The continuing rise of The Fall

The Fall actors Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson are both nominated for the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards

Actress Gillian Anderson has returned to her role as tough Det Supt Stella Gibson in tense BBC Two thriller The Fall.

The star began work this week on the second series that is being filmed in Belfast.

Once again she is on the trail of serial killer Paul Spector, played by Jamie Dornan, who is also working on the film version of Fifty Shades Of Grey.

The new series of six hour-long episodes picks up where the first left off, as Gibson continues her hunt for the fugitive who has left a trail of bodies.

Writer and director Allan Cubitt is again in charge.

Although the pair never met on screen, Gibson and Spector's taunting and pursuit gripped viewers to make it BBC Two's biggest new drama launch for a decade.

Anderson said: "I'm over the moon to be back in production with this team again and to step into the shoes of the elusive Stella for what promises to be an even darker second season."

And Dornan - set to win a worldwide fan base through his role as Christian Grey in his dramatisation of E L James's erotica tale - said: "I'm delighted to be back in production for the second series of The Fall. Allan Cubitt has outdone himself, and the scripts are stunning."

Also returning to the drama is John Lynch as Assistant Chief Constable Jim Burns, and Bronagh Waugh as Spector's wife Sally-Ann.

Stephen Wright, head of drama for BBC Northern Ireland, said: "We were delighted with the response to series one and can't wait to unleash Allan Cubitt's superb new scripts on the audience."