'Viewers won't expect what's coming' in This City Is Ours season 2, reveals star Hannah Onslow

This City Is Ours returns this weekend with season 2 as one of its stars has teased that fans of the show can't possibly anticipate what creator and lead writer Stephen Butchard has in store for them.

Hannah Onslow, who plays Diana Williams on the BBC One series, has said that the new chapter is "all about consequences" trickling down from the events of season 1.

"The consequences of people's decisions and how your past will always sneak back up, how you can't run away from what you've done and the decisions that you've made, how you can go in one direction with your life, or you can go in the other, but it's your choices that ultimately define you," she said.

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"In this series, we really see that come into play."

She continued: "What Stephen Butchard has done is just incredible, and I don't think viewers will expect what's coming, none of us really knew where the scripts were going. We had all these predictions, but none of them were right!"

"He continues to surprise us, so I was really delighted when I read the scripts for the new series. What he's done with Diana is really incredible, and it was really exciting for me as an actress to delve into that."

Diana and her partner, Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce), begin the new season in Spain but are soon roped back into a life of crime by new arrival Felipe, played by Money Heist star Álvaro Morte.

"I'm really excited for people to meet Felipe," Onslow said. "He really rocks things for Diana and Michael… I think people are going to love him and also hate him!"

As for the power dynamics that have always been at the centre of the Liverpool-set mob drama, Onslow explained they will shift in the new instalment.

"We see a lot of people who are used to being in power lose their power, and we see a lot more vulnerability from those that are usually in control," she said.

"As a result, we see how they deal with feeling vulnerable and the choices that means they make because of that."

Also starring Jack McMullen as Jamie Phelan, the son of murdered crime boss Ralph (Sean Bean) and Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Cheryl Crawford, This City Is Ours has proved a big hit and has already received a season 3 order ahead of its season 2 premiere.

This City Is Ours returns to BBC One on 25 October.

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Reporter, Digital Spy

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy. 

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).