Award-Winning Welsh Crime Drama Cleddau Returns With a Dating-App Killer, a Body in the River and a Dangerous Personal Connection

One of Wales’ most atmospheric crime dramas is heading back to television this autumn — and its second case sounds considerably more personal for DI Ffion Lloyd.

Cleddau will return for a six-part second series in October 2026, bringing Elen Rhys and Richard Harrington back as detectives Ffion Lloyd and Rick Sheldon. S4C has now released the first images from the new episodes, once again placing the dramatic Pembrokeshire coastline at the center of the series.

But the beautiful West Wales scenery is about to become the backdrop for something much darker. The new investigation begins when a body is discovered in the Cleddau River. As police start piecing together what happened, they suspect they are dealing with a killer who steals identities and uses a dating service to lure women into danger.

And there is a particularly disturbing complication. Ffion has been using the very same dating service herself.

After the personal turmoil that complicated her relationship with Rick during the first series, she has been trying to move on. Rick, meanwhile, is now separated and single — meaning the former lovers are once again entering an emotionally complicated investigation at exactly the wrong time.

A Body in the Cleddau River Starts the New Mystery

Series two begins with a discovery that immediately puts the investigative team on alert. A body is found in the Cleddau River.

What initially appears to be another murder investigation gradually develops into something more unsettling as detectives uncover evidence suggesting that someone may be assuming false identities and targeting women through an online dating service.

The killer appears to be using modern technology to get close to victims before they understand who they are really dealing with.

For Ffion, however, this is not simply another case. The same platform at the center of the investigation is one she has been using while attempting to rebuild her personal life.

That connection places her uncomfortably close to the methods of the person she is trying to catch.

It also gives the new series a particularly effective psychological premise. Ffion is investigating women whose willingness to trust someone online may have put them in danger, while knowing she has recently been navigating the same unfamiliar world herself.

Ffion and Rick Are Back Together — Professionally, at Least

The relationship between Ffion and Rick was one of the strongest elements of the first series. They were not simply detectives assigned to the same murder. They were former lovers with unresolved history.

That meant every development in the investigation existed alongside something more personal: resentment, affection, regret and the question of whether either of them had really moved on.

Series two does not simply erase that history. Instead, it appears ready to complicate it further. Ffion has been trying to put the relationship behind her by dating again.

Rick is now separated. On paper, that might make the situation simpler. In reality, it may do exactly the opposite.

The two detectives must once again work closely together while investigating a case involving intimacy, deception and the dangers of trusting someone who may not be what they appear.

That gives the new mystery a thematic connection to their own relationship without making the crime merely a backdrop for romance.

Pembrokeshire Remains Essential to Cleddau

The newly released first-look images make clear that West Wales will once again be more than scenery. Pembrokeshire’s coastline remains one of the defining visual elements of the drama. S4C released the images during the Pembrokeshire County Show, highlighting the region’s rugged coastline and landscapes that serve as the setting for Ffion and Rick’s latest investigation.

It is an effective contrast. On one side is some of the most striking coastal scenery in Britain. On the other is a murder investigation built around anonymity, false identities and victims being drawn toward someone they believe they can trust.

That tension between beautiful surroundings and disturbing crimes helped give the first season its particular atmosphere. Series two appears determined to preserve it.

Elen Rhys Returns as DI Ffion Lloyd

Elen Rhys once again leads the series as DI Ffion Lloyd. Rhys, whose other credits include The Mallorca Files and Craith/Hidden, received significant praise for the first season and was subsequently nominated for Best Actress at the BAFTA Cymru Awards.

Ffion is not written as an emotionally detached detective. Her personal history is woven directly into the investigations, particularly through Rick.

That became one of the defining features of the first series, distinguishing Cleddau from crime dramas where the detectives’ personal lives exist almost entirely outside the central mystery.

In series two, that approach becomes even more pronounced. Ffion’s attempt to start dating again is directly connected to the case she is investigating.

It means the threat does not remain safely confined to police files, crime scenes and interrogation rooms. It enters territory she has recently been navigating herself.

Richard Harrington Is Back as DS Rick Sheldon

Richard Harrington returns alongside Rhys as DS Rick Sheldon. Harrington is already closely associated with Welsh crime television through his acclaimed role in Hinterland, and Cleddau gives him another detective character operating within the distinctive landscapes of Wales.

Rick’s circumstances have changed since the first investigation. He is now separated and single.

That development becomes particularly significant when placed alongside Ffion’s attempt to move on by dating other people.

Whether that draws the two former lovers closer or makes their working relationship even harder remains one of the emotional questions hanging over the new series.

What is clear is that the drama is not resetting their relationship simply to manufacture another procedural case. Their history remains part of the story.

