Annika cast: who stars with Nicola Walker in the new Alibi drama series – and what time it starts tonight

Drama fans will be pleased to hear there is a new crime thriller hitting our screens.

Police procedural Annika is set to have us on the edge of our seats with its twists and turns.

But how do you watch the new series and who stars in it? Here’s everything you need to know.

The plaintive theme song signals that we are in Scandi-noir territory with this new crime drama – except that the original Norwegian setting of the successful BBC Radio Four series has been replaced by Scotland.

In this TV adaptation, DI Annika Standhed is a newly appointed head of the Marine Homicide Unit.

Annika has to win round her new team as they head out on their first case – a victim found with a harpoon in his head.

Throughout the series, Annika makes the audience her confidante by breaking the fourth wall and sharing her wry observations on the case and her life, as she manages her brilliant yet unconventional team, and her equally brilliant yet complex teenage daughter.

The six-part series is written by Nick Walker, and is the fourth UKTV Original for Alibi.

Phillippa Collie Cousins, UKTV drama commissioner, said: “Our new detective series Annika is a breath of fresh air: a whip smart detective, great cases and the glorious Scottish scenery.”

Nicola Walker

Actress Nicola Walker is best known for her roles as Ruth Evershed in Spooks from 2003 to 2011 and DCI Cassie Stuart in Unforgotten from 2015 to 2021.

The 51-year-old won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her part in play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and has been nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for Last Tango in Halifax twice.

Nicola Walker said of her latest role: “Annika navigates the world, her work and her home life in fabulously unique and unusual ways and I can’t wait to see her come to life in Scotland.”

Jamie Sives

Scottish actor Jamie Sives has appeared as Jeb Colman in The Guilty, DCI Jack Gosforth in In The Dark, and McTaggart in Frontier.

He plays DS Michael McAndrews.

Katie Leung

Katie made her name playing Cho Chang, the first love interest for lead character Harry Potter in the film adaptations.

She also appeared in The Nest, which was also set in Glasgow, and play Wild Swans.

She plays DC Blair Ferguson.

Ukweli Roach

Ukweli is known for his role as FBI psychiatrist Dr. Robert Borden on the American television series Blindspot, but he has also been in Dickensian and Grantchester.

He stars as DS Tyrone Clarke.

Kate Dickie

Kate Lex appeared as Rex in the BBC series Tinsel Town and Lysa Arryn in Game of Thrones, and also starred in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

She made her feature film debut in Red Road, for which she won a Scottish Bafta and British Independent Film Award for Best Actress.

She is playing DCI Diane Oban.

The first episode will be broadcast at 9pm on Tuesday 17 August on Alibi.

It’s airing across six installments at the same time every Tuesday, with each lasting an hour.