Release date confirmed for season 2 of Martin Freeman BBC drama after two years off screen

A new season of a hugely popular BBC drama starring Martin Freeman is coming back onto our screens in the near future, with the release date confirming it's not far off.

It's been away for a couple of years but the critically acclaimed series about a police officer responding to the calls that come in during the Liverpool nights will be back on our screens in a jiffy.

The Responder was created by former police officer Tony Schumacher, who drew on his own experiences with Merseyside Police to flesh out Freeman's character.

Martin Freeman has a lot on his plate in the new season. (BBC)

While we've known we'd be getting a second dollop of The Responder for a while, it's almost time to have it back on our screens.

The Responder follows experienced officer Chris (Freeman), who has been demoted and now responds to 999 calls on the night shift alongside rookie officer Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo).

While he wants to do right, Chris has some violent tendencies and is juggling about a dozen things going on in his personal life which threaten to interfere with his policing.

Picking up with things in season two, the show's trailer suggests Chris will have a struggle on his hands in trying to convince wife Kate (MyAnna Buring) not to take their daughter away:

He's back on the city streets and responding to the incidents which plague the night of Liverpool, while he also appears to be in over his head with a new baddie played by Adam Nagaitis.

According to the BBC the first episode of The Responder was the third most-watched thing on iPlayer in 2022, racking up over six million views on the streaming service alone.

Some viewers of the first season of The Responder thought Freeman's scouse accent could have done with a bit of work, but many others who tuned in reckoned his performance was altogether flawless.

Guess who's back. (BBC/Dancing Ledge/Rekha Garton)

Freeman scooped an Emmy award for his performance along with other nominations and accolades, and loads who watched thought he was great.

The Responder also won Best Drama at the Edinburgh TV Awards and given the massive interest in the first season the second can't come soon enough.

Season two of The Responder will begin on BBC One with the first episode being available to watch at 9.00pm on Sunday, 5 May. Episodes will also be available to view on BBC iPlayer.