The Tower cast: who stars in ITV drama with Gemma Whelan, how many episodes are there and when is it on TV?

ITV’s new police thriller The Tower premiered on 8 November and is already receiving plenty of positive reviews.

Starring Gemma Whelan in the lead role as Detective Sergeant Sarah Collins, the series is based on Post Mortem, the first in Kate London’s Metropolitan series of novels.

So what’s the plot of the drama, who is in the cast, and when is it on TV? This is what you need to know.

What is The Tower about?

DS Sarah Collins and her colleague DC Steve Bradshaw (Jimmy Akingbola) arrive at an incident in south-east London where two bodies are lying on ground at the bottom of Portland Tower.

The bodies are those of police officer, PC Hadley Matthews (Nick Holder), and 15-year-old girl, Farah Mehenni (Lola Elsokari).

When Collins arrives at the roof of the tower, she finds five-year-old Ben and rookie police officer PC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif), along with Lizzie’s boss, DI Kieran Shaw (Emmett J Scanlan).

However, before Collins is able to interview Lizzie about what happened, she disappears.

As the investigation continues, it appear that key evidence is being withheld, however Collins and Bradshaw persevere with their inquiries and uncover incidents that led to the tragedy.

When is The Tower on TV?

The Tower begins on ITV at 9pm on Monday 8 November.

It consists of three episodes airing on consecutive evenings, until it concludes on Wednesday, November 10.

All episodes will also be available on the ITV Hub.

Who stars in The Tower?

Gemma Whelan as DS Sarah Collins

The lead actor of the is Gemma Whelan, who stars as Detective Sergeant Sarah Collins.

Whelan is best known for her role as Yara Greyjoy in HBO’s Game of Thrones, Marian Lister in Gentleman Jack and her portrayal of Karen Matthews in The Moorside.

The 40-year-old told ITV that she spoke at length with author London before filming began to try and understand her role as a detective.

She also said of her character: “I think she is very, very good at her job and very, very dedicated to her moral compass, which is absolutely dead straight. I would say she has climbed well and that she is well liked.”

Tahirah Sharif as PC Lizzie Adama

Tahirah plays rookie cop Lizzie Adama, who goes missing shortly after the death of her colleague.

Lizzie graduated into policing at the top of her class and Sharif describes her character as having a “very strong moral compass and definitely knows the difference between right and wrong and wants to pursue that but finds herself “.

However, she added that “She finds out that life isn’t that simple. It is so much of a grey area.”

Sharif is best known for starring in Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Jimmy Akingbola as DC Steve Bradshaw

Jimmy Akingbola is best known for his leading role in Kate and Koji for ITV and BritBox.

For The Towers, he features in the supporting role of DC Steve Bradshaw, who he describes as “very sharp,” “very smart” and “all seeing”.

“He has got a great relationship with Sarah, what she has had to overcome to get where she is and what he’s had to overcome that’s what brings those two together. I think him and Sarah were not necessarily the cool kids at school,” he added.

His other TV credits are In the Long Run (2018), as well as Ballot Monkeys (2015) and Holby Blue as PC Neil Barker.

Emmett J. Scanlan as DI Kieran Shaw

Irish actor Scanlan is best known for playing the character Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks.

He has also starred in BBC Two drama The Fall, Peaky Blinders Series five and , and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Speaking of the series ahead of screening, he said: “I love the simplicity of it. I love the realism of it. I love the fact that you are constantly engaged. I loved it particularly when I was getting into book three.”

Nick Holder is PC Hadley Matthews

Actor Nick Holder is best known for his roles as Marston in series one of Peaky Blinders, as well as appearing in the recent series of ITV’s Grantchester and also Beirut (2018) and Anna Karenina (2012).

For The Tower, he plays the role of PC Hadley Matthews, a seasoned copper who is killed in the opening scene of the series. However, the series time-hops frequently which means Holder acts out PC Matthews in a number of scenes.

PC Matthews is a likeable character and well thought of is his station, his death shakes his team and family and his practice comes under scrutiny as DS Collins attempts to understand who he was.

Lola Elsokari is Farah Mehenni

Lola Elsokari makes her acting debut in The Tower, as the 15-year-old Libyan refugee who abducted a young boy after his mum phoned the police about her family.

Her character is a young muslim girl who dies when she falls from the top of the tower, alongside PC Matthews. An investigation is later launched into whether he used racist language when he first attended her family home, some weeks before their tragic death.

Her death is at the heart of the investigation, whether she was a troubled teenager who abducted a young boy for no reason or whether she was the victim of racism at the hands of those who are supposed to protect her.

Nabil Elouahabi is Younes Mehenni

Elouahabi is an actor and producer, known for The Sum of All Fears (2002), Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Infinite (2021).

He plays the role of Farah’s father, who is first introduced to viewers in a prison cell at the police station, though he has nothing to do with his daughter’s death.

He has been nicked by police following continuous complaints from his neighbour, single-mother Carrie Parry, for harassment and intimidating her.

The Libyan refugee is distrusting of police but overcomes his personal issues to bring forward evidence which will prove to DS Collins exactly why his daughter took her neighbour’s son to the top of the tower.

Also in the line up Karl Davies (The Quiet Hour; Kingdom) as DCI Tim Bailie, who works to keep officers onside as DS Collins riffles through their deceased colleague’s history.

Young actor Rex Parry features as the eight-year-old boy found with Lizzie at the top of the tower, Ben Stoddardm, and his mother Carrie is played by Sally Scott (Summerland).