Several Familiar Faces Are Returning

Rhys and Harrington will be joined by a number of returning cast members. Mali Ann Rees reprises her role as DC “Mogsy” Morgan, while Aled Pugh returns as DS Celyn Howells.

Sharon Morgan is back as Delyth Lloyd, with William Thomas returning as Griff Lloyd. Rhian Blythe reprises her role as Helen Sheldon, while Hannah Daniel returns as Lisa Redwood.

Their return gives the second series continuity rather than treating the first story as a completely self-contained mystery. The world surrounding Ffion and Rick therefore remains intact even as the investigation changes.

New Characters Join the Investigation

The second series also introduces several new faces. Saran Morgan joins the cast as DC Catrin Duffy. Garmon Rhys plays Tom Danbridge, while Mabli Jên Eustace appears as Manon Grant. Gareth David-Lloyd joins as Liam Floyd.

Their exact roles within the investigation have not all been detailed, leaving plenty of room for the new characters to become suspects, witnesses, colleagues or something more complicated as the six episodes unfold.

Given the structure of the first series, viewers should probably be cautious about assuming anyone is exactly what they initially appear to be.

Cleddau Is Still Being Made Twice

One of the most distinctive elements of the production remains unchanged. Cleddau is not simply filmed once and then dubbed into another language. The series is produced back-to-back in both Welsh and English.

The Welsh-language version retains the title Cleddau. The English-language edition is called The One That Got Away.

Banijay Rights handles international distribution of the English-language production. That means audiences are effectively receiving two performances of the same drama rather than one version with replacement dialogue recorded afterward.

It is an unusual production method, but one that has become fundamental to the show’s identity.

Six Episodes Keep the Mystery Focused

Like the first series, the new season will consist of six 50-minute episodes. That compact structure suits the type of story Cleddau tells.

There is enough time to develop the police investigation, suspects and personal relationships without stretching the mystery far beyond its natural length.

The first series used that format to gradually expose connections between a present-day murder and secrets buried in the past.

Series two replaces that particular mystery with something more contemporary: online dating, stolen identities and the frightening possibility that the person on the other side of a screen may not exist at all.

Catherine Tregenna Returns to Write the Series

Cleddau remains the creation of Catherine Tregenna. Her previous television credits include Three Pines, Law & Order: UK, Lewis, DCI Banks and The Bench.

Tregenna again writes the second series, with Hanna Jarman and Matthew Glyn Jones adapting the scripts into Welsh.

Siôn Ifan directs the new episodes. Philip Trethowan and Ben Bickerton of Blacklight serve as executive producers.

The production is once again supported by the Welsh Government through Creative Wales. That continuity behind the camera should help preserve the combination of police procedural, psychological thriller and relationship drama that distinguished the first season.

The First Series Began With Another Murder in a Quiet Welsh Community

When Cleddau first introduced Ffion and Rick, the former couple were forced back together professionally after the murder of a nurse shook their West Wales community.

The case did more than lead them toward a killer. It opened up secrets from the past and forced both detectives to confront unresolved parts of their own history.

That emotional element separated the drama from a straightforward murder-of-the-week format.

The crime mattered. But so did what solving it did to the people involved. The second series appears built around the same principle.

This time, the investigation may strike even closer to Ffion’s personal life.

Series One Became a Major Success for S4C

The decision to bring Cleddau back was supported by impressive viewing figures.

S4C said the first series achieved the highest average viewing sessions of any non-sport and non-children’s series on the service, while recording an Audience Index score of 86.

It later became S4C’s No. 1 show of 2025. Its BBC Four performance was similarly strong, running 228% above the channel’s slot average.

Those numbers showed that the drama had found an audience well beyond viewers already familiar with Welsh-language television. The bilingual production also made it easier for the same story to travel internationally.

Awards Recognition Followed

Audience success was accompanied by critical recognition. Cleddau won Best Drama at the 2025 RTS Cymru Wales Awards. It also received four BAFTA Cymru nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Elen Rhys. For a relatively compact six-part crime drama, the response helped establish Cleddau as one of S4C’s most notable recent scripted successes. It also strengthened the argument for returning to Ffion and Rick rather than treating their story as a single limited series.

Critics Responded to More Than the Mystery

The first series earned particular praise for its atmosphere and character work.

When S4C announced the renewal, it highlighted reviews comparing the drama with earlier Welsh noir such as Hinterland, while other critics praised the way the show balanced psychological crime storytelling with the complicated relationship between its central detectives.

That balance is important. A coastal serial-killer mystery can easily become familiar territory.

