Vigil season 3 cast: Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie star in the BBC thriller

The first two episodes of Vigil season 3 are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer, reuniting fans with Suranne Jones's Amy and Rose Leslie's Kirsten.

In the new episodes, Kirsten is chosen to go to Svalbard, a remote Norwegian archipelago, to investigate a murder, one which also has the potential to lead to an international confrontation.

There are still four more episodes to go, meaning there is a lot of the mystery left to unfurl. As with previous seasons, there are relatively few returning stars, with a host of newcomers filling out central roles in the mystery and beyond.

But who, alongside returnees Gary Lewis, Orla Russell and Dominic Mafham, stars in this new season and who do they all play?

Read on for Radio Times's guide to the cast of Vigil season 3.

Who's in the cast of Vigil season 3?

The full cast list for Vigil season 3 is as follows:

  • Suranne Jones as Amy Silva
  • Rose Leslie as Kirsten Longacre
  • Gary Lewis as Colin Robertson
  • Orla Russell as Poppy Silva
  • Dominic Mafham as Sir Ian Downing
  • Jeppe Beck Laursen as Henrick Becken
  • Naomi Yang as Shen Jia
  • Steven Miller as Mark Cunningham
  • Benjamin Wainwright as Oli Pickford
  • Danusia Samal as Jasmine Kelly
  • Eric Godon as Mayor Korotayev
  • Amy Manson as Lorna McCallister
  • Artur Zai Barrera as Garcia
  • Jordan Duvigneau as Simon Anderson
  • Kaisa Hammarlund as Deputy Olsdatter
  • Conor Berry as Daniel Hodge
  • Jason Tobin as Huang Chen
  • Steven Cree as Gordon Laity
  • Killian Coyle as Jason Collyer
  • Derek Riddell as Vincent Mair
  • Dawn Sievewright as Chloe Ackroyd
  • Shereen Cutkelvin as Holly Mitchell

Read on for more information about the cast of Vigil and who they play.

Suranne Jones plays Amy Silva

Suranne Jones as Amy Silva in Vigil, stood, wearing a black jacket in a convention centre with a lot of people wearing suits sat behind her.

Who is DCI Amy Silva? Amy is a detective who in season 3 has to work the new case from her base in Scotland, while her partner Kirsten travels to Svalbard.

Where have I seen Suranne Jones before? She played the title characters in acclaimed BBC dramas Gentleman Jack and Doctor Foster, and has previously starred in the likes of crime series Scott and Bailey, Coronation Street and more. Her recent roles have been in shows such as Hostage, Film Club and Frauds.

Rose Leslie plays Kirsten Longacre

Rose Leslie as Kirsten Longacre in Vigil, wearing a coat and scarf, stood in a snowy, mountainous landscape and with a shotgun strapped to her back.

Who is DI Kirsten Longacre? Kirsten is Amy's partner, both in work and in life. She recently gave birth to their child, and in season 3 travels to Svalbard to investigate a suspicious death.

Where have I seen Rose Leslie before? The actress is best known for playing Ygritte on Game of Thrones, and for starring in the likes of Downton Abbey, The Good Fight and Luther. She has recently been seen in Miss Austen and The Hack.

Gary Lewis as Robertson in Vigil, wearing a suit and stood in a doorway.

Who is Robertson? A DSU who works alongside Amy and Kirsten. He's one of the few returning characters from seasons 1 and 2.

Where have I seen Gary Lewis before? You might also know him from Billy Elliot, Scandi murder mystery Rig 45, time travel epic Outlander and ITV crime drama The Bay. He has most recently been seen in the series Down Cemetery Road and A Thousand Blows.

Dominic Mafham plays Sir Ian Downing

Dominic Mafham as Sir Ian in Vigil, sat at a desk, talking to someone across it.

Who is Sir Ian Downing? Ian is a high-ranking MI5 official. He also appeared in season 2.

