BBC's big budget Gaelic crime drama to return for second series

The BBC's most expensive Gaelic TV drama is to return for a second series, it has been confirmed.

An t-Eilean (The Island), which cost more than £1m per episode to make, was a four-part thriller from BBC Alba centred around a murder investigation.

The show was the BBC's first Gaelic language crime drama and starred Sorcha Groundsell - who grew up in Lewis and Glasgow - and Harrow-born Sagar Radia.

Scenes were filmed in Lewis, Harris and Glasgow and the first series was aired early last year.

The new series will see Groundsell return in the lead role of Det Sgt Kat Crichton.

Produced by Black Camel Pictures, filming will largely be done on location in the Western Isles with production due to start in spring.

The new mystery will see Groundsell's detective hunt for a killer stalking the islands.

Bill MacLeod, commissioning editor BBC Alba, said the channel was delighted to recommission the show.

He said: "An t-Eilean will once again transport viewers to one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world with a taut and twisty story that will keep them on the edge of their seats until the final few frames."

Arabella Page Croft, executive producer at Black Camel Pictures, said it was "simply fantastic" to be working on a second series.

She added: "We can't wait to get going with this brand-new gripping Hebridean mystery and thrilling tale with DS Kat Crichton at the helm."

An t-Eilean series two is funded by MG Alba, BBC, Screen Scotland, Black Camel Pictures and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Western Isles local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar will provide support around the locations.