Trevor Eve returns to ITV1 tonight as international hostage negotiator, Dominic King, in the second series of Kidnap & Ransom.

Helen Baxendale (Cold Feet) reprises her role as Angela Beddoes, King’s business partner, alongside Amara Karan (Doctor Who) as Carrie Heath and Natasha Little (Mistresses) as Dominic’s wife Sophie King.

Series 2 begins at 9pm on Thursday 23rd February on ITV1.

Here, writer Michael Crompton (Silent Witness) introduces the second series…

“The initial inspiration for this series of Kidnap & Ransom was the hijacking of a bus in Rio de Janeiro in 1993. A small time criminal and drug addict got on board bus 174 and started to use the passengers as hostages. The police were ill equipped and badly trained and the criminal became part of something that spiralled out of control – when the hijacking came to an end he was taken into custody and murdered by police officers.

“The hijacking was filmed live and then later made into a documentary. One of the passengers was forced to write messages on the bus window using her lipstick; which is one of several small details we use in the series.

“The Manila coach crisis was a relatively recent event (2007) in which a disgruntled police officer hijacked a bus full of tourists. When the elite police unit tried to storm the bus (live on television) they found it very difficult to break in, giving the hijacker time to execute a number of the tourists on board. This terrible event made me realise how difficult it was to end a siege like this without there being bloodshed.

“Over the years there have been a number of similar events where tourists have been used as hostages. In 1995 a coach was hijacked in Kashmir by a group of terrorists. There were six hostages taken; two British, two American, a German and a Norwegian. The kidnappers demanded the release of prisoners in Pakistan. Despite negotiations from the various embassies, terms were never agreed.

“One of the Americans managed to escape but the Norwegian was beheaded and the remaining hostages were never found again. This event gave me the location of the series. Kashmir has a history of political and social unrest. It’s also one of the most beautiful places in the world and a real tourist attraction.“

> Buy the Series 1 DVD on Amazon.

Are you looking forward to Series 2? Let us know below…