Where have I seen Dominic Mafham before? Mafham has had roles in series including Always and Everything, Holby City, The Clinic, Humans, Strike, Grantchester, Coronation Street, The Marlow Murder Club, Little Disasters, Riot Women and Steal, as well as films such as Golda and Jack Ryan: Ghost War.

Jeppe Beck Laursen plays Henrick Becken

Jeppe Beck Laursen in Vigil, wearing a coat and hat, stood in front of a plane on a runway in a snowy landscape.

Who is Henrick Becken? Henrick is Svalbard’s Chief of Police.

Where have I seen Jeppe Beck Laursen before? Laursen is a Norwegian actor, best known to international audiences for his role in The Last Kingdom.

Naomi Yang plays Shen Jia

Naomi Yang in Vigil, wearing a coat and walking outside. There is a crowd behind a railing behind her and she has a backpack on.

Who is Shen Jia? Shen is a microbiologist.

Where have I seen Naomi Yang before? Yang has had roles in series including Brassic, Wolfe, Peaky Blinders, Maternal, DI Ray, Nightsleeper, Protection, Grace and Under Salt Marsh.

Tornike Gogrichiani in Vigil, wearing a coat and running across a snowy landscape, next to a hut.

Who is Fyodor? Fyodor is a Russian Colonel.

Where have I seen Tornike Gogrichiani before? Gogrichiani is a Georgian actor who is best known to international audiences for his roles in Extraction 2 and Drops of God.

Steven Miller plays Mark Cunningham

Steven Miller in Vigil, wearing a coat and hat and sat in a car, looking out of its open window.

Who is Mark Cunningham? Mark is a Special Boat Service operator.

Where have I seen Steven Miller before? Miller has had roles in series including Father Brown, Casualty, The Walk-In, Payback, Dept. Q and Shetland.

Benjamin Wainwright plays Oli Pickford

Benjamin Wainwright in Vigil, stood outside at night, wearing a bulletproof vest and a black hat and holding a large gun.

Who is Oli Pickford? Oli is a Special Boat Service operator.

Where have I seen Benjamin Wainwright before? Wainwright has had roles in series including World on Fire, The Split, Gangs of London, Halo, Belgravia: The Next Chapter and Maigret, as well as the film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Danusia Samal plays Jasmine Kelly

Danusia Samal and Dominic Mafham as Sir Ian Downing in Vigil, sat together on one side of a desk.

Who is Jasmine Kelly? Jasmine works alongside Sir Ian Downing.

Where have I seen Danusia Samal before? Samal has had roles including The Great, The Serial Killer's Wife, Gangs of London and Red Eye, as well as the films Ghost in the Shell and Over Your Dead Body.

Jordan Duvigneau plays Simon Anderson

Jordan Duvigneau as Simon Anderson in Vigil.

Who is Simon Anderson? Little is yet known about Simon, but he is an armed figure operating on Svalbard.

Where have I seen Jordan Duvigneau before? Duvigneau has had roles in series including I Hate Suzie, The Beaker Girls and Mood.

Jason Tobin plays Huang Chen

Jason Tobin as Huang Chen in Vigil, stood by a worktop in a laboratory.

Who is Huang Chen? Huang is a scientist working on Svalbard.

Where have I seen Jason Tobin before? Tobin has had roles in series including Warrior, A Thousand Blows and The Undeclared War, as well as films such as Fast & Furious 9 and Ballad of a Small Player.

Shereen Cutkelvin plays Holly Mitchell

Shereen Cutkelvin as DS Holly Mitchell in Vigil, holding a document and stood in front of a whiteboard.

Who is Holly Mitchell? Holly is a DS working with Amy and the team.

Where have I seen before? Cutkelvin has had roles in series including Crime, Van der Valk, Annika, Summerwater and Mint.

