''DI Ray'' (titled ''D.I. Ray'' in the United States and Canada) is a 2022 British

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

. It was created and written by Maya Sondhi and produced by

Jed Mercurio Gerald Gary Mercurio (born September 1966) is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers. In 2017, Mercurio ...

. ''DI Ray'' stars

Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (2003–2009). Her other television r ...

detective inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

Rachita Ray in a fictitious

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

-based police force. The cast also includes

Gemma Whelan Gemma Elizabeth Whelan (born 1981) is an English actress and comedian known for portraying Yara Greyjoy in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' and as her stand-up character Chastity Butterworth. She also plays Kate in all 4 series ...

and

Jamie Bamber Jamie St John Bamber Griffith (born 1972/73), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in t ...

. The first series of four episodes aired on ITV beginning 2 May 2022. The second series aired from 16 June 2024 in the United States and 20 October 2024 in the UK and in other territories.

Cast

Recurring

as DI Rachita Ray *

as DCI Kerry Henderson *

as DCI Martyn Hunter * Sam Baker-Jones as DC Liam Payne * Peter Bankolé as DS Kwesi Edmund * Maanuv Thiara as PS Tony Khatri * Jessica Temple as DC Carly Lake *

Steve Oram Stephen John Oram (born 1973) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He is known for his role in the multi-award winning 2012 film ''Sightseers'', which he also co-wrote. His other credits include '' People Like Us'' (2001), '' It ...

as DS Clive Bottomly *

Ian Puleston-Davies Ian Puleston-Davies (born 6 September 1958) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his role as builder Owen Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2010 to 2015. In November 2014, ITV announced that Puleston-Davies was leav ...

as Supt. Ross Beardsmore

Series 2

* Witney White as DC Charlene Ellis * Lauren Drummond as Suzie Chapman *

Michael Socha Michael Robert Socha (born 1987) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''This Is England'' and ''Summer (2008 film), Summer'', and the television series ''This Is England '86'' and its sequels. He also appeared in ''Being ...

as Dave Chapman *

Patrick Baladi Patrick Bashir Baladi is an English actor. He is best known for playing Neil Godwin in the BBC sitcom ''The Office'', Michael Jackson in the Sky 1 drama '' Stella'', and Stephen Holmes in the ITV thriller '' Marcella''. Early life and educa ...

as DI Patrick Holden *

Naomi Yang Naomi Yang may refer to: * Naomi Yang (musician) * Naomi Yang (actress) Naomi Yang, born Yang Yichen, is a Chinese-born British actress. She is best known for her roles in the BAFTA-nominated film Lilting (film), ''Lilting'' and Sky TV series ...

as Hiroka McGregor * Taha Rahim as Ravinder Mochani *

Dinita Gohil Dinita Gohil is a British actress. She is best known for her performance as Amanda in the satirical film '' Greed'' (2019), and on-stage as Viola in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of '' Twelfth Night'' (2017–2018). Early life Dini ...

as Amara Dhawan * Jamie Bell as Stevo Miller

Production

Lead actress Parminder Nagra described DI Ray's character as being "like a female

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

in a green coat". The first series was filmed during October and November 2021 in locations including Birmingham's

Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, England, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of 19,000 in a area. The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the ...

and outside Lloyd House police headquarters. Series 2 was also filmed in Birmingham, with locations including the Jewellery Quarter and Hockley Flyover.

Episodes

Series 1 (2022)

Series 2 (2024)

Broadcast

The first series of four episodes aired on ITV beginning 2 May 2022. In November 2022, the series was renewed for a six-episode second series, which began filming in 2023. The second series aired from 16 June 2024 in the US, 24 July on

SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS ...

in Australia, and 20 October 2024 on ITV in the UK.

Critical response

Lucy Mangan Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian'' and an opinion writer for '' i'' news. Early life and education Mangan was born in 1974 and grew up in Catford, ...

, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', gave series 1 three out of a possible five stars. She praised Sondhi's use of "tangled motivations that hold the viewers' interest" to create a "police procedural with a fresh perspective" but felt that the story "at times moves a bit too slowly" and "feels a bit too by-numbers". Sean O'Grady for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave the series four stars out of five, describing the lead character as "a smart, sassy, tough telly detective" and summarising "low key in tone and atmosphere, DI Ray, cop and show, that is, deserves to be a success. Mercurio ticks another box."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 15536118 2022 British television series debuts 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British mystery television series 2020s British police procedural television series 2020s British workplace drama television series British English-language television shows Television shows set in Birmingham, West Midlands ITV crime dramas Television series by Hat Trick Productions