Cleddau Returns for Series 2 With a Dating-App Killer, a Body in the River and a Personal Threat for Ffion
The idyllic Pembrokeshire coastline is about to become the setting for another disturbing investigation.
Cleddau will return to television with a six-part second series in October 2026, bringing Elen Rhys and Richard Harrington back as DI Ffion Lloyd and DS Rick Sheldon. S4C has already unveiled the first images from the new episodes, teasing a case that appears even more closely tied to Ffion’s personal life than the first.
The investigation begins when a body is discovered in the Cleddau River.
What initially looks like a murder soon develops into something much more sinister. Police suspect a killer may be stealing identities and using an online dating service to lure women into dangerous situations.
The twist is particularly uncomfortable for Ffion: she is using that same dating platform herself.
Meanwhile, Rick is now separated and single, putting the former couple back together professionally while their complicated history remains unresolved.
A body in the river opens a disturbing case
The second series starts with the discovery of a body in the Cleddau River.
As Ffion and her colleagues investigate, evidence begins pointing toward a suspect who may be creating false identities and approaching women through an online dating service.
The method makes the investigation particularly difficult. The person behind the profiles can appear trustworthy while concealing their real identity, allowing victims to become vulnerable before realizing the danger.
For Ffion, the case has an added dimension.
She has recently started using the dating service herself as she attempts to move forward with her life. That means she is investigating a threat operating within a world she has personally entered.
The women at the heart of the case are placing their trust in people they meet online. Ffion knows exactly why someone might make that choice because she has been doing the same thing.
Ffion and Rick face another complicated reunion
The relationship between Ffion and Rick was central to the first series.
They may have worked together as detectives, but their professional relationship was complicated by the fact that they were once romantically involved. Old feelings, resentment and unresolved questions followed them into the investigation.
Series 2 does not erase that history.
Instead, Ffion is attempting to put the past behind her by dating again, while Rick is now separated and single.
That could make their situation simpler.
Or, more likely, much messier.
The two detectives must once again work side by side while investigating a case built around trust, intimacy and deception — themes that inevitably echo their own complicated relationship.
Pembrokeshire remains a character in its own right
The first-look images once again showcase the rugged beauty of Pembrokeshire.
S4C released the new images during the Pembrokeshire County Show, emphasizing the West Wales coastline and landscapes that provide the backdrop for the latest investigation.
The contrast is central to the atmosphere of Cleddau.
The region offers spectacular scenery, yet beneath those peaceful views lies a murder investigation involving false identities and vulnerable victims.
That clash between beautiful surroundings and disturbing crimes helped define the first series and remains a major part of the show’s identity.
Elen Rhys returns as DI Ffion Lloyd
Elen Rhys reprises her role as DI Ffion Lloyd, following her acclaimed performance in the first series.
Rhys is also known for The Mallorca Files and Craith/Hidden, and her work on Cleddau earned her a Best Actress nomination at the BAFTA Cymru Awards.
Ffion has never been portrayed as a detective who can simply leave her personal life behind when she enters the police station.
Her history with Rick has always influenced the way she approaches her work, and the new series takes that idea even further.
Her decision to begin dating again is now directly connected to the investigation itself, making the threat feel much closer than an ordinary police case.
Richard Harrington returns as Rick Sheldon
The actor is already familiar to fans of Welsh crime drama through his acclaimed role in Hinterland, and his return to Cleddau reunites him with Rhys for another investigation.
Rick’s circumstances have changed since the first series. He is now separated and single, while Ffion is attempting to rebuild her personal life.
That creates another layer of uncertainty around their relationship.
Whether their new circumstances bring them closer or make working together even more complicated remains one of the series’ key emotional questions.
Familiar faces return
Several members of the supporting cast are also returning.
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, alongside William Thomas as Griff Lloyd. Rhian Blythe returns as Helen Sheldon, and Hannah Daniel reprises her role as Lisa Redwood.
Their presence ensures that the second series continues within the same established world rather than starting again with an entirely new cast.
New characters enter the mystery
The new season will also introduce several new characters.
Saran Morgan joins the cast as DC Catrin Duffy. Garmon Rhys plays Tom Danbridge, Mabli Jên Eustace appears as Manon Grant and Gareth David-Lloyd joins as Liam Floyd.
Details about their individual roles have not all been revealed, meaning viewers will have to wait to discover which characters are colleagues, witnesses, suspects or something less straightforward.
Given the series’ emphasis on deception and hidden motives, appearances may not tell the whole story.
The series continues its bilingual production
One of Cleddau’s defining features remains unchanged.
The drama is produced separately in Welsh and English rather than being filmed once and subsequently dubbed.
