultancy role in light of increasingly over-stretched resources. All episodes will also be available to stream live or on catch-up via the ITV Hub. Bronagh Waugh (The Fall, Unforgotten) stars opposite Dunbar as DI Carol Farman, Ridley's successor who brings back her former mentor to help solve a mysterious murder. "He's complicated. Turning to her old mentor for support, Carol is keen to access Ridley’s unique insight into crime-solving which has served them so well in the past. Ridley starts on Sunday (August 28) evening.

Is Ridley any good? Read out review of Adrian Dunbar's detective series.

["a singing detective"](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11105759/Line-Dutys-Adrian-Dunbar-reveals-character-ITVs-Ridley-singing-detective.html) in Ridley and the truth is a little more nuanced than that. [subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article) and get the next 12 issues for only £1. One big plus for Ridley is the cast, particularly the women. The first comes from a very honest place where Ridley quite clearly hits a turning point in his grief journey. Despite the quite obvious comparisons, Ridley is an intriguing character in his own right who will no doubt grow and develop throughout the series and perhaps into a second season, too. Ridley’s quest for the truth and justice exists in much the same vein, but this is a character who’s pained and has a life outside of work. The stories are surprisingly dark, never patronising, and at times can be twisty. The mystery in episode 1 is centred around a father who's been gunned down in a very quiet part of town. It's satisfying getting to the end, which is surprisingly really harrowing, given the overall gentler tone of the series. It’s impossible to see him in a crime series without comparing him to Line of Duty’s Hastings, so here goes. And like it's northern counterpart, it's filmed in a countryside setting, though this time it's Yorkshire and Lancashire, not Northumberland (equally as stunning, however). Starring Adrian Dunbar as the eponymous lead, we meet our brooding hero just 18 months after losing his wife and daughter to a brutal arson attack.

Adrian Dunbar as DI Alex Ridley · Bronagh Waugh as DI Carol Farman · Terence Maynard as DCI Paul Goodwin · George Bukhari as DC Darren Lakhan · Georgie Glen as Dr ...

She has a morbid fascination with forensic science and is happiest when she’s communing with the dead. Darren knew he had to knuckle down, and the police force was a steady career with reasonable prospects. Turning to her old mentor for support, Carol is keen to access Ridley’s unique insight into crime-solving which has served them so well in the past. This empathy with both the victims, and perpetrators of crime, gives Ridley a rare insight into the psychology of murder. Smooth, ambitious, approachable - the best sort of copper to steady the ship. Maynard's character, DCI Paul Goodwin, likes to think of himself as the face of modern policing. Years and Years' George Bukhari plays DCI Darren Lakhan in Ridley. Strong moral codes, with a maverick approach, and no qualms about bending the rules if it gets them a conviction. Carol is something of a protégée of Ridley. A discreet and private man, Ridley is always courteous, with old-fashioned manners. Now, the actor, 64, is taking on another detective role as Alex Ridley. Following the drama's commissioning, the actor said: “I don’t think I’ve ever headed into a production with more excitement and enthusiasm," prompting fans to get excited over what was to come.

Every episode of this new ITV crime drama ends with a Line of Duty star crooning over a grand piano. Get past that, and he's brilliant as a troubled ex-cop ...

As a chance for Dunbar to move on from his role as Ted Hastings in Line of Duty without alienating those who have come to know him primarily from that, it works very well, too. The plot thickens when a connection is discovered between Preston and Halpin that the original investigation missed. And there are some great scenes, particularly between Dunbar and Elizabeth Berrington as his old friend and colleague Jean, and some lovely grace notes along the way. The boss, DI Goodwin (Terence Maynard), doesn’t want Farman to call Ridley back in: he is happy that Preston was the right man and doesn’t want to open that can of worms again. Ridley butts heads with Goodwin a bit, but ultimately they are on the same side and want to see justice done. Dunbar has a lovely voice, but these scenes are so clearly there to showcase that fact that the force of the ineluctable cringe threatens to crack the spines of unwary watchers.

The Gaffer is back. Here's how you can watch Adrian Dunbar's new crime drama series on ITV.

