Ex Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly to play 'killer' teacher in ITV’s Innocent

Katherine Kelly
(Image credit: WireImage)

Katherine Kelly plays a character sent down for murder before being released on appeal

Former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly is to play a teacher locked up for murdering a 16-year-old pupil she was allegedly having an affair with in the second series of ITV’s Innocent.

The first, in which Katherine didn’t feature, starred George Gently’s Lee Ingleby as a man trying to prove his innocence after being put in prison for murdering his wife. It was repeated earlier this year.

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Lee Ingleby and Hermione Norris in the first series of Innocent (Image credit: Steffan Hill)

Now, Katherine Kelly, Corrie's Becky McDonald, will play a similar character fighting to prove their innocence.

Katherine reveals: “I’m thrilled to be working on this complex and thrilling drama by Matt Arlidge and Chris Lang. I look forward to bringing the mix of Sally’s fragility and quiet strength to life.”

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The plot revolves around teacher Sally (Katherine Kelly), who is sent to prison for murdering her 16-year-old pupil, Matty, who she was allegedly having an affair with.

The four-part drama opens with Sally, who’s lost everything including her marriage, appealing against her verdict. When she’s found not guilty, she sets about trying to help the police find the real killer. DCI Michael Braithwaite is determined to at last discover who really killed Matty...

The cast also includes Law & Order UK’s Jamie Bamber as Sally’s husband Sam and Gentleman Jack’s Shaun Dooley.

ITV Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair Jones, says: “Innocent II is a thriller which keeps you guessing to the very end.  Chris and Matt's brilliant scripts are compelling and the characters incredibly relatable.  We’re thrilled to be working again with TXTV and Chris Lang on a second instalment of Innocent.”

Innocent II is currently being filmed on location in the Lake District and Ireland. The original series went out in 2018 and attracted over seven million viewers for each of the four episodes (based on seven-day consolidated data).

It’s not yet been revealed when Innocent II will be shown (see our TV Guide for more shows to enjoy).

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.


Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 


David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.


Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!