Additional season 3 cast included:

  • Orla Russell (Outlander) as Poppy Silva
  • Eric Godon (In Bruges) plays Mayor Korotayev
  • Amy Manson (Half Man) as Lorna McCallister
  • Artur Zai Barrera (Lucky) as Garcia
  • Kaisa Hammarlund (Hijack) as Deputy Olsdatter
  • Adam Fidusiewicz (Jack Ryan) as Evgeni
  • Conor Berry (Karen Pirie) as Daniel Hodge
  • Steven Cree (Industry) as Gordon Laity
  • Killian Coyle (Shetland) as Jason Collyer
  • Derek Riddell (Happy Valley) as Vincent Mair
  • Alma Prelec (Secret Service) as Polina
  • Dawn Sievewright (Andor) as Chloe Ackroyd

Vigil season 2 cast

Romola Garai plays Eliza Russell

Romola Garai plays Eliza Russell sitting at a desk

Who is Eliza Russell? An acting squadron leader in season 2. She's based in Wudyan, and Amy goes out to visit her as part of the investigation.

Where have I seen Romola Garai before? You might know her from BBC series The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies, historical drama Becoming Elizabeth, BBC 2's The Miniaturist and Vanity Fair, among others.

Dougray Scott plays Marcus Grainger

Dougray Scott plays Marcus Grainger holding headphones

Who is Marcus Grainger? An air vice-marshal who oversees the failed military test in season 2. He is a "very patriotic and proud member of the British military and the air force, and he's responsible for many of the arms sales to countries like Wudyan, our fictional middle-eastern country in the series", explained Scott.

Where have I seen Dougray Scott before? Most people will know him from Mission: Impossible 2, Irvine Welsh's Crime, romantic period drama Ever After, thriller Ripley's Game, Batwoman and Desperate Housewives.

Anders Hayward plays Colin Dixon

Anders Hayward plays Colin Dixon wearing a blue polo

Who is Colin Dixon? Another officer who is involved in the failed military test.

Where have I seen Anders Hayward before? His credits include Death in Paradise, BBC series Guilt and E4 comedy Gap Year.

Shannon Hayes plays Nicole Lawso

Shannon Hayes plays Nicole Lawson wearing a military uniform

Who is Nicole Lawson? She's involved in the military test when it goes wrong.

Where have I seen Shannon Hayes before? Her credits include Peter Moffat's Undercover and comedy Ted Lasso.

Oscar Salem plays Sattam Abdul Kader

Oscar Salem plays Sattam Abdul Kader wearing military gear

Who is Abdul Kader? A captain who is caught up in the drone test when the situation spirals out of control.

Where have I seen Oscar Salem before? He's appeared in HBO's House of the Dragon, ITV crime drama Des and Doctors.

Chris Jenks plays Callum Barker

Chris Jenks plays Callum Barker in military attire

Who is Callum Barker? "Callum is troubled," said Jenks. "He's suffering from taking part in what he thinks is a morally questionable military operation. He isn't afraid to make his dissatisfaction known and rail against authority. As the series progresses, we see that he is trying to keep a secret from the world and we get to see a softer, more intimate Callum."

Where have I seen Chris Jenks before? Most people will know him from Netflix's Sex Education and Death in Paradise spinoff Beyond Paradise.

Amir El-Masry plays Daniel Ramsay

Rose Leslie) and Daniel Ramsay (Amir El-Masry) in Vigil season 2 sitting together in a waiting room

Who is Daniel Ramsay? He works for MI5 and spends a lot of time with Kirsten in season 2.

Where have I seen Amir El-Masry before? He played young Mohamed Al-Fayed in Netflix's The Crown, as well as appearing in high finance drama Industry, Prime Video's Jack Ryan and BBC drama Age Before Beauty.

Jonathan Ajayi plays Wes Harper

Jonathan Ajayi plays Wes Harper with his arms crossed

Who is Wes Harper? The technical lead on the remotely piloted aircraft system's development programme.

Where have I seen Jonathan Ajayi before? He's best known for the BBC adaptation of Noughts and Crosses.

Nebras Jamali plays Ali Bilali

Nebras Jamali plays Ali Bilali sitting in a car in military uniform

Who is ? A colonel. He liaises between Grainger and the Wudyan military, and is present when the drone demonstration fails.

