Dalgliesh season 3 sees Bertie Carvel tackle three complex new cases in his role as brooding detective and accomplished poet Adam Dalgliesh.
The new run of the crime drama, airing on Channel 5 in the UK and Acorn TV in the US, and based once more on PD James' novels, is set in 1979 and sees the widowed cop promoted to Commander and in charge of a special unit dealing with high-profile crimes. He is soon drawn into investigating the death of an archdeacon at a seminary, the murder of a maid in a country house, and the hunt for a serial killer who is stalking a nuclear power station.
Here's everything you need to know about Dalgliesh season 3…
Dalgliesh season 3 release date
The first two-part case of Dalgliesh season 3 airs in the US on Acorn TV from Monday 2 December and in the UK on Channel 5 on Thursday 5 December and Friday 6 December at 9 pm and it will then air in the same slot each week. It will also be available on streaming site My5.
What's the plot?
In the opening case, based on Death in Holy Orders, Dalgliesh and his sidekick DS Daniel Tarrant (Alistair Brammer) head to a seminary where an archdeacon who was trying to bring about reform has been murdered. But as they delve further, numerous rivalries come to light.
In the second investigation, Cover Her Face, the detective heads to Essex where he teams up with local cop DI Clive Roscoe (Sam Swainsbury) when a single mother who works as a maid at the country house of the Mehta family is found dead in her bed. Secrets from both her past and that of the Mehtas emerge, along with the sinister shadow of racism.
In the final case, Devices and Desires, the cop is in Kent where he reunites with his former assistant DCI Kate Miskin (Carlyss Peer) when a killer dubbed the "Whistler" is terrorising the community. The victims all have connections to the local nuclear power station so an anti-nuclear activist comes under suspicion but other motives are soon uncovered.
Who's in the cast?
Bertie Carvel (Doctor Foster) reprises his role as Adam Dalgliesh, while Alistair Brammer (House of the Dragon) is back for the first two-parter as DS Daniel Tarrant and Mum and The Red King’s Sam Swainsbury plays DI Clive Roscoe in the second case. Then Carlyss Peer (Holby City) returns as DCI Kate Miskin in the last investigation.
Episode One & Two Death in Holy Orders guest stars:
Richard Lintern (Silent Witness) as the seminary’s head Father Sebastian, Anton Lesser (Endeavour) as Father John Betteron, Phoebe Nicholls (Eric) as John’s sister Agatha, Lloyd Owen (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) as lay tutor George Gregory, Claire Goose (The Cuckoo) as art historian Emma Lavenham and Andrew Havill (The Crown) as archdeacon Matthew Crampton.
Episodes Three & Four Cover Her Face guest stars:
Parth Thakerar (Brassic) as medic Krishna Mehta, Allegra Marland (The Crown) as his girlfriend Lady Catherine, Ellora Torchia (House of the Dragon) as his sister Devi, Holly Cattle (COBRA) as maid Sally Jupp and Andrew Tiernan (Joan) as her uncle Malcolm Proctor.
Episodes Five & Six Devices & Desires guest stars:
Adam James (Belgravia) as power station boss Alex Mayer, Liz White (Life on Mars, The Long Shadow) as his outspoken colleague Hilary Roberts, Nancy Carroll (Father Brown) as his sister Alice and Robert Wilfort (Gavin & Stacey) as Giles Fleet.
Is there a trailer?
Yes, here’s an action-packed taster of what to expect.
Dalgliesh season 3 – Bertie Carvel interview
What’s it like to be back?
“I know the character well now. And it's a real privilege to return. He is a watcher and still waters run deep. I like that although justice is served, it's a flawed, human justice, things aren’t neatly tied off.
“There has been an arc to each season, and the first was about a man destroyed by grief [after losing his wife and baby], who goes on a journey to process that by spending time with dead people! But by the end of this third season, there's a touch of spring in the air…”
Tell us about the first case based on the novel Death in Holy Orders…
“It’s set in a seminary in the countryside and it's about what people have brought into that cloistered world from outside, the secrets people have, and what they’re there to escape from. It's a brilliant dramatic structure and very Gothic.”
During the investigation he meets art historian Emma Lavenham (Claire Goose), who has come to the seminary to assess the authenticity of an altarpiece. Is romance on the cards?
"Will he take a leap and open himself to potential damage again by beginning a new relationship? He's closed doors before and hasn’t felt complete, so he knows he has to take a risk. Although he's not sure what'll happen next, something’s growing, which he thought never would, and the sliver of ice in his heart is maybe starting to thaw…"
And what can you reveal about the other two cases based on Cover Her Face and Devices and Desires?
"The second story is set around a country house. We see chocolate box Essex, but also the urban environment of Chelmsford police station, so there's this smashing of worlds.
"Then the third case is set in this otherworldly environment of a nuclear power station. It looks inside the dark secrets of the people living around there and there’s an espionage element.”
You directed the episodes covering the second investigation. How did you find that?
"It was a tall order but great! I've directed on stage but never on screen before. As an actor, I've worked with some of the best directors, which has been an amazing learning experience. Directing and acting are essentially the same thing, you're just using different tools in storytelling. And wearing a directing hat, I've had more ability to project my taste and control the pace."
Dalgliesh has a different sidekicks for each investigation this time – his assistant from the last series DS Daniel Tarrant (Alistair Brammer), then newcomer DI Clive Roscoe (Sam Swainsbury), and finally his former colleague DCI Kate Miskin (Carlyss Peer). What can you tell us about how they each interact with Dalgliesh?
“All three sidekicks are fantastic – I’d love every shoot to be with all of them! Tarrant knocks Dalgliesh off centre but it's good for him to be challenged and Then the wonderful Sam Swainsbury was the perfect sidekick. My attention was on directing, so it was helpful having Roscoe, who’s “on it”, and requires little 'parenting' from Dalgleish.
"And it was fantastic having Carlyss back. Dalgliesh and Miskin haven’t had a straightforward relationship. But now Miskin holds the key to help unlock the growth that’s been waiting to happen [in Dalgliesh], as he’s moved in different directions with his heart and his grief."
And would you like to return for a fourth run?
“There aren’t many more novels to adapt, but I’d love to know what Helen Edmundson, our lead writer, could do, because I'm excited by her stewardship of the character, she remains true to PD James. So, if we let it rest here, we've reached a natural pause that's good enough for me. But I'd also happily do more!"
