Inside Man on BBC: Release date, cast and plot of the David Tennant crime drama

David Tennant and Stanley Tucci? We're in!

David Tennant in a still from Inside Man on BBC
(Image credit: BBC/Future)

What do you get when you mix a Vicar from a quiet English town, and a maths teacher trapped in a cellar? A compelling David Tennant crime drama, that’s what!

The nights may be drawing in and sadness looming over the long summer nights coming to an end, but no fear - there is plenty of compelling Autumn viewing on the horizon to relieve minds from thoughts of dark nights and the impending cold. We’ll begin with the latest crime drama to get your teeth into, a Stephen Moffat penned thriller - the man behind Dracula, Sherlock, and the recent episodes of Doctor Who. Inside man is arriving on a BBC One screen this month with both David Tennant and Stanley Tucci at the helm. Here’s everything we know about the crime drama. Plus, be sure to check our our guide on how many Inside Man episodes there are.

Armchair sleuths have been working out where exactly the quiet English town from the drama could be in real life - Inside Man filmed across different counties and we reveal precisely where. Morven Christie is set to star in new ITV drama Payback - TV writing legend Jed Mercurio is behind it, so it already has “unmissable” written all over it. And as The Capture season 2 returned to the BBC, fans were asking if it’s based on a true story, and had questions about the ending.   

What is the Inside Man BBC release date?

Inside Man  will air on Monday 26 September at 9pm on BBC One. The second episode will air the following evening on Tuesday 27 September at the same time. Both episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer afterwards.

It's also been announced that Inside Man will be released on Netflix outside of the UK too - so that audiences in other countries will be able to binge the series too.

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What is Inside Man about? Plot details

The minds behind Inside Man have done very well about keeping much of the plot details under wraps, and not too much is known at this point. However, we do know that a death row prisoner in the United States, a vicar in a quiet English town, and a maths teacher trapped in a cellar, all become mysteriously connected. 

Commissioning Editor for BBC Drama Ben Irving, said “Steven Moffat has created another brilliantly original and darkly playful series in Inside Man and it’s no surprise that it has attracted such an extraordinary cast. This will be a ‘must-watch’ when it lands on BBC One and iPlayer”.

Series creator and writer Steven Moffat, added “This is the best ensemble we’ve ever had the chance to work with. It’s a rare privilege to see scripts come to life as beautifully as this.”

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Inside Man: Cast 

  • Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Grieff
  • David Tennant as Harry Watling
  • Dolly Wells as Janice Fife
  • Lydia West as Beth Davenport
  • Lyndsey Marshal as Mary Watling
  • Simon Delaney as Claude Kreiner
  • Atkins Estimond as Dillon Kempton
  • Eke Chukwu as Keith
  • Boo Golding as Sergeant Clyde
  • Dylan Baker
  • Kate Dickie
  • Tilly Vosburgh
  • Louis Oliver
  • Lee Byford
  • Mark Quarterley
  • Julie Namir
  • Cokey Falkow
  • Gianni Calchetti

Writer Stephen Moffat recently shared a picture of himself and actress Dolly Wells - who is starring as Janice in Inside Man - to his Instagram page. He captioned the picture of the grinning pair "Podcasting with Sister Agatha! Well, promoting Inside Man with the amazing Dolly Wells but you get the idea…". Sister Agatha is a reference to Well's character in Dracula - also written by Moffat.

Actress Lydia West who stars as Beth in Inside Man, replied to the post in the comments. She said "Counting down minutes till we all get to be together", which shows that the stars must have hit it off during filming. 

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Lucy Wigley
Parenting writer - contributing

Lucy is a mum-of-two, multi-award nominated writer and blogger with six years’ of experience writing about parenting, family life, and TV. Lucy has contributed content to PopSugar and moms.com. In the last three years, she has transformed her passion for streaming countless hours of television into specialising in entertainment writing. There is now nothing she loves more than watching the best shows on television and sharing why you - and your kids - should watch them.