Leeds-born Gemma Whelan and Parminder Nagra on return of ITV crime thriller DI Ray

After a gripping first series, DI Ray is returning to ITV for another dose of crime thriller that is perfect for the dark autumn nights.

Created by Maya Sondhi and produced by Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, the second series of the police procedural sees DI Rachita Ray, played by Maternal star Parminder Nagra, return to the Birmingham beat to investigate the murder of a high-profile criminal.

Two months after her suspension, the detective is thrust back into the thick of homicide.

A drive-by shooting outside a hospital leaves two people dead – a young nurse, Megan Parks, and Frank Chapman, the head of a notorious local crime syndicate – a violent event which could spell all-out war for the city.

The case ignites racial tensions which cause a personal conflict for Rachita – both as a British Asian woman and as a police officer – and she must find out the truth of the crime before the Chapman family retaliate and a gang war takes over the streets of Birmingham.

As the high-octane second iteration comes to ITV1, Nagra, 49, is joined by her co-star Gemma Whelan, 43 – who was born in Leeds and found fame with Game of Thrones and Upstart Crow– playing her colleague DCI Kerry Henderson, to talk about the thriller’s return.

There’s a lot to get our teeth into in this series, from the nuanced characters, terrible crimes, complex societal themes and thrilling twists, turns and surprises along the way – as Nagra says, this isn’t “just your typical procedural”.

Can they refresh our memories about the characters?

Nagra says: “DI Ray is about this strong female police officer who is constantly just searching for the truth, for whatever that happens to be, regardless of what anybody else is saying to her.

"That’s her primary focus, her sense of identity and where she fits in within that world. There’s a ton of layers to this show but I think at the core of it, it’s ‘who is she?’ and ‘how does she fit it in?’”

There’s a “coldness” to DCI Henderson, says Whelan, and “she’s less about the people and more about getting the job done”.

Nagra adds: “Kerry Henderson has to straddle that line of the politics of what the force needs and the law, and I think Rachita still has her feet on the ground as it were. She just has to keep going through the red tape to get to what she needs to do.

“Some would say (she’s a) risk-taker, I would say she follows her instinct and wants to do the right thing, and she is contained by some of that red tape. I don’t see her as reckless actually – she is just trying to do her job… She probably says a lot more candid things than I might!”

Whelan says: “Rachita seems to play by her own rules, whereas Kerry is trying to make her do things correctly rather than the more gung-ho, action-packed way that Rachita wants to do it.”

In this series, there’s been a terrible crime and the press jump to enormous conclusions, says Whelan.

"There is a very pressurised press conference where initially there are a lot of spinning plates while we work out who’s done what.

“There’s a watchfulness to Henderson this season in terms of how she uses her language, she’s treading carefully culturally in terms of not jumping to conclusions.”

“It’s such a wonderful, exciting, front-footed drama that’s full of twists and turns. I think it’s so exciting to see every kind of little inch of the cave that is the police world, and for it to be told from a genuine point of view from Maya Sondhi and Jed Mercurio.”

Whelan was born in Leeds in 1981 and grew up in Yorkshire until her father was offered a new job in Warwick, and the family moved on. She now lives in London and previously told The Yorkshire Post that her early years were “very happy indeed – you don’t forget things like playing in the street with your friends, and your early days at school”.

As well as starring in HBO megahit Game of Thrones as Yara Greyjoy for seven of its eight series, in 2017 Whelan also portrayed Karen Matthews in The Moorside, based on the hoax disappearance of Dewsbury girl Shannon Matthews.

Meanwhile, like DI Ray, is from Leicester. How was it shooting so close to home?

“We shoot in Birmingham and my family is in Leicester,” says says. “It’s like an hour drive so I’ve seen them more over the last few years than I probably have for a while.”

But the themes are complex and there is an intensity to the drama – how did they find that?

“The volume of work is immense, it’s probably one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do,” says Nagra.

“The team, especially this season, have really come together and you can sense the closeness.

We have that chemistry in real life, so to have that translate into our homicide scenes, or when we are actually trying to get to the meat of whatever the case is, you really see the team come together."

What have you learned about the issues affecting the police force while making the drama?

Whelan says: “The systemic sexism, racism and earning your place within the police force as a woman, and the sexism that can be involved in that, which I have since learnt, is very real.

"The patriarchy just shuts us down.”

There’s plenty for DI Ray fans old and new to tune into series two for, Nagra believes.

“We have so many amazing moments within this series, I don’t think it’s just your typical procedural. You’re going to have surprises along the way, and I think you’ll be in for an enjoyable ride!”

DI Ray returns to ITV1 on Sunday, October 20.