Murder They Hope season 2: release date, cast, plot and all we know

Murder They Hope season 2 - Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson stand in a conservatory wearing bloodstained wedding clothes as Terry and Gemma.
Murder They Hope season 2 — Terry (Johnny Vegas) and Gemma (Sian Gibson) tackle more hilarious homicides as they get ready to tie the knot. (Image credit: UKTV)

Murder They Hope season 2 sees former coach tour operators-turned-sleuths Gemma and Terry back on the case to solve a host of bizarre new crimes.

Murder They Hope season 1 was a star-studded comedy-drama that debuted last year and now season 2 is a follow-up to delightfully daft whodunnits Murder on the Blackpool Express, Death on the Tyne and Dial M for Middlesbrough

Coming to Gold later this month, the new run sees Car Share's Sian Gibson and comedian Johnny Vegas return as the bickering couple who are now running their own private detective agency, while also getting ready for their upcoming wedding.

Here’s everything you need to know about Murder They Hope season 2

Murder They Hope 2 — release date

The three-part season will air nightly on Gold from Monday, October 24 to Wednesday, October 26 at 9 pm.

Murder They Hope 2  — where do we find Gemma and Terry?

As the pair undertake another batch of outlandish cases, they are also trying to gather listeners for the agency’s new podcast. But storm clouds are gathering as Terry’s surprising background returns to haunt him, while serial killing coach driver Willy Watkins (Not Going Out and The 1% Club's Lee Mack), who Gemma and Terry exposed in the last run, is now in prison but wants revenge on them…

“The private detective agency is still going but I wouldn’t recommend them!” laughs Gibson. “Gemma and Terry are preparing for their wedding but Gemma decides to fit in one last case before the big day. They begin the series as a team but trouble seems to follow them around and they soon become embroiled in an even bigger plot. Their relationship has never appeared to be completely stable has it?! But there is a huge test for them and the rocks are hit. There is definitely much more drama between them both…”

Lee Mack wearing glasses stands in the dock as Willy Watkins in Murder They Hope 2.

What plans does murderous Willy Watkins (Lee Mack) have up his sleeve for Gemma and Terry in Murder They Hope 2? (Image credit: UKTV)

What cases do Gemma and Terry tackle in Murder They Hope season 2?

The opening episode finds the pair going undercover at a couples’ counseling retreat/survival course in the woods after the company organizing it is targeted by death threats, but the Grim Reaper soon strikes and starts picking off the group one by one…

Sian Gibson and Johnny Vegas in camouflage gear as Gemma and Terry in Murder They Hope 2.

Gemma (Sian Gibson) and Terry (Johnny Vegas) try to unmask a killer on a survival course in Murder They Hope 2. (Image credit: UKTV)

In the second episode, the couple finally get to the hotel for their wedding day, but when a guest suddenly meets their maker, Gemma and Terry have to track down a killer before they can say their vows.

The finale sees Gemma dealing with some shocking revelations about Terry’s past as she is forced to team up with her sister Monica (Miranda’s Sarah Hadland) to investigate, but danger is on its way.

“Hopefully it gives everyone some light relief and a bit of a laugh. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and, after the rubbish couple of years we’ve all had, I think it’s just what people need,” says Gibson. “Jason [Cook, the show’s writer] manages to write characters who are larger than life and completely over the top but are yet somehow very relatable. I love how he combines the whodunnit element with comedy. I just hope it makes people smile!”

Who is in the cast?

In the opener, EastEnders and Ridley Road star Tamzin Outhwaite, Outnumbered’s Hugh Dennis, Peep Show’s Isy Suttie, Shooting Stars’ Dan Skinner, Famalam’s Danielle Vitalis and The Emily Atack Show’s Cole Anderson-James guest star as the warring couples on the retreat. 

Worzel Gummidge’s Vicki Pepperdine and Pennyworth’s Ramon Tikaram play the course’s quirky organizers, while Outnumbered’s Claire Skinner also appears as a mysterious woman keeping tabs on the group.

Isy Suttie, Danielle Vitalis, Tamzin Outhwaite and Dan Skinner in camouflage gear stand in a barren wilderness in Murder They Hope 2.

Isy Suttie, Danielle Vitalis, Tamzin Outhwaite and Dan Skinner play some of the outrageous participants on a couples' counselling survival course in Murder They Hope 2. (Image credit: UKTV)

The second episode sees Benidorm’s Sherrie Hewson join the cast as Gemma’s mum Patricia, while Poirot’s Philip Jackson is Patricia’s new boyfriend Phil and Bridget Jones’ Sally Phillips, Home’s Youssef Kerkour and Hollyoaks’ Joe Tracini are Phil’s children Alex, Bob and Glen. 

EastEnders’ Ellen Thomas also appears as a strange nanny. Meanwhile comic Jason Manford reprises his role as Gemma’s brother Freddie, alongside former Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati as his police officer wife Vicky.

Sarah Handland in a face mask as Monica is comforted by Sherrie Hewson in dressing gown and turban as Patricia in Murder They Hope 2.

Gemma's sister Monica (Sarah Hadland) needs comfort from their mum Patricia (Sherrie Hewson) in Murder They Hope 2. (Image credit: UKTV)

For the finale, QI and Extraordinary Escapes host Sandi Toksvig guests as Terry’s old friend Harry, a retired assassin who might be able to answer some questions that Gemma has…

“What a fabulous cast list, I felt like a competition winner!,” laughs Gibson. “Each episode has a new cast, so they all have a completely different energy. We had so much fun filming and every actor brought something brilliant. Some days were impossible because we were laughing so much.”

Sarah Hadland, Sian Gibson and Sandi Toksvig chat together on a yacht as Monica, Gemma and Harry in Murder The Hope 2.

Monica (Sarah Hadland) and Gemma (Sian Gibson) try to find out what Harry (Sandi Toksvig) knows in Murder They Hope 2. (Image credit: UKTV)

Is there a trailer?

Not yet, but if one is released, we will pop it up here!

Caren Clark

Caren has been a journalist specializing in TV for almost two decades and is a Senior Features Writer for TV Times, TV & Satellite Week and What’s On TV magazines and she also writes for What to Watch.


Over the years, she has spent many a day in a muddy field or an on-set catering bus chatting to numerous stars on location including the likes of Olivia Colman, David Tennant, Suranne Jones, Jamie Dornan, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi as well as Hollywood actors such as Glenn Close and Kiefer Sutherland.


Caren will happily sit down and watch any kind of telly (well, maybe not sci-fi!), but she particularly loves period dramas like Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey and The Crown and she’s also a big fan of juicy crime thrillers from Line of Duty to Poirot.


In her spare time, Caren enjoys going to the cinema and theatre or curling up with a good book.