Hunting EVIL

Martin Clunes reprises his role as a real-life detective in a chilling new series of Manhunt

- SEAN MARLAND

NEW CRIME DRAMA

Manhunt: The Night Stalker Mon-Thu, ITV HD, 9pm

Martin Clunes won rave reviews in 2019 for his performance as real-life DCI Colin Sutton in ITV crime drama Manhunt. The series followed the detective as he put notorious killer Levi Bellfield behind bars, and this week Clunes is back in the role when the London police officer tries to track down a serial rapist.

The four-parter sees Sutton on the trail of a criminal who is terrorising elderly people in south London in a string of attacks that has left thousands fearing for their lives.

This week’s first episode begins in 2009 as ‘Minstead Man’ or ‘The Night Stalker’, as the press have dubbed him, begins another spate of burglaries and rapes. With the police no closer to catching him than when he began his despicable crime spree back in 1992, Sutton is brought in to take a look at the case.

‘When the producers told me they wanted to adapt another of Colin’s cases, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it,’ admits Clunes. ‘The first series had been so successful and I was worried that we would be essentially making a B-side. But they soon put me right and from the moment I read the script, I wanted to do it. This series is different, but it has the same Manhunt DNA in that it’s all about police work and the investigation.’

With his retirement looming, Sutton agrees to assist Det Supt Simon Morgan (Matt Bardock) and his team with their investigation. However, some of his old colleagues fear he’s being set up to fail by his enemies in the force.