Jayd Johnson and Ford Kiernan: 'Field of Blood' second series

Former Corrie favourite Katherine Kelly is to star alongside David Morrissey, Jayd Johnson and Ford Kiernan in the second series of BBC Scotland’s acclaimed crime drama Field of Blood: the Dead Hour.

Taking place in the early 1980s, Field of Blood tells the story of a young copy-girl named Paddy Meehan (Jayd Johnson) working in a Glasgow newspaper office, whose attempts to become a fully-fledged journalist end up embroiling her in criminal investigations.

Kelly will star in the new series as the newspaper’s ambitious editor-in-chief Maloney, who intends to bring the periodical into the modern age, much to the chagrin of current editor Murray Devlin (David Morrissey).

Kelly said: "I’m delighted to join the cast of Field Of Blood: The Dead Hour.
"Maloney is a ferociously ambitious character and I'm excited to play such a ruthless, yet complicated, woman. I'm really looking forward to filming in Glasgow with a top class cast and crew."

Following on from the award-winning drama’s first 2011 miniseries, Field of Blood: the Dead Hour sees Paddy and reporter George McVie (Ford Kiernan) investigating an apparently innocuous call about a disturbance in an affluent part of Glasgow, which leads them to uncover police corruption, a government conspiracy and a cold-blooded murder.

Field of Blood is adapted from Denise Mina's bestselling novels about Patricia "Paddy" Meehan by Taggart scriptwriter David Kane.

Filming on the new series got under way in Glasgow this week. Field of Blood: the Dead Hour will be broadcast on the BBC in 2013.

Source: Radio Times

Field of Blood airs in New Zealand

Denise Mina's Field of Blood to screen on Vibe next week

Thursdays at 9.30pm from 5 April on Vibe (SKY TV) (New Zealand)

Paddy Meehan is a new kind of heroine. A young, female, feisty and funny trainee reporter, she often oversteps the mark between reporting crimes and solving them - while sometimes becoming part of the crime along the way.

Paddy has always had ambitions to be an investigative reporter. But in the male dominated world of Scottish newspapers in 1982, no-one will take her seriously.  Not only is she young and female, she's not as thin and glamorous as her rival trainee journalist. And her close-knit family can't understand why she doesn't want to just settle down and marry the boy next door.

Then a big murder case breaks, and a member of Paddy's family is implicated. Paddy has to make a choice – does she follow the case, and risk being seen to betray her family, or does she turn her back on the career she's been longing for?

This suspenseful two-part crime drama is based on the first of Denise Mina's Paddy Meehan novels, and stars the cream of British acting talent including David Morrissey (State of Play), Peter Capaldi (Torchwood: Children of Earth) and introducing Jayd Johnson as Paddy Meehan.

“A taut and pacy murder mystery… it’s terrific” - The Guardian, UK

“…in the same drawer as Downton or Mad Men” - The Independent, UK

Source: Booksellers