With Series 1 ending on such an explosive note, the opening episode of Bedlam’s second series had to impress. With half the show’s cast leaving to work on other projects, unfortunately this has meant the axing most of the original characters. But hey, cast revamps certainly didn’t do the latest series of Being Human or Misfits any harm.

It’s six months later and Jed, our haunted, hunky protagonist is dead, apparently killed by the crumbling cellar of Bedlam Heights as he was set to uncover the secret of the former asylum, and his identity. His plucky bisexual sidekick, Ryan, has vanished, his absence remains unexplained. However, the death and absence of the two male leads is somewhat alleviated when it’s revealed that, despite jumping into an ominous white van at the end of the last series, Molly is now in Thailand, where Kate (Charlotte Salt) has just returned home from.

Except home isn’t Bedlam Heights; it’s been rebranded by sleazy salesman Dan (Nikesh Patel) as ‘Brightmoor’. And Kate is barely in the door before she’s snatched, possibly by the branded man (Tam Dean Burn) seen at the end of the first series. Not that anyone notices, including her Dad, Warren (Hugo Speer) – who has somehow shacked up with Kate’s old school friend, Kiera (Gemma Chan) – or the Bedlam Watch blog, a site dedicated to the asylum’s history, that also acts as a deterrence to future residents.

However, despite a name change, new tenants and new facilities – including a bar, a swimming pool and seemingly, a new location – the ghosts of the former asylum are just as vengeful. So, when paramedic Ellie (former EastEnders sweetheart/misery-magnet and Being Human baddie, Lacey Turner) starts seeing the black-eyed spirits of deceased patients, she sets off to find Jed, and arrives at Brightmoor.

Once there, an encounter with the asylum’s only nice ghost – a glowing girl with a penchant for rolling black marbles around the building – leads to Ellie disturbing the remains of a patient, who doesn’t take too kindly to his remains being unceremoniously uncovered. But thanks to the help of the bartender, and secret paranormal blogger, Max (Jack Roth), the spirit is appeased faster than you can say “funny bones” when his remains are put back in their rightful place.

Despite the changes, much of Bedlam thankfully remain the same; the format of one medium protecting the living from the tortured spirits of the apartment complex essentially hasn’t changed. Yet, the explosions in the cellar have unleashed a much darker force into the building; Warren is sleepwalking, much like Kate in the first series, and nothing is what it seems.

The expected mix of sex, death and horror is as apparent as ever, and with more sexual chemistry between the characters, the things that go bump in the night won’t just be the ghosts. But unlike the slower first run, Series 2 kicks off with jumps, thrills and surprises from the very beginning, while the addition of Turner gives the series more power and credibility than before. That said, some inconstancies do remain. (And where the hell is Ryan?)

Aired at 10pm on Wednesday 6th June 2012 on Sky Living.

> Buy the Series 1 DVD on Amazon.

> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

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