Jonah Hauer-King & Sophie McShera Join ‘Code of Silence’
Multiple PBS favorites board 'Code of Silence' as Season 2 filming gets underway.
BritBox has been on a roll lately, with major hits like The Other Bennet Sister and Ludwig driving record subscription highs in back-to-back years. But it’s also been making waves in the critically acclaimed series space. Alongside award-winning shows like Time and Sherwood, one of BritBox’s highlights of the last couple of years was the thriller Code of Silence.
Starring Deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, who rose to fame in the U.K. on the long-running soap opera EastEnders, the series takes the typical “amateur detective joins police force to help solve crimes” trope and gives it the freshest of spins. Instead of Ayling-Ellis being a crime-solving savant, her character, Alison Brooks, is merely a Deaf canteen worker who happens to be in the right place at the right time when the team trying to crack a case needs a lip reader.
Season 1 tended to put Brooks in various dangerous situations that wound up necessitating her rescue. However, unlike some shows that get off on stuffing women into refrigerators, her peril usually occurred to emphasize how much she has no idea what she’s doing – not even experience playing at crime solving before being put on the case.
Season 1 co-starred Charlotte Ritchie (Grantchester) as Alison’s handler, DS Ashleigh Francis. However, Season 2 will begin after a two-year time jump, with Francis having exited the team in the interim. It gives the series space to add more familiar faces to the roster, including multiple actors fans of PBS know and love.
Here’s the Season 2 synopsis:
Two years on, Alison has completed her forensic lip-reading training with the police and is called upon to assist with a high-stakes surveillance operation involving Ruby Dowling, a woman caught up in a sophisticated money-laundering syndicate. After being arrested when illicit cash is discovered hidden in her car, Ruby is released on bail back into a dangerous world where she finds herself trapped between police scrutiny and ruthless criminals. When she becomes the victim of a brutal attack, DI James Marsh and his team – DS Daniel Henshaw, DS Ben Lawford, and DC Lizzie Silver – are left searching for answers.
Tasked with decoding Ruby’s final silent moments captured on CCTV, Alison’s unique expertise becomes crucial to the investigation. But as hidden secrets begin to emerge, the case takes a disturbing turn, revealing threats far closer to home. With loyalties tested, trust beginning to unravel, and dangerous criminals closing in, Alison discovers that uncovering the truth may come at a devastating personal cost – and could make her the next target.
Ayling-Ellis returns as Alison Brooks, alongside Andrew Buchan (Black Doves) as boss DI James Marsh, John Bishop (Doctor Who) as Ray Woods, Nathan Armarkwei Laryea (The Witcher) as DC Ben Lawford, and Fifi Garfield (Deaf Funny) as Alison’s mother, Julie.
Season 2 will introduce Jonah Hauer-King (World on Fire) as DS Daniel Henshaw, Sasha Desouza-Willock (London Kills) as DC Lizzie Silver, and Emily Head (Whitstable Pearl) as Ruby. Further additions include Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey), John Hollingworth (Poldark), and Jo Joyner (A Woman of Substance), whose roles have not been revealed.
Series creator Catherine Moulton is once again lead writer, alongside Genevieve Barr, Melissa Bubnic, Kevin Rundle, and Nicola Wilson. Directors Meenu Gaur (The Forsytes) and Nirpal Bhogal (Endeavour) split helming duties, with Joseph Shrubb producing. Moulton and Ayling-Ellis executive produce alongside Jon Farrar and Jess O’Riordan for BritBox, Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, plus Polly Hill and Callum Dziedzic for ITV.
Code of Silence Season 2 is currently filming in the U.K. and is expected to debut on ITVX and BritBox sometime in 2027. Season 1 is streaming on both platforms on their respective sides of the pond.
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