Stephen Merchant's comedy-drama to return

Here are the first images from the forthcoming second series of Stephen Merchant’s series The Outlaws.

Oscar-winner Christopher Walken returns along with co-stars Eleanor Tomlinson, Darren Boyd, Rhianne Barreto, Gamba Cole, Clare Perkins and Merchant himself as the offenders thrown together by having to serve a community payback sentence in Bristol.

It was shot back-to-back with the first series, whose production was delayed by Covid, with the plot following on directly from the events of those episodes.

The offenders still have time to serve on their sentences - but now they must face the fallout from their actions.

According to the BBC blurb for the show: ‘If they thought the criminal underworld or the local police were done with them, they are sorely mistaken.  The Outlaws must depend on one another while working with unlikely allies to atone for their sins - but can they save themselves without sacrificing their souls?’

Also returning are Jessica Gunning as Diane Pemberley, the supervisor for community service; Dolly Wells as Margaret, the daughter of Walken’s character Frank; Ninia Wadia as Shanthi, the mother of Rani, the kleptomaniac plated by Rhianne Barreto and  Aiyana Goodfellow as Esme, the sister of Cole’s character Christian.

Meanwhile, guest stars will include Julia Davis and the return of Derry Girls actor Ian McElhinney and Claes Bang from Dracula.

Series one of The Outlaws was the BBC’s biggest comedy launch of 2021, attracting around 4 to 6 million viewers per episodes. It has been streamed 11million times on BBC iPlayer. It is a co-production between BBC One and Amazon Studios.

Published: 6 May 2022