Alastair Mackenzie as Chapman smiling

Who is Chapman? A wing commander who requests medical leave for cancer treatment.

Where have I seen Alastair Mackenzie before? He's best known for Scottish drama Monarch of the Glen.

Hiba Medina plays Sabiha Chapman

Hiba Medina plays Sabiha Chapman wearing a striped shirt

Who is Sabiha Chapman? Chapman's daughter. Her mother died when she was young.

Where have I seen Hiba Medina before? This is her first major role.

David Elliot plays Ross Sutherland

Sutherland standing in a room covered in graffiti

Who is Ross Sutherland? A war veteran.

Where have I seen David Elliot before? You might have watched him in Sky comedy-drama Bulletproof.

Additional season 2 cast included:

  • Noof Ousellam (Andor) as DS Paul Townsend
  • Steven Elder (Doctors) as Derek McCabe - he works closely with Grainger
  • Khalid Laith Nicole (Deep State) as Abdullah Ghazali
  • Kamal Mustaffai (Lilyhammer) as Mutaz

Vigil season 1 cast

Vigil

Who is Jade? A strong-willed protestor with connections to HMS Vigil. As Lyle herself told RadioTimes.com, Jade is a dangerous character.

Where have I seen Lauren Lyle before? She's best known for playing Marsali in the time-travelling drama series Outlander, but she'll also take the title role in the upcoming ITV police procedural Karen Pirie.

Martin Compston plays Craig Burke

Martin Compston in BBC One's Vigil

Who is Craig Burke? Burke works aboard HMS Vigil, monitoring the sonar.

Where have I seen Martin Compston before? Compston is best known for playing Londoner Steve Arnott in the BBC series Line of Duty. He's also starred in BBC One surrogacy thriller The Nest, Traces (as Danny), and projects including Mary Queen of Scots, Red Road, In Plain Sight, and his breakout role in Sweet Sixteen.

Vigil

Who is Glover? Elliot Glover is the coxswain on HMS Vigil. As Shaun Evans explained, "It’s a role that sits and liaises between the highest-ranking six officers on board and the rest of the crew, so Glover has to straddle both worlds on the submarine. At the beginning of the series someone aboard the ship - and I won’t say who – needs disciplining, which is a job for Glover, and then a couple of hours later that person is found dead." He also revealed that Glover has got a secret.

Where have I seen Shaun Evans before? The actor and director, who plays the title character in the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour, is known for previous roles in Teachers, Silk, Ashes to Ashes and The Scandalous Lady W. He's also directed episodes of Casualty and Endeavour.

Vigil

Who is Newsome? Captain of HMS Vigil.

Where have I seen Paterson Joseph before? He played Kamal Hadley in Noughts and Crosses, and Alan Johnson in Peep Show. He's also starred in Timeless, Æon Flux, The Beach and Neverwhere.

Vigil

Who is Hadlow? Hadlow is the chief engineering officer on HMS Vigil.

Where have I seen Connor Swindells before? His breakout role was as Adam Groff in Netflix teen drama Sex Education. He's also starred in the film Emma., Harlots, and Jamestown.

Daniel Portman plays Gary Walsh

Vigil

Who is Gary Walsh? A foul-mouthed bunkmate of the late Craig Burke (played by Martin Compston).

Where have I seen Daniel Portman before? He's best known for playing squire and unexpected ladies' man Podrick Payne in the epic drama series Game of Thrones. He's also known for starring in Robert the Bruce.

Cal Macaninch plays Ben Oakley

Vigil

Who is Ben Oakley? The mysterious peace camp leader.

Where have I seen Cal Macaninch before? He played Henry Lang in the acclaimed ITV period drama series Downton Abbey. He's also starred in the likes of Mr Selfridge, Banished, Vera, and more recently in Des and the BBC prison drama Time (as P.O. Galbraith).

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Vigil season 3 releases two new episodes each Sunday on BBC iPlayer. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

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Original source Vigil season 3 cast: Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie star in the BBC thriller

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