UNCOVER ANOTHER CLUE: STEPHEN MERCHANT JOINS "LUDWIG SEASON TWO AS GUEST STAR, BRITBOX REVEALS FIRST LOOK

Season two of Ludwig premieres this fall on BritBox

Photo credit: BBC/Big Talk Studios/Justin Downing, Courtesy of BritBox

· Today, BritBox debuted first look photos of Stephen Merchant, who will guest star in Ludwig season two. Merchant plays Danny Sloane, a cocky snooker champion who is at odds with John in the season's fourth episode.

· Coming to BritBox this fall, the second season of the acclaimed detective series Ludwig stars David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin. Season two also features new series regulars Mark Bonnar (Dept. Q, Guilt) as newspaper editor Gareth Fisher, Sian Clifford (Fleabag, The Ballad of Wallis Island) as local MP Joanne Kemper, Ben Ashenden (Deep Cover, Black Mirror) as DC Ethan Cole, and Rumi Sutton (After the Flood, Mutiny) as DC Caitlin Sullivan.

· Picking up from the end of season one, master puzzle-setter John 'Ludwig' Taylor (David Mitchell) is now a Crime Scene Consultant, working alongside DCI Russell Carter (Dipo Ola), on 'impossible' crimes for the Cambridge Police Authority. No longer having to masquerade as his brother, he's openly more 'Ludwig' than ever - brilliant at solving puzzles but hopeless at everything else. But John's identical twin brother, James, is still missing, and now that he's an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating. Of course, John won't stop and neither will Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), John's sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James. A puzzle needs solving and a husband and father needs bringing home. One masquerade may have ended, but a new one has just begun.

· Returning cast include Dylan Hughes as Henry Betts-Taylor, Dorothy Atkinson as DCS Carol Shaw, Ralph Ineson as Chief Constable Ziegler, and Karl Pilkington as DI Matt Neville.

· Ludwig is created and written by Mark Brotherhood and produced by Big Talk Studios (part of ITV Studios), in collaboration with That Mitchell and Webb Company. Season one of the binge-worthy comedy-drama is BritBox's biggest scripted series launch to date.

· Ludwig season two (6x60') is a Big Talk Studios production in association with That Mitchell And Webb Company, in co-production with BritBox for the BBC. It is produced in association with ITV Studios, which also handles international distribution. The series was commissioned for BBC One and BBC iPlayer by Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy. Season two is again written by Mark Brotherhood, and the directors are George Kane (episodes 1, 2 & 3) and Stella Corradi (episodes 4, 5 & 6). The executive producers are Kenton Allen and Toby Welch for Big Talk Studios, Mark Brotherhood, David Mitchell, Kathryn O'Connor, Chris Sussman; and Robert Schildhouse and Stephen Nye for BritBox. The producer is Georgie Fallon, with Anya Wilson serving as co-producer. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Gregor Sharp and Roya Eslami.

· The first season of Ludwig is available to stream on BritBox.

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About BritBox

BritBox is the leading streaming destination for the best of British television, offering an unmatched collection of expertly curated entertainment. From critically acclaimed dramas and mysteries to comedies, documentaries, and lifestyle programming, BritBox invites audiences to step out of their everyday and into a world of exceptional British storytelling. Launched in 2017 and now owned by BBC Studios, BritBox is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and the Nordics. For more, visit britbox.com, or find the BritBox app on most mobile and connected TV devices.