Who stars in season 3 premiere of ITV series McDonald & Dodds?

The third season of ITV detective show McDonald and Dodds sees the detective duo put their skills to the test on four new confounding cases.

Social media influencers, Formula 1 racing, and mystic mediums will all feature in the Bath-set series.

Much like season one and two, the latest season will include several well-known guest star - with the first episode, Belvedere, starring comedian Alan Davies.

Who is in the cast of McDonald & Dodds season 3 episode 1?

Jason Watkins as DS Dodds

Watkins will return as DS Dodds, a mild mannered pencil pusher who was forced out from behind his desk and into the gritty world of detective work in an effort to make him take early retirement.

Over the course of the last two seasons, Dodds has become an enthusiastic detective, and the move may have actually caused him to push his retirement plans further back.

Watkins is well known for his small screen roles, having played Solomon Coop in mystery series Taboo, Brian Masters in serial killer series Des, and Simon Harwood in comedy series W1A.

He also played the title role in The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies for which he won a Bafta.

Tala Gouveia as DCI Lauren McDonald

Senior investigator DCI Lauren McDonald is also returning in season three and is still laboured with her partner in crime fighting, Dodds, though he has grown on her somewhat.

Gouveia played Cleo in Scream Street and has also had small roles in Plebs, Cold Feet, and Holby City.

She had a number of voice acting credits, including voicing Goose in Thunderbirds are Go, and Tala in Go Jetters.

Claire Skinnner as Chief Superintendent Ormond

Ormond is a new character in the series, the new Chief Superintendent, replacing John Houseman who was played by James Murray.

Skinner is known for playing the overworked and stressed out mother, Sue Brockman in BBC comedy series Outnumbered, alongside comedian Hugh Dennis.

She also appeared in Scream Street alongside Gouveia, voiced various characters in the Netflix animated series Hilda, and played DCI Vivien Barnes in drama series Next of Kin.

Catherine Tyldesley as Kate Porter

Catherine Tyldesley will guest star in the first episode of the new season, as secretive single mum Kate Porter, who will become a suspect in the first mysterious death of the series.

Tyldesley is recognizable for her role as Eva Price in more than 700 episodes of the ITV soap Coronation Street.

Her other roles include playing Karen in comedy series Scarborough alongside Jason Manford, and Kate Tuckman in thriller series Viewpoint.

Alan Davies as George Gillan

Alan Davies will also guest star in the season three premiere as George Gillan, a linguistic anthropologist who lives with his near-centenarian mother.

Davies is best known for his panel show appearances, namely on general knowledge quiz show QI, and also took part in season 12 of Taskmaster where he came in joint third place.

He has also starred in mystery crime drama Jonathon Creek as the titular magician who teams up with a journalist to solve crimes.

When is McDonald & Dodds season 3 on TV?

Season three of McDonald & Dodds began airing on ITV at 8pm on Sunday 19 June, with new episodes released weekly.

Season one and two of McDonald & Dodds are available to watch now on the ITV Hub and Britbox.