What gave Cleddau its own identity was the combination of the landscape, Welsh setting, bilingual production and unresolved emotional connection between Ffion and Rick. Series two appears to be leaning even harder into those strengths.

The Dating-App Story Gives the New Series a Different Kind of Fear

The premise of the new investigation feels especially effective because the danger begins with something completely ordinary. Millions of people use dating apps. They exchange messages with strangers.

They decide whether another person appears trustworthy. Eventually, some agree to meet. Cleddau turns that familiar interaction into the foundation of its new mystery. The suspected killer is believed to be stealing identities before using a dating service to lure women to their deaths.

That means the threat does not begin with someone obviously frightening. It begins with someone presenting themselves as safe. The difference is important. The mystery is built around deception before violence ever occurs.

Ffion’s Connection Makes the Case Harder to Keep at a Distance

Making Ffion a user of the same dating service prevents the story from remaining abstract. She understands why someone might use it. She has done exactly that. She has also been trying to move forward emotionally after the complications surrounding Rick.

That creates an uncomfortable parallel. The women at the center of the investigation were presumably looking for connection. So was Ffion. Now she has to investigate what happens when that vulnerability is deliberately exploited.

The case therefore has the potential to challenge her not only as a detective but also as someone who has recently made herself vulnerable in precisely the same environment.

Rick Being Single Complicates Everything

Then there is Rick. Ffion has been trying to move on. But Rick is now separated and single.

That detail would be complicated enough without a murder investigation forcing them together every day. Placed against a case involving dating, identity and trust, it becomes even more significant. The first series demonstrated that whatever existed between Ffion and Rick had never become emotionally simple.

Series two now places both characters in circumstances where the possibility of reconnecting may be harder to ignore. Whether they actually should is another question entirely. And that uncertainty gives the crime drama another layer of tension beyond identifying the killer.

Pembrokeshire Again Provides the Perfect Welsh-Noir Backdrop

The first images from the new series once again emphasize the physical beauty of Pembrokeshire.

That landscape is one of Cleddau’s greatest visual advantages. Wide coastal views can create a sense of freedom and openness.

Crime drama uses them differently. The same empty coastline can make characters appear isolated. Rivers become places where bodies can disappear. Remote roads become threatening. Small communities can feel both intimate and claustrophobic because everyone appears connected somehow. Cleddau understands that contradiction. Its West Wales setting can be breathtaking and unsettling in the same shot.

The Production Team Saw More Stories in Ffion and Rick

Producer Mared Swain said the reaction to the original season encouraged the creative team to explore what else could be done with the characters and world Catherine Tregenna had created.

She described returning to Pembrokeshire with the cast and crew as a privilege and said audiences could expect another “gripping and unexpected investigation” this autumn. That description is significant because the new season does not appear interested in simply recreating the first mystery with different victims. The central detectives are the same. The landscape is the same. But the threat is new and distinctly contemporary.

Cleddau Is Becoming More Than a One-Off Mystery

The renewal also marks an interesting evolution for the series. What began as a six-part murder mystery is developing into an ongoing crime drama built around Ffion and Rick.

That places greater importance on the detectives themselves. A limited series can end once the killer is identified. A returning drama needs characters whose lives audiences are willing to revisit. The success of series one suggests viewers responded to Ffion and Rick strongly enough to want another investigation. Series two now has the opportunity to deepen those characters rather than simply repeat what worked before.

The Case Looks Designed to Be Both Disturbing and Personal

A body in a river. Stolen identities. Women being targeted through dating profiles. A detective using the same service. Her former lover newly single.

Those elements give Cleddau series two a premise capable of working on several levels simultaneously. There is the immediate mystery of who is behind the killings. There is the question of how the victims were selected.

There is the challenge of discovering which identities are genuine. And underneath all of it remains the unresolved question of what Ffion and Rick mean to each other now. That mixture of murder investigation and emotional complication was the foundation of the show’s first success. The new story gives it an even sharper edge.

When Does Cleddau Series 2 Premiere?

The exact October premiere date has not yet been announced, but S4C has confirmed that the six-part second series will arrive in October 2026 on S4C, BBC iPlayer and S4C Clic. The English-language version, The One That Got Away, will continue to be distributed internationally through Banijay Rights.

For viewers who have not yet seen the original investigation, series one is currently available through S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer. After an award-winning debut, strong viewing figures and a mystery that introduced one of Welsh television’s more complicated detective partnerships, Cleddau now has something many returning crime dramas struggle to achieve.

Its second case feels connected to the first without feeling like a repeat. The coast is familiar. Ffion and Rick are familiar. But this time, the danger begins with a stranger behind a dating profile — and for Ffion Lloyd, that may make the investigation uncomfortably close to home.