The BBC's latest detective drama, Lynley, arrives on our screens on Monday night, with Leo Suter stepping into the role of DI Tommy Lynley. Based on Elizabeth George's novels, the series comes over twenty years after the 00s series, Inspector Lynley, starring Nathaniel Parker in the title role.
The new reboot follows Tommy Lynley, a talented, outsider detective who forms an unlikely partnership with maverick sergeant DS Barbara Havers (Sofia Barclay). The duo form a formidable team as they strive to see justice done.
© BBC / BritBoxWith excellent source material, a chalk-and-cheese detective duo and producers (Playground) with an impressive slate of shows (Wolf Hall, The Missing, and All Creatures Great and Small), there's no doubt viewers are in for a compelling watch.
But before you get stuck into the series, find out all you need to know about its leading star, Leo Suter. From his love life to his acting career, here's all you need to know.
Who is Leo Suter?
Leo Suter, 32, is an actor from London who is perhaps best known for playing Harald Hardrada in Vikings: Valhalla.
Just like his Lynley character, Leo is an Oxford University graduate. The actor read Human Sciences at New College, Oxford.
© BBC / BritBoxLeo, who is one of three children, was raised by his father, Tim, a former managing editor of current affairs at the BBC, and his mother, Dame Helen Alexander, an impressive businesswoman who was the former chief executive of the Economist and the first female president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Helen sadly died aged 60 of cancer in 2017.
Speaking about his mum, Leo told The Times: "I knew she was an amazing woman — she got a damehood and a CBE, we'd gone to the Palace. But [at her memorial service] the scale and weight of what she had done, how many people came up to us from her world of work, was really amazing to witness."
Leo's love life
Leo is married to American dancer, Haylee Roderick. The couple, who wed in 2023, recently became parents to a baby girl.
Haylee Roderick, 35, also has an impressive list of credits, having appeared as a dancer in Glee, Grease: Live, High School Musical 3: Senior Year and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. Haylee also performed at the 82nd Academy Awards, alongside a number of other dancers, and was an assistant choreographer on the 2022 film starring Amy Adams, Disenchanted.
Leo's acting career
After supporting roles in TV shows like Clique and Victoria, Leo landed his big break in the Netflix historical drama, Vikings: Valhalla, in which he played the ferocious Harald Hardrada. Viewers may also recognise the actor for his role as Young Stringer in the period drama, Sanditon.
More recently, Leo starred in Gurinder Chadha's star-studded festive flick, Christmas Karma, a musical drama adaptation of the Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Leo, who played Bob Cratchit in the film, starred alongside the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Kunal Nayyar and Danny Dyer.
© True Brit EntertainmentSpeaking to HELLO! last year, Pixie Lott, who played Mary Cratchit, hailed her on-screen husband Leo as a "really fab actor and a really nice guy".
Lynley premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on Monday 5 January at 8.30pm.
