''The Long Call'' is a British crime drama television series developed by Kelly Jones and Silverprint Pictures based on the 2019 novel of the same name by

Ann Cleeves Ann Cleeves (born 1954) is a British mystery crime writer. She wrote the Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez, and Matthew Venn series, all three of which have been adapted into TV shows. In 2006 she won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for her novel ''Rave ...

. It premiered on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2021 and was released internationally as a

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

original following broadcast.

Premise

The series follows Detective Inspector Matthew Venn as he returns to his hometown in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

with his husband for his religious father's funeral, only to find himself investigating a local murder.

Cast

Main

* Ben Aldridge as DI Matthew Venn *

Declan Bennett Declan William Bennett (born 20 March 1981) is an English singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He gained prominence as a member of the band Point Break, before going on to perform on London's West End and as a solo musician. He is known on ...

as Jonathan Roberts *

Siobhán Cullen Siobhán Kate Cullen (born February 1990) is an Irish actress. She began her career as a child actress, making her debut in Marina Carr's '' By the Bog of Cats'' (1998) at the Abbey Theatre. She landed her first major screen role in Eoin Macken's ...

as Caroline Reasley *

Anita Dobson Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Sing ...

as Grace Stephenson * Dylan Edwards as Ross Pritchard *

Sarah Gordy Sarah Gordy, MBE (born September 1976) is a British actress who has Down's Syndrome. She is best known for her roles as Katie Thorne in ''The A Word'', Orlando Quine in '' Strike: The Silkworm'', Lady Pamela Holland in the BBC TV series of ' ...

as Lucy Craddle * Aoife Hinds as Gaby Chadwell *

Pearl Mackie Pearl Mackie is a British actress. She is best known for playing Bill Potts in the long-running television series ''Doctor Who''. Mackie is a 2010 graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her first major television role came in 2014, wh ...

as DS Jen Rafferty *

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'', ...

as Christopher Reasley *

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...

as Ed Raveley *

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV (TV network), ITV crime-action television drama series ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable ...

as Dennis Stephenson *

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadin ...

as Dorothy Venn * Alan Williams as Maurice Craddle

Recurring

* Melissandre St Hilaire as Ella Rafferty * Iona Anderson as Rosa Shapland * Nia Gwynne as Ruth Shapland * John-Paul MacLeod as Alfie James

Episodes

Production

In November 2020, it was announced Silverprint Pictures would adapt Ann Cleeves' novel for

. Kelly Jones would pen the four-part drama as her first standalone series and third collaboration with Silverprint on a Cleeves adaptation, with Lee Haven Jones directing and Angie Daniell producing. Principal photography took place in 2020 on location in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the

North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...

coast, particularly around the

Taw Taw, tav, or taf is the twenty-second and last letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Tāw , Hebrew Tav , Aramaic Taw , Syriac Taw ܬ, and Arabic ت Tāʼ (22nd in abjadi order, 3rd in modern order). In Arabic, it is also gives ri ...

and

Torridge Torridge may refer to: * Torridge District, a local government district in the county of Devon, England * River Torridge, is a river in Devon in England * Torridge Lass Suffix beginning with F ''Empire Fabian'' ''Empire Fabian'' was an E ...

estuary. Matthew and Jonathan's house is located in

Appledore Appledore may refer to: Places England * Appledore, Kent ** Appledore (Kent) railway station * Appledore, Mid Devon, near Tiverton * Appledore, Torridge, North Devon, near Bideford U.S.A. * Appledore Island, off the coast of Maine In fiction * App ...

. Actor Ben Aldridge grew up in the area.

Reception

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Call, The BritBox original programming 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British LGBT-related drama television series 2020s British mystery television series 2021 British television series debuts Gay-related television shows ITV television dramas Television series about religion Television shows based on British novels Television shows set in Devon Television series by ITV Studios