From former Hollyoaks writers Neil Jones, David Allison and Chris Parker, the second series of Sky Living’s supernatural drama Bedlam sees EastEnders actress Lacey Turner and a new cast take up residency at the bedevilled Bedlam Heights to vanquish the demons that plague their lives, but their adversaries prove to come in both ghostly and human form.
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Episode 1
Wednesday 6th June 2012, 10pm
Four new residents of Bedlam Heights, owned by Warren Bettany (Hugo Speer), are set to be drawn even closer to their darkest fears. Ellie (Lacey Turner) has lost her fiancé and her job as a paramedic as she has become increasingly plagued by visions of ghosts and how they died.
She is drawn to the apartment block, now rebranded as Brightmoor, believing that discovering the truth behind the history of the now-swanky address will set her free. Her search for liberation leads her to Max (Jack Roth), a barman, Bedlam resident and ghost fanatic willing to help her when no one else will.
His room-mate Dan (Nikesh Patel) also has a keen interest in the building, if only from a business perspective and for its suitability for charming a fleeting array of female acquaintances, but underneath his freshly pressed suit and beaming confidence lurks a restless secret. And fellow resident Kiera (Gemma Chan) is just as complex. Outwardly vocal but with an innate vulnerability, she has the potential to get in all kinds of trouble, as we discover when Kate (Charlotte Salt) arrives home.
Every effort is made by Warren to release his business from the crippling grip of its past. But is he fighting an irrepressible force?
Episode 2
Wednesday 13th June 2012, 10pm
Cass (Kathryn Prescott, Skins), who also recently moved to the apartments, is a professional swimmer going for gold. But when Ellie has numerous visions of a woman being tortured in the building’s swimming pool, she fears far more is at stake than Cass’s medal chances. Dismissive of Ellie’s warnings despite her own eerie experiences, the newcomer is at the mercy of what lurks in the water.
Meanwhile, Dan continues to play his cards close to his chest and it appears his interest in this former asylum is not solely a matter of business. Ghost-buff Max causes exasperation all round as Ellie finds his enthusiasm overbearing and his blog undermines Warren’s rebranding project. However, the Brightmoor owner has other reasons to be unsettled as it emerges he and Ellie share some perturbing similarities.
Episode 3
Wednesday 20th June 2012, 10pm
The peal of wedding bells thunder in the ears of the residents as Ellie (Lacey Turner) foresees a hitch that could ruin the big day for bride Reeta (Tiana Benjamin, EastEnders) and groom Ed (Oliver Mellor, Coronation Street). Diverting her attention to Dan (Nikesh Patel), rather than table decorations and seating plans, it’s clear Reeta has doubts. What plagues her, however, is far worse than pre-wedding jitters.
Max (Jack Roth) has a run of bad luck with the ladies and it turns out Reeta is an old flame, but this reunion isn’t half as awkward as things with Ellie when she discovers he posted her sketches on his blog. Little does she know that Max too is searching for answers to a personal trauma.
Dan, on the other hand, is on top form, as he works his magic on Reeta. He has proved himself indispensible to Warren (Hugo Speer), who further fears for his sanity after images of Kate plaster his walls, then suddenly disappear. Dan seems supportive, but the descent of the Brightmoor owner is precisely what he wants.
Since settling in Bedlam, Ellie has received several visits from an apprehensive apparition. Unsure of its significance, will it re-appear to explain itself, or continue to leave puzzling clues?
Episode 4
Wednesday 27th June 2012, 10pm
Repairman Scott (guest star Lee Mead) and his ten-year-old brother Jude are the latest residents to settle into Brightmoor. Informed by Scott that the young sibling doesn’t talk, Max is mortified to hear Jude chillingly chant the last rites, but whose soul are they intended to save?
Erupting into a blind rage, the boy brings the broken appliances around the apartment back to life, and it is apparent he is no ordinary troubled child. Ellie’s vision of a boy subjected to electro-convulsive torture could be linked to Jude’s surge of anger, but her other eerie predictions indicate a shock to the system is in store for Scott.
Elsewhere in Bedlam, sabotage is on the agenda. Dan makes a play for Kiera and has a revelation designed to floor Warren. Max, meanwhile, insists that his blossoming friendship with Ellie is grounded on honesty. But is he being truthful to himself about his feelings? Her life-changing news will halt any impending romance in its tracks.
Episode 5
Wednesday 4th July 2012, 10pm
There are strange stirrings a foot when guest star Joel Fry (Trollied) breaks in to the former asylum’s old chapel to conduct an occult-style midnight ceremony. Liam’s (Fry) friends, Taylor and Chanel, see his behaviour as an act of rebellion against his fervently religious father, but the dissenter is left mystified when a crucifix he threw in a fit of rage suddenly restores itself to its original place.
Back in Brightmoor and unaware of what these dabblers of the dark arts are up to, Ellie has a vision of a ghostly Chaplain. Sensing that danger is imminent but unsure of where to find the scene from her premonition, she and Max race to locate the church, dreading what they might find.
Max leaves Ellie to search alone after receiving a text from Silverbullet, a fellow Bedlam Watcher who claims to have information about the asylum’s otherworldly residents, asking to meet. The encounter takes a sour turn when Dan is revealed to be Silverbullet, and in turn is infuriated to discover that his roommate is the rabble-rouser ruining his business image. Dan can usually talk his way out of anything, but he is left lost for words after a revealing rebuttal from Max.
Episode 6
Wednesday 11th July 2012, 10pm
The residents of Bedlam certainly haven’t had it easy, but it’s time to confront their deadliest demons in this chilling climax.
Max is known to relish all things supernatural, but when he sees an apparition of his dead father, he doesn’t know whether to feel horrified or hopeful. Consumed with questions, he turns to Ellie, only to find that she’s decided to make tracks and move away. Can her convince her to stay? She’s his only hope of understanding the vision, but Ellie fears probing into the paranormal will bring more atrocities than answers.
Past sins come back to haunt Warren when two residents seek explanations from him. Has the time come to confess and repent? Meanwhile, Ellie and Max take a turn down a terrifying path – where will it take them?
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