"David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran are immense": Time s3 reveals gripping new plot and release window

If you're anything like us, you're always in the market for a gripping drama. And while they usually take the shape of police dramas like Line of Duty or Happy Valley, we're also partial to a police drama. Time, which first came out in 2021, is a gritty and compassionate look at both the inmates and the prison officers within the prison system, exploring punishment, redemption, guilt and morality along the way.

Season three is officially on its way, and will take place in a young offenders institution, rather than a prison for adults. None other than David Tennant joining the cast as a character called Prison Officer Bailey, a veteran police officer dealing with his own personal crisis, who finds himself involved in the aftermath of a tragedy inside the juvenile detention centre.

The official BBC synopsis explains, "Prison Chaplain Marie-Louise comes to the YOI having lost her faith. When tragedy strikes in the prison, Marie-Louise clashes with veteran officer Bailey, a man in the midst of his own crisis. Bailey knows more about the circumstances that led to this major incident – but will he come clean before the guilt gets too much?

Meanwhile, two teenage young offenders, Peter and James, struggle through the terrifying first weeks and months of their incarceration. Can James ever face his broken parents after an unforgivable act of violence and will Peter tell the truth about the death of an innocent man, or does family loyalty mean more? An unlikely friendship between them looks to shift the trajectory of their futures, but in an increasingly unstable environment, is change ever possible?

While season one featured the likes of Stephen Graham and Sean Bean, and then Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsey joined for season two, season three's cast includes:

• David Tennant from Rivals and Doctor Who as Bobby Bailey, a Custodial Manager at the YOI
• Siobhan Finneran from Loch Ness and Happy Valley reprising her role as chaplain Marie-Louise O’Dell
• Daniel Ryan from The Bay and Innocent as Freddie Jennings, a Custodial Manager at the YOI
• Jo Joyner from EastEnders and For Her Sins as Nicola
• Vinette Robinson from Boiling Point as Erica
• Louis McCartney from Hope Street as James, a young offender
• Ollie McNulty as Peter, a young offender
• Chukwubuikem Molokwu as Christopher

Series three will feature three hour-long episodes which will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year, although they haven't yet confirmed when. Can't wait!