The Welsh-language version retains the title Cleddau, while the English-language edition is known as The One That Got Away.
Banijay Rights handles international distribution of the English-language production.
The approach means viewers effectively receive two versions of the same drama, with the bilingual production forming an important part of the series’ identity.
Six episodes will tell the new story
Like the first season, Series 2 will consist of six 50-minute episodes.
That format allows the writers to develop the central investigation while giving enough space to explore the personal relationship between Ffion and Rick.
The first series gradually connected its murder mystery with secrets from the past. This time, the focus shifts toward a distinctly modern threat involving online dating and stolen identities.
The shorter episode count should keep the mystery focused while allowing the emotional story to develop alongside it.
Catherine Tregenna remains at the centre of the writing
Cleddau was created by Catherine Tregenna, whose previous credits include Three Pines, Law & Order: UK, Lewis, DCI Banks and The Bench.
Tregenna returns to write the second series, while Hanna Jarman and Matthew Glyn Jones adapt the scripts into Welsh.
Siôn Ifan directs the new episodes, with Philip Trethowan and Ben Bickerton of Blacklight serving as executive producers.
The production continues to receive support from the Welsh Government through Creative Wales.
That continuity behind the camera should help preserve the combination of crime investigation, psychological tension and character drama that made the first season distinctive.
The first series established Ffion and Rick’s complicated partnership
When Cleddau first premiered, Ffion and Rick were reunited professionally after the murder of a nurse shook their West Wales community.
The investigation quickly became more than a search for a killer. As they uncovered secrets from the past, both detectives were forced to confront their own unresolved history.
That combination of personal drama and police investigation helped separate Cleddau from more conventional procedural shows.
The murder remained central, but solving it also had consequences for the detectives themselves.
The second series appears to continue that approach, with the latest case potentially bringing the danger even closer to Ffion.
A major success for S4C
The decision to renew Cleddau followed a strong response to its first series.
S4C reported that the drama achieved the highest average viewing sessions of any non-sport and non-children’s series on the service, while earning an Audience Index score of 86.
It subsequently became S4C’s No. 1 show of 2025.
The series also performed strongly on BBC Four, where it recorded figures 228% above the channel’s slot average.
The results demonstrated that the drama could reach audiences beyond viewers already familiar with Welsh-language television, while its bilingual format also helped make the production more accessible internationally.
Awards recognition followed its success
The series received significant industry recognition as well.
Cleddau won Best Drama at the 2025 RTS Cymru Wales Awards and received four BAFTA Cymru nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Elen Rhys.
The recognition reinforced the series’ position as one of S4C’s most successful recent scripted dramas and gave the returning story a strong foundation.
Why the new mystery could be even more unsettling
The dating-app premise gives Series 2 a very different kind of threat.
Online dating is an ordinary part of modern life. People exchange messages with strangers, decide whether they seem trustworthy and sometimes arrange to meet in person.
Cleddau takes that familiar experience and turns it into the basis of a murder mystery.
The suspected killer is believed to steal identities before using a dating service to approach women. The danger therefore begins not with an obvious villain, but with someone presenting themselves as trustworthy.
That makes deception central to the case long before the violence becomes apparent.
Ffion is dangerously close to the case
Ffion’s own use of the dating service makes the investigation more personal.
She understands the vulnerability involved because she is navigating the same environment as the women connected to the case.
At the same time, she is still dealing with the emotional consequences of her relationship with Rick.
That creates an intriguing parallel between the investigation and Ffion’s personal life: both involve deciding whether someone deserves her trust.
The difference is that one wrong judgment in the investigation could have far more serious consequences.
Rick’s new circumstances add another complication
Rick’s separation and single status create another emotional complication.
Ffion has been trying to move forward, while Rick is now in a position where the possibility of their relationship changing again cannot simply be ignored.
With the pair working together on a case about dating, identity and trust, their unresolved history becomes impossible to keep entirely separate from the investigation.
Whether that ultimately brings them together or pushes them further apart remains one of the season’s biggest unanswered questions.
When will Cleddau Series 2 arrive?
The second series of Cleddau is confirmed to premiere in October 2026, although an exact date has not yet been announced.
The six-part season will air on S4C, BBC iPlayer and S4C Clic. The English-language version, The One That Got Away, will continue to be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.
For viewers who have yet to discover the first investigation, Series 1 is available through S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.
After an award-winning debut and strong viewing figures, Cleddau returns with a mystery that feels connected to its original story without simply repeating it.
The Pembrokeshire landscape remains. Ffion and Rick remain. But this time, the danger begins with a stranger hiding behind a dating profile — and Ffion may be much closer to the threat than she realizes.
