Virdee season 2: everything we know

DCI Harry Virdee walks through Bradford in Virdee season 2

Will DCI Harry Virdee return? (Image credit: BBC)

We're desperate to return to Bradford for Virdee season 2, after the Virdee finale of the BBC One crime caper left us with plenty of unanswered questions.

Based on "Streets of Darkness", the first book in A.A. Dhand's Harry Virdee series of novels, the six-part drama saw rogue detective Harry Virdee (Staz Nair) hunting for a depraved serial killer who'd been targeting the city's Asian population.

It also explored his relationship with his wife Saima (Aysha Kala) and saw him being dragged into a world of gangland violence via his brother-in-law, local drug lord Riaz Hyatt (Vikash Bhai).

Yet will there be another series of the hit show?

Virdee season 2 release date

The BBC hasn't commissioned a second series of this one at the moment, but if one is given the green light there's plenty of material to work with. As it stands there are four more Harry Virdee novels in publication and author A.A. Dhand says there will be another one on the way very soon.

"There's a wealth of material that we can go to," he told the press at a recent launch. "There won't be a shortage of storylines should we go to second season."

If the show is recommissioned, then it's possible we could see Virdee season 2 at some point in 2026, but we'll keep you updated.

Riaz Hyatt in Virdee — Will Riaz be back for season two? (Image credit: BBC)

Virdee season 2 plot

* SPOILERS FOR VIRDEE SEASON 1 AHEAD *

The first season ended with DCI Harry Virdee and his brother-in-law taking down Jai Pawa (Ramon Tikram) after he'd abducted the detective's wife, Saima, however there were plenty of loose ends when the credits rolled.

First of all, we have the way Harry lied to his colleagues about his involvement in that final showdown. He used the body of Vasil Shala (a rival drug lord killed by Riaz earlier in the series) to make it look like Pawa had returned to Britain to take vengeance on Shala, before being killed himself.

The police still have no idea that Riaz is actually the leader of the Bradford West drug operation — or that one of their top detectives has been colluding with him for years! Harry's wife Saima DOES now know, but will she be able to keep her silence?

One detective who does suspect Harry is his colleague DS Khalil Amin (Danyal Ismail), who realized he was lying about going to A&E in the season one finale. UKCA officer Rebecca Armitage (Elaine Tan) shares his suspicions and asks him to find out the truth about the gang's infiltration of the police in the finale scenes.

Meanwhile, Riaz's partner and Pawa's ex-wife, Sophie Brodenham (Nichola Burley), offered to persuade Pawa to release Saima in that climactic episode. However, when she was alone with the serial killer, we got a glimpse of her ruthless nature when she admits she doesn't care about Riaz's sister at all. Could she be playing a game with Riaz for her own ends?

And finally, we have the death of Paul King. Harry stabbed the racist yob to death back in 2001, yet Riaz took the blame. Will the truth finally come out?

Saima Hyatt in Virdee — Will Saima Hyatt be able to keep Harry and Riaz's secrets? (Image credit: BBC)

Virdee season 2 cast

We reckon all of the cast would be delighted to return for this one and if there's a second season the following stars could be back to reprise their characters...