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Time season 2: everything we know, including cast, release date and more

Siobhan Finneran and Bella Ramsey star alongside Jodie Whittaker and Tamara Lawrance

Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance, Bella Ramsey in Time
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Time season one was a huge hit with fans and critics alike, and it looks like season two will be just as brilliant! The prison drama is returning to our screens on Sunday night and this time, viewers will be taken inside a women's prison. 

The series follows the lives of three very different inmates, Orla, Abi and Kelsey, and promises to be a "moving and high-stakes" portrayal of life inside the fictional Carlingford Prison. Intrigued? Keep reading for everything you need to know about the drama, including the plot, cast and release date. 

WATCH: Jodie Whittaker stars in Time series two

What is Time series 2 about? 

The official synopsis reads: "Told through the lens of three very different inmates, Time is a moving and high-stakes portrayal of life inside a women's prison.

"Arriving at Carlingford Prison on the same day, Orla, Abi and Kelsey are thrown together to face an unfamiliar world. But even with the ever-present threat of violence within its walls, they discover that an unexpected sense of community, and a shared understanding, still might be possible."

Jodie Whittaker as Orla in Time© Sally Mais
Jodie Whittaker as Orla in Time

Teasing the series, actress Tamara Lawrance said: "Time is a series that follows predominantly the storylines of three women who have come into prison for very different reasons and who, for most of the show, share a cell and interact with each other. It's about loss, it's about redemption, it's about grief, and family, and friendship, connection and the lack of it, and also transformation – I think every character sort of evolves through their circumstance. 

"So I think resilience is probably the salient theme and I hope that compassion, understanding and a new perspective is what people take away from it the most."

Who stars in Time series 2? Meet the cast

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker leads the cast as mum-of-three Orla, who is sent down for six months. Meanwhile, Tamara Lawrance will play Abi, whose serving a life sentence for a crime she's trying to keep under wraps. 

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey will play 19-year-old heroin addict Kelsey, with Happy Valley actress Siobhan Finneran returning as the prison chaplain, Marie-Louise.

Ramsey as Kelsey in Time © Sally Mais
Ramsey as Kelsey

Creator and writer Jimmy McGovern said of the cast: "This is the best cast I have ever seen assembled for any drama of mine. The best crew, too. I am so, so looking forward to it."

Speaking about feeling connected to her character, Jodie told the BBC: "I'm very lucky to not have come from Orla’s world, but I feel as if there's so much of Orla that feels very within me and kind of within all of us. 

Tamara Lawrance as Abi in Time© Sally Mais
Tamara Lawrance as Abi

"Orla’s a lioness and the decisions around the need to keep her cubs shows the fierceness of that. She emotionally leads to decisions, not academically leads to decisions, and that is me all over."

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Time series 2 release date and where to watch 

Time series 2 will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 29 October at 9pm. Series 1 is available to stream on iPlayer.

Tamara Lawrance and Siobhan Finneran in Time © Matt Squire
Siobhan Finneran plays Marie-Louise

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