Lesley Manville has joined the cast of ‘Save Me’.
The 63-year-old star is set to star in the next series of the Sky Atlantic drama, with the ‘Mum’ actress in line to play Jennifer Charles opposite series lead and creator Lennie James’ character Nelly Rowe.
She is quoted by The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column as saying: "I couldn’t be more delighted to be joining this phenomenal series."
‘War & Peace’ actor Adrian Edmondson also joins the cast as her onscreen husband Gideon.
The first six-part series of ‘Save Me’ – which told the story of Nelly’s desperate search for his estranged teenage daughter after she mysteriously disappeared – launched to high praise from critics and viewers, and filming for the second season is set to start this month.
Suranne Jones will also return as the lead character’s ex-lover, and the star previously praised the "great ensemble".
She said: "I am so thrilled to be returning for the second series of ‘Save Me’.
"The reaction to the show has been amazing and I love being part of a great ensemble piece.
"Lennie has fantastic energy and his writing is so real and poetic. I cannot wait to read what he creates next."
Last year, creator Lennie admitted that while he was delighted with the positive reaction to the programme, he was "quite happy" to be in the US when the show aired in the UK, because he would’ve felt "overwhelmed" by the response.
He said: "It’s really weird but the reaction to it is the reaction I hoped for. You can hope for it but you don’t expect it. The way that it has been received has been slightly overwhelming.
"I was quite happy with the distance that I had from the reaction to it, being out here in America because otherwise it might feel like there was an undue pressure on me to write the second series.
"But I’ve been able to get a sense of how people have felt about it and reacted to it without being completely overwhelmed by it."