SAS Rogue Heroes season 2 cast from returning favourites to Heartstopper star

SAS Rogue Heroes returns to BBC One and the second season will take place in mainland Europe. In the spring of 1943, Paddy Mayne (played by Jack O'Connell) has taken over leadership of the SAS following David Stirling's (Connor Swindells) capture.

Now the regiment must turn its attention to other parts of the world but, as GHQ have their reservations, the regiment's future is in question. The creation of a new unit and a surprise arrival makes things even more difficult.

Alongside Paddy Mayne and David Stirling, a whole host of familiar faces will be returning including Dominic West as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Wrangel Clarke and Theo Barklem-Biggs as Reg Seekings.

Also making a comeback are Corin Silva as Jim Almonds, Jacob Ifan as Pat Riley, Jacob McCarthy as Johnny Cooper, Stuart Campbell as Bill Fraser, Bobby Schofield as Dave Kershaw and Sofia Boutella as Eve Mansour.

Here is all you need to know about the new cast joining for the second outing, which has been released on BBC iPlayer.

Bill Stirling - Gwilym Lee

Bill Stirling is David's brother in the series and he is based on a real-life war hero who led a second arm of the SAS.

He is played by Gwilym Lee, a 41-year-old British actor known for his roles in Midsomer Murders, and for playing Brian May in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

The star said of his new role: "I’ve loved being embraced by [the cast], it’s a really special job.

"It can be tricky coming into a second series with a really established cast of actors and a great crew, as you worry about ruffling feathers or breaking into a clique, but there was none of that whatsoever.

"It was open arms from day one. It’s an incredible story we’re telling about some really brave and courageous people, and we all feel that weight of responsibility. There is a passion in everything we do in order to do justice to this story."

British Commander General Montgomery - Con O'Neill

Montgomery is played by Con O'Neill, a 58-year-old English actor mostly known for his theatre roles.

He played Michael "Mickey" Johnstone in the musical Blood Brothers and his TV credits include Chernobyl, The Batman and Our Flag Means Death.

He will appear in episode five of the new series of SAS Rogue Heroes.

SAS recruit Jock McDiarmid - Mark Rowley

Jock McDiarmid is a new recruit who puts Paddy through his paces and he is played by Mark Rowley.

Mark is a 34-year-old Scottish actor known for his roles in River City and The Spanish Princess.

More recently he played Irish warrior Finan in Netflix's The Last Kingdom.

SAS recruit John Tonkin - Jack Barton

John Tonkin is played by Jack Barton, who played the supporting role of David Nelson in the Netflix hit, Heartstopper.

He is also known for his roles in Poor Things, War of the Worlds and The Letter for the King.

Paolo De Vita, Anna Manuelli, Edward Bennett and Matteo Franco have also been cast in undisclosed roles.

Creator Steven Knight said of the new cast: "Our team are now in Italy facing a totally different challenge to the desert.

"There are new people joining the regiment – indeed there is a new regiment altogether, 2SAS – and of course there are sparks and friction.

"The main change, which again this is the truth and something reality throws at us, is that when David Stirling was captured his brother Bill Stirling became a very prominent part of the SAS and 2SAS.

"Gwilym Lee’s performance is amazing as Bill Stirling; a man who is good, honourable, straightforward but feels this pressure because of his brother. David is renowned as ‘The Phantom Major’, he's done all this stuff.

"Bill as the older sibling has something of a sense of superiority and a desire to make the men respect him in the same way they respected David.

"But there are lots of new characters and all of them heroes."

SAS Rogue Heroes is available to watch on BBC iPlayer