Ludwig boss explains why BBC show's Cambridge setting is so "important" to the crime show

BBC crime series Ludwig returns for its second season next week, with David Mitchell as the eponymous puzzle maker. The series sees Mitchell's character investigating the disappearance of his identical twin brother who was a detective chief inspector in the Cambridge police force.

Speaking ahead of season two beginning on Thursday 20 August, the show's producer Georgie Fallon explained why it was important to set the show in Cambridge.

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"Cambridge, as a setting, is important to the show," Fallon said. "We didn't want to set it in London because so much is set in London, but Cambridge feels like a big enough, cosmopolitan enough city to justify the horrendous number of murders that they have there.

"It's also beautiful on camera and feels recognisable to viewers, but it hasn't been seen loads. I think Cambridge has a nice mix of the beautiful old architecture, but also this really modern side with the science parks and all the research and that's very interesting for us to set our world in."

Season two will see the return of Anna Maxwell Martin as Lucy Betts-Taylor, Ludwig's sister-in-law, alongside new cast members including Mark Bonnar as newspaper editor Gareth Fisher, Sian Clifford as local MP Joanne Kemper, Ben Ashenden as DC Ethan Cole, and Rumi Sutton as DC Caitlin Sullivan.

Also joining the show for season two is Extras star Stephen Merchant who will take on the role of "cocky snooker champion Danny Sloane" who is described as being "at odds with John Ludwig".

Season two will see a big change for Mitchell's Ludwig as he is now a crime scene consultant and no longer has to pretend to be his missing twin brother.

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The season two synopsis reads: "Now that he's an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating.

"Of course, John won't stop, and neither will Lucy, John's sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James - a puzzle needs solving and a husband and father needs bringing home. One masquerade may have ended, but a new one has just begun."

Ludwig season two will air on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 20 August, and will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from the same date.

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Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.

After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.

Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.