Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp have started filming the new mini-season of Scott and Bailey on location in Manchester.

Three new episodes of ITV’s hit crime drama will tell a single story “with scale and ambition as Scott and Bailey tackle one of the biggest and darkest cases they have ever had to face.”

Scott and Bailey launched in 2011 and the crime drama’s eight-part fourth season concluded on ITV last October.

> Buy Season 4 on DVD on Amazon.

The new episodes are written by Lee Warburton and Paul Logan.

The official synopsis reads: “With DCI Gill Murray in retirement, ever-ambitious Rachel (Suranne Jones) returns from her Vice secondment fired up and full of new ideas and initiatives. She’s gained valuable experience and really wants to make her mark as she returns to Syndicate 9’s Murder Squad.

“Exhilarated to step up to the plate, Rachel is exactly who Janet (Lesley Sharp) and the Squad need to move forward with a terrifying and sinister Internet crime investigation of epic scale and unrelenting horror. Using her Vice authorisation, Rachel accesses a disturbing world where people brag about committing murder and lay down the gauntlet for the next victim.

“A game of ruthless life or death daring develops, as Scott & Bailey investigate multiple killers with horrifying and everlasting consequences. They will be changed forever and the investigation will take a devastating toll on their private, professional and personal lives.”

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