Strike's Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger tease romance in new series

Strike: The Ink Black Heart explores the chilling world of online trolling, in the latest case for private detectives Strike (Tom Burke) and Robin (Holliday Grainger).

The return of the crime drama, based on JK Rowling’s sixth Cormoran Strike novel written under her pen name Robert Galbraith, sees cartoon creator Edie Ledwell (Mirren Mack) approach Robin for help. Edie has co-devised a hit web animation, The Ink Black Heart, and a mysterious fan, calling themself Anomie, has made an online game in tribute. But Anomie has now taken against Edie and become threatening.

Robin tells Edie that she and Strike are too busy to take on her case, but they are both horrified when Edie is later found murdered in a cemetery while her co-creator and former partner Josh Blay (Jacob Abraham) is brutally attacked. And Robin and Strike soon face a race against time to unravel Anomie’s mysterious identity and work out whether they are the killer.

Here, Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger tell What to Watch what’s in store in Strike: The Ink Black Heart…

Strike: The Ink Black Heart centres on the hunt for Anomie following Edie’s murder. How do Strike and Robin feel about the investigation?

Holliday Grainger: “They didn't have the capacity to take on the case, but for Robin there's guilt because she’s seen another woman in trouble, and hasn’t done what she could. Now, she's going the extra mile for Edie, because she feels that emotional connection.”

Tom Burke: “Yes, for Robin, there's a personal stake. And Strike sees how much she is impacted by this death, so he wants to back her up. But subliminally, there's a sense this might also bring them together…”

What challenges does the case bring?

Tom Burke: “It's haunting because it's about the death of a young person and the maiming of another. And it’s to do with fandoms, which can be tribal. It’s like an elaborate game where Robin and Strike are spinning plates trying to work out who's online when, and who therefore can't be Anomie. There’s a puzzle element and it’s like a masked ball with a magician's trick going on too.”

Has it made you think about the murkier side of the online world?

Tom Burke: “I think it’s an inherently violent medium. There's no eye contact, there's no body language, it's just words, and they can only be taken as they're read.”

Holliday Grainger: “I distance myself from it, because I think it's dangerous. That’s why I was so intrigued by The Ink Black Heart and the idea of people stirring things up and putting on a different persona. The way the dark side of humanity escapes is insidious.”

Holliday, Robin goes undercover a couple of times this season, including as a glamorous marketing executive, Jessica, at the art collective to which Edie and Josh belonged. How did you find the disguise?

Holliday Grainger: “I loved it! It's fun playing a different character within this and Robin enjoys it. Tom and I have talked about never wearing Robin and Strike’s clothes in our own personal lives. But I got Jessica's coat [after filming], and I’ve enjoyed wearing it, but it'll have a shelf life, because when the show comes out, I won't be able to wear it anymore!”

We also see developments in their ‘will they-won’t they’ romance this time as Strike tries to kiss Robin. What can you reveal?

Holliday Grainger: “They're getting too close, and then they are pushed apart. Robin realises her own feelings for Strike, but pushes him away due to fear of rejection, fear he might not mean it, and fear of the repercussions for their business and friendship. Afterwards, there’s regret at what it might have meant…”

Tom Burke: “The course of true love never did run smooth! He goes from thinking, ‘This definitely needs to happen,’ to going, ‘Oh no, I've got everything wrong!’ Then it’s one step forward, 10 steps backwards, and they're even less communicative than they have been!”

Do you think they should get together now?

Tom Burke: “There’s a sense of providence about everything that stops them being together. Someone's going, ‘No, not yet!’ They're not quite in that place they’d need to be. In this series, the physical limitation of his condition [Strike lost part of his leg while serving with the Army in Afghanistan] shuts him off from having the energy for a relationship. And his ex, Charlotte [Natasha O’Keeffe], returns with a bombshell…”

Holliday Grainger: “Robin’s developed confidence and independence because of Strike. So I'd love to know what it’d be like if they got together, but it depends on where and when. As they deal with their issues that could be obstacles, there's more chance it might work out…”

Strike: The Ink Black Heart airs in the UK on Monday 16 & Tuesday 17 December on BBC One at 9pm and it continues on Monday 23 December at 9pm and Tuesday 24 December at 9.15pm. The episodes will also be available on BBC iPlayer. We’ll let you know about the US release as soon as we hear.