BBC’s ‘quietly brilliant’ 5-part BBC detective drama Strike finally returns

Strike – The Running Grave is the seventh instalment in the franchise, with each series depicting a different and equally compelling mystery

Calling all detective drama fans! The seventh instalment of Strike – The Running Grave is officially on its way, and the BBC has released three gripping first-look images from the new series.

Based on the bestselling crime novels written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, The Running Grave follows a family who enlist famed detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott to gather evidence against a religious cult that has taken their son and drained his trust fund. The series sees the return of Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, alongside Happy Valley star Keeley Forsyth and Unforgotten‘s Ruth Sheen.

© BBC/Bronte Film & TV/Susie Allnutt
Tom Burke plays Strike

Strike is one of the BBC’s most successful drama franchises, and the sixth series – The Ink Black Heart – earned an impressive 7.1 million viewers across 28 days in 2024. With director Sue Tully (Too Close, Maryland, Line of Duty) back for her fourth outing and screenwriter Tom Edge (Vigil, You Don’t Know Me) also returning, The Running Grave is sure to captivate audiences once again.

Intrigued? Here’s everything we know so far, including an exclusive teaser from Cormoran Strike himself, Tom Burke.

What is Strike – The Running Grave about?

The new series centres around the Edensor family, led by Sir Colin and his wife Sally, who turn to Strike and Robin for help with their estranged son Will.

The synopsis reads: “The Edensors enlist the detectives to gather evidence to discredit the Universal Humanitarian Church, a religious cult who have indoctrinated Will and siphoned off his trust fund.

© BBC/Bronte Film & TV/Susie Allnutt
Robin goes undercover inside the cult

“Led by the charismatic Jonathan Wace, the church is shielded by a charitable façade, celebrity backers and aggressive lawyers who have silenced critics. To investigate allegations of ill-treatment and abuse, Robin goes undercover at the cult’s secluded Norfolk headquarters, Chapman Farm. At the centre of the church’s twisted mythology is the story of the Drowned Prophet, Daiyu, believed to be divinely reincarnated.

“While Strike gains valuable insights from former members on the outside, Robin finds herself facing unprecedented psychological and physical duress on the inside. Solving the mystery of the Drowned Prophet’s death becomes key to the case, but leads the detectives into dangerous, unchartered territory.”

Meet the cast of Strike – The Running Grave

Tom Burke (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Souvenir) and Holliday Grainger (The Capture, The Stolen Girl) lead the show as detective duo Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott.

They’re joined by James Fleet (The Vicar of Dibley, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), as Sir Colin Edensor, Nichola McAuliffe (Living, The English) as Shelley Heaton, Keeley Forsyth (Poor Things, Happy Valley) as Mazu Wace, Fabian McCallum (The Narrow Road to the Deep North, The Witcher) as Will Edensor and John Lynch (Tin Star, Blue Lights) as Jonathan Wace.

Other returning names include Ruth Sheen (Unforgotten, It’s A Sin) as Pat, Jack Greenlees (The Trial of Christine Keeler, Payback) as Sam Barclay, Tupele Dorgu (Alma’s Not Normal) as Midge and Natasha O’Keeffe (Peaky Blinders, The Wheel of Time) as Charlotte.

Rounding out the cast are Sarah Sweeney (The Bastard Executioner, Cider with Rosie) as Lucy, Ben Crompton (Game of Thrones, Lockwood & Co) as Shanker, Stephen Hagan (You, Hope Street) as DCI Richard Murphy and Caitlin Innes Edwards (Silo, Black Mirror: Smithereens) as Ilsa.

© Rob Youngson
Robin Ellacott and Cormoran Strike in The Ink Black Heart

What did Tom Burke say about the Strike series?

Speaking exclusively with HELLO! earlier this month, Tom revealed that The Silkworm remains his favourite Strike story to film. “I’m not entirely sure why, except I just remember both of us really enjoyed that one,” he said.

He was referring to his on-screen partner and co-star Holliday Grainger, with whom he says his relationship is “blossoming evermore each year and she really makes me laugh.”

Despite recently starring as Praetorian Jack in blockbuster Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Tom said the job was not worlds apart from Strike. “They were both places where you could be very free and brave and nuanced, so, yeah, more, more, more of an overlap than you might think,” he said.

All six series of Strike are available to watch on BBC iPlayer, so there’s plenty of time to catch up before The Running Grave arrives on screens later in 2026.