Bulletproof series 2: Bishop and Pike go international

Full of stunts, suspense and a winning bromance, Bulletproof is so much more than your average police procedural. Written and directed by Nick Love, who previously penned action-packed films The Football Factory and The Sweeney, the show was co-created by Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters who star in the series.

Clarke and Walters play Aaron Bishop and Ronnie Pike, senior officers in the National Crime Agency, fighting organised crime in London. They’re great friends, despite having had totally different upbringings. Ronnie Pike is the son of Ronald Pike Senior, the Director-General of the NCA. A distinguished officer, Pike Senior has high hopes for his son’s career, but Ronnie often feels smothered by his father’s attention. With a wife and two daughters, he’s a family man who likes to do things by the book. Bishop, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild card. Having grown up in foster care, his sole purpose in life is to catch the bad guys. Without his career and the brotherly influence of Pike, his life could have taken a very different path. 

Critically praised for the natural chemistry between the Clarke and Walters, the first series was a ratings success, with 1.59 million viewers tuning in for the first episode. 

Watch the trailer for series 2

Who is in it?

Top Boy’s Ashley Walters stars alongside Doctor Who’s Noel Clarke as crime-fighting buddies Ronnie Pike and Aaron Bishop. 

Clarke Peters, a veteran of crime dramas including The Wire and The Tunnel, plays Pike’s father, Ronald Pike Senior, who wants his son to leave Bishop behind to climb the career ladder from behind a desk.

Deputy Mayor Charlotte Carmel (Berlin Station’s Caroline Goodall) is also close to the Pike family. Having worked closely with Pike Snr as a senior police officer, she’s also Ronnie’s godmother, and without a family of her own, the Pikes are the closest thing she has. 

Lindsey Coulson, best known for her role as Carol Jackson in EastEnders, is Bishop and Pike’s boss, Lead Officer Sarah Tanner.

Fellow police officers include Nell McBride (Christina Chong), who catches the eye of Aaron Bishop, Jonesy (David Elliot), Kamali Khan (Mandeep Dhillon) and Chris Munroe (Jason Maza), who briefly partners with Bishop. 

Lashana Lynch (Still Star-Crossed) plays Ronnie Pike’s wife Arjana, a lawyer who put her career on hold to raise the couple’s two children. She works for the Deputy Mayor, but her work comes at a price.

Hollyoaks’ Emma Rigby plays Bishop’s girlfriend Dr Sophie Latimer, who has learned that between his job and relationship with Pike, she’s not the only love in his life. 

What happened in series 1?

When notorious criminal Michael Sharp turns up in London after years on the run in Spain, Bishop and Pike follow him to a heist at a safety deposit box facility, which ends in a gun battle on the streets. 

The duo are furious when the Sharp case is moved to another team, and continue to investigate in secret. The case puts Pike’s wife and kids in danger, and they are forced to move into a safe house, while Pike finally follows his father’s advice and takes a desk job, leaving Bishop to continue without him. 

When Bishop uncovers evidence which suggests a link between Sharp and Pike’s dad, Pike has to consider that his father might not have been the squeaky-clean exemplary officer he thought he was. 

The final episode was suitably action-packed, with Bishop discovering that Michael Sharp and Ronald Pike Snr were part of an undercover unit known as Black Heart, which investigated and infiltrated some of London’s most dangerous gangs. It was a race against time for Bishop and Pike after a hit was taken on Pike Snr, and the Deputy Mayor and Arjana Pike were taken hostage at City Hall. A stand off developed between the hostage-taker, Ray, and Bishop and Pike. Ray was killed by Bishop, but not before the hitman murdered  Bishop’s colleague and love interest Nell in a struggle. It also emerged that the Deputy Mayor ordered the hit on Pike Snr, having been blackmailed by Michael Sharp.

What will happen in series 2?

After spending the first series fighting crime on the streets of London, this time Bishop and Pike’s work sees them go undercover, infiltrating an international crime empire, which sees them travel from the capital to Amsterdam and Cyprus. The pair will have to risk everything, including their police badges, to succeed in their fight for justice.

When does series 2 start?

The second series of Bulletproof lands on NOW TV on Friday 20 March. A three-part special set in South Africa is also due to air this autumn.

Stream Bulletproof season 2 on Sky One with NOW TV from Friday, March 20.