Peter Ballance News Today

BBC One's Bloodlands began filming its second series recently, having been confirmed for renewal last year. The police procedural TV drama was created by

The Northern Irish actor, 57, cut a smart figure in a pastel blue shirt and tie, which he paired with trousers, a jumper, and a grey overcoat as he embodied lead character DCI Tom Brannick.

REVIEW: If you’re a fan of James Nesbitt or British crime dramas, you’ll find some enjoyment here, but top-notch, essential viewing this is not.

I’d be inclined to watch James Nesbitt in just about anything he did, so it doesn’t take much to lure me to Bloodlands when I see Jed Mercurio ( Line of Duty, Bodyguard) is a producer. In truth this 4 part Irish police drama is written by actor-writer Chris Brandon ( Red Rock, Clash of Futures) and takes place in Belfast. Nesbitt plays Detective Tom Brannick, a single dad whose wife was killed two decades ago by the IRA. Daughter Izzy ( Lola Petticrew) is a university, a student of attract...

Bloodlands is more restrained, but trust me, it serves up a couple of lethal doozies. Although you can follow the action without knowing the historical backstory, it helps to remember the basics. Starting in the late 1960s, Northern Ireland lived through a de-facto civil war between Catholics and Protestants, and the violence killed many thousands of its citizens. The conflict ran until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which brought about an uneasy peace in a small, intimate land where nobody...

Read on for a full breakdown of all the theories about the identity of Pat Keenans kidnapper in Bloodlands.

Bloodlands episode 2 twist just changed everything for the show Laura Jane Turner © BBC / HTM Televison / Steffan Hill Bloodlands cliffhanger, involving Tom Brannick, has set up a completely different course for the BBC series... Bloodlands spoilers follow – including episode twos ending. Just when we thought we had a handle on what was going on, BBC Ones Bloodlands served up an absolute stunner of a cliffhanger. Up until now, DCI Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) has been i...

Bloodlands: Tom Brannicks wife disappeared in 1998. (Image: BBC) READ MORE Three bodies are then discovered on Strangford Lough with one of them wearing an owl pendant with the letter "E" engraved on the back, which belonged to Emma. This body wasnt Emmas but victim David Corry, whose possessions were handed over to his brother Andy (Ian McElhinney). Tom and Andy visit Strangford Lough where the latter says his brother was having an affair with a married woman at the time. He believes it wa...

James Nesbitt stars in Bloodlands Credit: BBC BBC One’s knotty Northern Irish noir continued with dramatic chases and Goliath-sized twists. But did it bring us any closer to identifying the serial killer and crane namesake? Here what happened in a head-spinning second episode.  Island grave gave up its secrets We picked up where we left off: on the suitably desolate island in Strangford Lough where police had made a grim discovery. There were three skeletons, meaning one presumed victim of t...

Bloodlands spoilers follow – including episode twos ending. Just when we thought we had a handle on what was going on, BBC Ones Bloodlands served up an absolute stunner of a cliffhanger. Up until now, DCI Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) has been investigating a 20-year-old murder-mystery plot. Goliath is the codename for an unidentified killer, thought to be a police insider, who was responsible for the deaths of four people – both Catholic and Protestant – in the run up to the Good Frid...