Rafe Spall’s Detective Eric Bull is heading to Scotland as Under Salt Marsh returns

Under Salt Marsh is returning for a second chapter, with Rafe Spall once again playing Detective Eric Bull – although this time the mystery will take him far from the Welsh landscape of the first series.

The new six-part story moves to a remote Scottish mining village, where Bull becomes involved in another murder investigation. But the case will not be entirely unfamiliar territory for the detective: as secrets within the community begin to emerge, the investigation will also bring him closer to the truth about his own past.

It marks a change of scenery for Claire Oakley’s atmospheric crime drama, which launched on Sky earlier this year. The first series placed its murder mystery against the striking and increasingly dangerous landscape of a fictional Welsh coastal town, with Spall starring alongside Kelly Reilly.

Oakley, who created, wrote and directed the series, will return for the follow-up and has hinted that the new location will be just as important to the mystery. “I am thrilled to be taking the series to another unique part of the UK where we explore a gripping mystery and unearth buried secrets,” she said. “Rafe Spall brought Eric Bull’s idiosyncrasies to life so brilliantly in the first series that taking his character onwards is an absolute pleasure.”

The first Under Salt Marsh proved a considerable hit for Sky, attracting a 28-day audience of 2.5 million and becoming the broadcaster’s biggest Original drama launch since The Day of the Jackal.

While details of the murder at the centre of the new series remain under wraps, the move to Scotland offers an intriguing direction for the drama. Rather than simply revisiting the first series’ setting, the next chapter will follow Bull into a new community with its own secrets, while finally beginning to reveal more about the detective himself. Filming is due to begin in Scotland in 2027, with further casting yet to be announced.

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The second chapter of Under Salt Marsh will be released on Sky and NOW, with a release date to be announced.