What is Adrian Dunbar's new ITV crime series about? Adrian Dunbar new series: ITV Ridley Cast Fans have been eagerly waiting for the start of Adrian Dunbar's new series and it is finally here. The new crime drama is four episodes long which makes it perfect for bingeing as you stay cosy on the sofa this Autumn. When is Adrian Dunbar's new series on TV? [Line of Duty](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19287588.will-bbc-make-line-duty-series-7/) actor [Adrian Dunbar](https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/national/20513546.adrian-dunbar-teases-prospect-line-duty-film/) is back with a new detective drama and here's how you can tune in.

Dead wife? Dead child? Scandinavian interior design? You can play cliché bingo in ITV's latest outing.

Tick. “It was me he was coming for,” laments Ridley, of the man who inadvertently killed his wife and daughter. “It was me who should’ve burned that night.” For all the depressing gravitas Dunbar brings to the role, it’s hard to be emotionally affected as we, the audience, are parachuted into Ridley’s life several stages into the bereavement process. But cliché must be deployed sparingly, and, unfortunately, the team behind Ridley – to not coin a phrase – use every trick in the book. It’s a strange, compelling sequence that almost justifies the show’s use of a gratingly Columbo-esque score. [Adrian Dunbar](/topic/adrian-dunbar) – owner of [Line of Duty](/topic/line-of-duty)’s saddest eyes and biggest “divorced dad” energy, amid stiff competition – is Alex Ridley, a retired detective residing somewhere scenic up north. [ITV](/topic/itv)’s new police drama [Ridley](/topic/ridley) hits cliché after cliché with such precise aplomb that even the most resilient of viewers will find their eyes watering and skin itching. For them, reliance on old archetypes is symbolic of an inexcusable laziness on behalf of writers. He needn’t worry for much longer: his protégé DI Carol Farman (The Fall’s Bronagh Waugh) brings him in as a consultant to help her investigate the murder of a farmer. Dead child? Dead wife? And each year of that has involved more and more content being churned out.

Adrian Dunbar is… the singing detective! No, not Dennis Potter's creation, but the star of Ridley (ITV), a new police drama which tries to distinguish itself ...

The plot was fine – a man shot dead on his way back from the pub, linked to the disappearance of a girl a decade earlier, and Ridley brought out of retirement to assist the case. Dunbar does his best with the role of a grieving man who has lost his wife and daughter in a house fire and no longer knows his place in the world after leaving the force. The only reason the character does this is because

ADRIAN DUNBAR returned to television screens on Sunday night in ITV's new crime drama Ridley.

He added he didn’t think of Ridley’s singing “as an add on” but was “very integrated” in the storyline. The star explained he put together a band when he was in his 40s and the group went out on the road to perform in bars and pubs. “Also what became apparent was whereas he is trying to keep everybody off him, he's trying to stop everybody going in there with him, when he does come across a victim of a crime that allows him to share that. Susan Seddon was equally baffled, tweeting: “The singing scene at the end of the episode, looked like it could easily be a music video for Adrian #Ridley.” It was later revealed he had ties to the bar as he had invested in the venue, a jazz club called Marling’s. [Line of Duty](/latest/line-of-duty) but the actor swapped the [BBC](/latest/bbc) for ITV in Ridley.

New crime drama Ridley has arrived on ITV - here's a full run down of who's on the cast. A teaser of the series shares: "After twenty-five years as a.

As they delve deeper, they uncover another body, and a shocking secret." "Ridley’s replacement is Acting DI Carol Farman, his former protégée whom Ridley mentored for many years. But the prospect of retirement is not a particularly welcome one as he's been cut off in his prime.

Although to be precise, ITV's latest weathered cop is technically no longer on the force. Dunbar plays Alex Ridley, a long time police officer who has recently ...

The parallels with Ridley’s own trauma are perhaps a little on the nose but that can be forgiven as necessary introductory work to establish a character that ITV bosses must be hoping will run and run. Dunbar is an entirely safe pair of hands and couldn’t be more perfect as the lead – grizzled, principled, a little unorthodox and unable to let things go. It quickly becomes clear that Jesse, shot in the woods on his way home from the pub, wasn’t well liked – he and his family were weirdo loners and there were more than a few local grievances that could serve as motive.