The Capture is back for a third series and will see Holliday Grainger reprise her role as Rachel Carey – but what happened in the second series of the BBC drama?
Ron Perlan returns as Frank Napier (Image: BBC)
The Capture is returning for a third series, with Holliday Grainger reprising her role as Rachel Carey.
This gripping thriller delves into the realm of deepfake technology known as Correction and follows Rachel’s attempts to expose it. The inaugural series of The Capture, which aired in 2019, introduced audiences to the unsettling world of fake news.
Whilst the first series manipulated footage to keep criminals at bay, the second series saw interference with a live stream from the BBC and the Met police’s communication system. In the third series, viewers catch up with Rachel a year after the events of the second series, which saw her broadcast a live deepfake of a government minister to the nation, revealing the UK intelligence service’s covert video manipulation programme known as Correction.
The Capture returns with series 3 in March(Image: BBC)
Ben Chanan, the writer and director, explained where the third series begins and what viewers can anticipate: “Series three of The Capture is all about Rachel Carey. Up until now, she’s been the one investigating, but this time, she is the lead. Series one asked ‘Can you trust CCTV?’, series two asked ‘Can you trust the news? , and series three asks ‘Can you trust your own eyes?'”.
“The series picks up after Rachel exposes the Correction programme live on TV in Piccadilly Circus at the end of series two, and it explores who is ultimately responsible. Following Rachel’s next chapter was essential, but I also wanted the series to feel fresh, with a new thematic focus on trusting your own perception rather than screens or news.”
What took place in The Capture season 2?
Tessa Wong as DC Chloe Tan, Nigel Lindsay as DSI Tom Kendricks and Ginny Holder as DI Nadia Latif
Series two witnessed DCI Rachel battling to reveal the Correction practice amidst controversy surrounding doctored footage of politician Isaac Turner (Paapa Essiedu) and multiple killings, including the startling demise of beloved character Patrick Flynn (Cavan Clerkin) halfway through the run, reports The Mirror.
The storyline revolved around sinister data analytics firm, Truro Analytics, headed by Gregory Knox, who presented Isaac with a chance to resurrect his career by employing their algorithm to guarantee his path to becoming Prime Minister.
Things become considerably more complicated when it emerges that CIA operative Frank Napier (Ron Perlman) is involved, concealing Knox’s scheme in hopes that the CIA might utilise Truro’s capabilities. In the second-to-last episode of the run, Rachel was forced into a van and abducted by individuals working with Truro Analytics.
Paapa Essiedu returns as Isaac Turner (Image: BBC)
She’s subsequently questioned by Frank Napier and her superior Gemma Garland (Lia Williams) who’s attempting to manipulate Frank’s concealment to advantage UK security and maintain Correction’s secrecy. In the end, neither Frank nor Gemma wished for Correction to be revealed.
Following an extensive interrogation where Rachel faces intimidation, she seemingly agrees to join Correction, recognising the programme could be utilised to dismantle dangerous organisations, yet secretly continues scheming with BBC journalist Khadija Khan (Indira Varma) to reveal its existence.
In the closing moments, Frank and Gemma get ready to exploit Isaac’s planned Newsnight appearance for their own agenda, though his interviewer gets changed at the eleventh hour and when he clocks that the journalist is Khadija, whom he dislikes, he storms off and walks straight into Rachel’s trap.
The squad subsequently arrange for Khadija to interview a deepfake Isaac broadcast live, who openly exposes Correction after Rachel alters the script. At the same time, the genuine Isaac makes his way to Piccadilly Circus in a cab where Londoners have been instructed to gather by the fabricated Isaac to demonstrate Correction’s reality.
The Capture season 3 plot
Holliday Grainger as Rachel Carey in The Capture in series 3(Image: BBC)
A synopsis for series 3 reads: “It’s been 12 months since Rachel Carey broadcast a live deepfake of a government minister to the nation, exposing the UK intelligence service’s clandestine video manipulation programme known as Correction.
“Amidst an inquiry into the unlawful use of Correction, Carey has become Acting Commander of Counter Terrorism Command, determined to regain the public’s trust in surveillance technology through the new Operation Veritas camera system.
“And then it happens: a brutal and exceptionally well-coordinated act of terror aimed right at the heart of the British establishment that leaves behind just one witness.
Holliday Grainger is back in BBC’s The Capture alongside Paapa Essiedu(Image: Laurence Cendrowicz/Universal International Studios)
“The more Carey investigates, the deeper she is drawn into an unfolding geopolitical crisis that infects the British political establishment, the security services, and the media. The conspiracy reaches deep into the State, but just who is pulling the strings?”.
“Caught in an increasingly violent situation, and with few allies left to trust, what sacrifices will Carey be willing to make?”.
Discussing where her character finds herself in series three, Rachel explained: “When we first meet Carey in series one, she’s on the fast-track scheme in the Met – ambitious, determined, and not necessarily making friends. She discovers Correction, an illegal system of faking video evidence, and because of her strong moral compass, she becomes a whistleblower rather than looking the other way. Across series one and two, she fights to expose Correction, and by series three she’s risen rapidly through the ranks. She believes her integrity is intact but series three explores what happens when those morals begin to fracture.”
Episode one of The Capture series 3 will launch on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Sunday, March 8 and on BBC One at 9pm that evening, with new episodes then released weekly on BBC iPlayer and BBC One each Sunday.
