Barnsley's Katherine Kelly says 'rules were made to be broken' as new series of Criminal launches on Netflix

There are plenty of great detective shows out there to watch. But where Criminal differs is that the drama takes place exclusively in one room.

Following a hugely successful first series, the Netflix hit is back, with four new cases and four new suspects, played by guest stars Kit Harington, Kunal Nayyar, Sharon Hogran and Sophie Okonedo.

Meanwhile, you can expect more impressive performances from the core cast – former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly, The A Word actor Lee Ingleby, Line of Duty’s Rochenda Sandall and Shubham Saraf, who could recently be seen in BBC’s A Suitable Boy.

The foursome play the London-based investigators engaging in intense mental conflict with the criminals in front of them – and you can bet there will be plenty of surprises along the way.

Barnsley-born Kelly, 40, reveals more about what to expect from series two.

“One of the most exciting things about the show is you get to see some of the world’s greatest actors playing roles that you probably have never seen them play before,” Kelly says.

“There’s a real versatility that you get to show and, to me, they’re like plays on screen.”

Kelly plays detective Natalie Hobbs.

“I think she’d be quite tough to work for,” she ponders. “She’s an absolute perfectionist and very highly motivated, highly driven and obsessed with work.

“She’s still all those things [outside of the interrogation room] but, with a vodka and tonic in her, she’s a bit easier to be around.

“You’d definitely rather meet Natalie in a pub than in our observation room, that’s for sure.”

First reading the new scripts was “like reading a novel” she says. “Like with a great novel, it just stays with you. We’ve got no action shots, all we’ve got are the words, so we have to create the adventure and the thriller through the twists and turns.

“The obvious thing to think is ‘innocent or guilty?’ and it’s never that; there’s far more nuance to it than that. I think the more [episodes] George [Kay, the creator] makes, the richer it gets.”

Since series one was filmed, the coronavirus pandemic has taken hold. But Kelly says the show is ‘Covid-friendly’ to make.

“We have a screen. We don’t touch each other. We are at least a metre away from each other at all times. I can’t speak for all actors but all my friends who are have said the same [as me], that they can’t wait to get back to work.

“I mean, people are working in terms of this kind of thing and voiceovers, but we love being on set. To use the analogy of footballers, or any sporting professional, you do the training for those moments for the match or the game.”

Kelly has learnt a lot about policing and the law from doing the show.

“George pointed us to a handful [of YouTube videos filmed] in North America of these confessions, which is a camera in the top of the room.

“They go on for hours and hours and it’s just slow and steady and that, for me, in the first series, was a revelation. It was nothing like the idea I had in my head of how police get a confession.

“It’s not enough to have someone say, ‘I did it’; you need evidence, and that’s what we’re there for. Then it’s down to the jury to decide.

"We gather the evidence. A confession is not the goal actually, and that surprised me; we need them to talk as much as we can, and that takes a lot of time and patience.”

Does she think she’d make a good detective herself? She’s not so sure.

“I suppose they have to follow the rules, as it’s the law. But for me, rules were made to be broken. And that’s not good if you’re a detective, is it?!”

– Season 2 of Criminal will launch on Netflix on Wednesday, September 16.

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James Mitchinson