Alibi brings Traces back to Dundee for second series

Traces

Produced by RED Production Company and written by Amelia Bullmore and Jess Williams

28 September 2020

Praise for Traces series one:

  • "the latest British drama you'll be obsessed with" Glamour
  • "Absorbing new crime drama....grippingly written by Amelia Bullmore" Daily Telegraph
  • "Think Silent Witness with a bit more grit in its soul" Metro
  • "Traces is instantly addictive" Heat

Following the success of series one in 2019, UKTV has commissioned a second series of Amelia Bullmore penned Traces for its specialist crime drama channel, Alibi. The UKTV Original six part series was Alibi's biggest launch since 2011 and amassed an average of nearly one million viewers per episode across the series*.

Produced by RED Production Company (Years and Years, The Stranger, Butterfly) for UKTV and BBC Studios Distribution, the suspense-fuelled thriller was based on an original idea by best-selling crime writer Val McDermid where forensic science takes centre stage. Amelia Bullmore returns to write the second series with Jess Williams (Grantchester, Call the Midwife). Casting and production team will be announced in the coming months with the series set to air in 2021.

Amelia Bullmore said:

It's so exciting to be returning to Traces, and I'm loving working with Jess Williams.

Set in Scotland and exploring the world of SIFA, the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science, series one introduced Emma Hedges, Prof. Sarah Gordon and Prof. Kathy Torrance who together used the rigors of forensic science to uncover the truth about the murder of Emma's mother.

Series two will continue to delve into the world of forensic science, as the women of SIFA carefully analyse traces of evidence to help get to the bottom of who's behind a series of cruel bombings in Dundee. The city is on edge as the pressure rises to identify the mystery bomber before the next bomb goes off.

UKTV Original series Traces has been commissioned by Philippa Collie Cousins, drama commissioner with head of scripted Pete Thornton, and ordered by Emma Ayech, channel director for Alibi. Richard Watsham is the director of commissioning and Adrian Wills is genre general manager for drama and lifestyle. The series will be produced by RED Production Company (a STUDIOCANAL company) and executive produced by Nicola Shindler (The Stranger, It's A Sin, Butterfly, Happy Valley, Queer As Folk), Michaela Fereday (Safe, Years and Years) and Amelia Bullmore with Philippa Collie Cousins for UKTV and Martin Rakusen for BBC Studios.

Philippa Collie Cousins, said:

I am passionate about delivering the best of crime drama series to Alibi and ensuring they become much loved returners, resonating with UK and global audiences. Traces is ramping up with its hallmark forensic focus, nuanced characters and explosive surprises, it promises to be thought provoking and entertaining. The series is a fantastic piece of storytelling with three creatives at the very top of their game in Nicola, Amelia and Val.

Emma Ayech, added:

We were all thrilled by the success of the first series on Alibi, and it is testament to the incredibly gripping storyline played out by some world class actors. I can't wait to see what the second series has in store and welcome the viewers back into the world of SIFA.

Nicola Shindler, executive producer, said:

I can't wait to dive back into the world of Traces with the brilliant women of SIFA, tackling even more shocking crimes and facing up to all their own increasingly complicated lives.

Traces joins UKTV's growing slate of scripted dramas on Alibi including the hit We Hunt Together, produced by BBC Studios and also returning for a second series next year, and newly announced The Diplomat, set in Barcelona and produced by World Productions. BBC Studios is handling distribution for all titles internationally.

BBC Studios, which distributes Traces internationally, has secured a raft of series one sales to clients in Germany (NDR, WDR and ARD One), Estonia (ETV), Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay (Cablevision Flow). The series is also available on the BBC FIRST channels across Asia and Australia and on UKTV in New Zealand.

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UKTV O

For more information, please contact:
Gem Pinkney, Publicity Manager for Alibi
Ali Laurie, Network Communications Executive, UKTV

Notes for editors:

* Total consumption for Traces averaged 952k per episode, with the first episode peaking at 1.12million.

About Alibi

Sky 132/826, Virgin 126/200, BT 312/382, TalkTalk 312, TV Player On demand on Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk

Alibi is the only TV channel in the UK dedicated to crime drama, investigating the best selection from the genre and premiering hit series from around the world such as Harrow, Waco and I Am The Night. Alibi stepped into UKTV Original crime drama series with guaranteed thrills, twists and turns including hits Traces, starring Molly Windsor and Martin Compston and We Hunt Together, starring Babou Ceesay and Eve Myles.

Now in its 13th series, Murdoch Mysteries has found a safe space on the channel while some of British TV's best-known detectives, including Miss Marple, enjoy a trip down memory lane. Hit British crime dramas including Death in Paradise, Father Brown and Silent Witness give the viewers another chance to catch their favourite shows.

About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.

UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.

corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress

About RED Production Company

RED Production Company, a STUDIOCANAL Company, was set up in 1998 to work with the best writers on modern, innovative, and entertaining programming. The Manchester-based indie has since produced some of the UK's most popular drama series working with critically acclaimed writers including Russell T Davies, Sally Wainwright, Danny Brocklehurst, Tony Marchant, Sarah Solemani and Dan Sefton.

RED Production Company, a STUDIOCANAL Company has produced some of the UK's most successful and award-winning dramas, including Russell T Davies' Cucumber, Queer As Folk and Years and Years, Sally Wainwright's Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, Lenny Henry's Danny and the Human Zoo, Dan Sefton's Trust Me, Tony Marchant's Butterfly, Harlan Coben's Safe, Traces written by Amelia Bullmore and most recently Harlan Coben's The Stranger written by Danny Brocklehurst. Forthcoming series include Ridley Road written by Sarah Solemani for BBC, Finding Alice written by Roger Goldby and Simon Nye for ITV, and Boys (w/t) by Russell T Davies for Channel 4.

RED Production Company is part of STUDIOCANAL's international production network, which includes TANDEM Productions in Germany, STUDIOCANAL Original in France and BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES in Spain.