Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham, Sophie Rundle, Hattie Morahan, Mark Dexter, Faye Marsey, Paul McGann, Tim Piggott-Smith, Simon Chandler, Richard Hun, Paul Ritter, Simon Darwen, Mabel Watson, Freddie Anness-Lorenz, Nick Blood, Joanne Adams, Victoria Alcock, James Weaver.

There is no doubt that the work that was carried out by the brave women and men at Bletchley was amongst the most important that was carried out by the Allies during World War Two. The use of some of the brightest minds in the country in cracking some of the most sensitive information that was intercepted is nothing but astonishing. What happened to these very intelligent people after the war is not as well-known but thanks to the imagination of the creator and writer of The Bletchley Circle, Guy Burt, four former Bletchley Park colleagues kept in touch and thanks to their intellect and training are more than capable of solving crimes that would be beyond the normal reach of the police.

It is heartening to have this wonderful series back for a second series and even more so that the series has got a bit more meat attached to it by having the two cases on offer in the season split over two weeks. In the first episode of Series Two the four women, some of the strongest casting around in a series that really makes the most of the idea of what heroines the women at Bletchley were, Anna Maxwell Martin, the exceptional Rachael Stirling, Sophie Rundle and the ever dependable Julie Graham are gathered together when one of the girls in Jean’s care, Julie Graham, is believed to have murdered her lover and one of the finest minds in the country, played by Paul McGann.

With the added distraction of a young woman making matters worse for the condemned colleague, the parts played by Hattie Morahan and Faye Marsey, it seems the team are really up against it as the shadowy world of Post-War espionage and the secrets of Porton Down, Salisbury start to become clear.

The series certainly utilises the four main cast members very well and in a medium that still doesn’t seem to have the most equal of opportunities for women, it is gratifying that this particular programme is a huge bonus. Noteworthy enough on its own but to have Rachael Stirling as part of the ensemble must be a casting agent’s dream.

The Bletchley Circle may not have the amount of money thrown at it like the likes of Sherlock but its attention to detail makes it compulsive viewing.        

Ian D. Hall