The BBC’s new cosy crime drama Death Valley didn’t just arrive quietly—it turned up with a wink, a body, and a double act you can’t look away from. Since its 25 May 2025 premiere, audiences have latched onto the six-part series for its warm humour, twisty cases, and postcard views of rural Wales. If you’re wondering who plays whom and why this partnership sparks, here’s your complete guide to the people on screen and the ideas behind the show. We’ve pulled together the full Death Valley cast and character breakdown, plus how the series came to life.
At the centre is Timothy Spall as John Chapel, a retired actor who once played a famous TV detective called Caesar. Life has slowed down for Chapel—until a knock at the door drags him into an investigation. Across the table is Detective Sergeant Janie Mallowan, played by Gwyneth Keyworth, a fast-talking, sharp-minded cop who happens to be a superfan of Chapel’s old show. Their pairing is the hook: an actor who knows the rhythms of fictional crime and a detective who deals with the messy real thing.
Death Valley leans into the “cosy” part of cosy crime without softening the stakes. The murders are real, the grief is real, and the show mines character moments between the punchlines. It’s a classic whodunnit structure, but it’s told with warmth, a bit of self-awareness, and a lot of Welsh charm. Think solid case-of-the-week storytelling, threaded with a developing friendship and personal histories that keep you invested between reveals.
Cast and characters: who plays who
Here’s a clean look at the ensemble—main duo, the police circle, and the faces you’ll spot along the way.
- Timothy Spall as John Chapel — A retired actor who once headlined the fictional detective series Caesar. Chapel is observant, disarmingly modest, and sharper than he lets on. Fame gave him an eye for performance; age gave him patience. When a suspicious death lands near his doorstep, he can’t help noticing the details other people miss.
- Gwyneth Keyworth as DS Janie Mallowan — A driven detective who talks quickly because her mind runs ahead of her words. She’s grieving the loss of her best friend, and work has become the way she stays upright. She’s also a devoted Caesar fan, which means meeting Chapel rattles her cool—just enough to give the show its most human laughs.
- Steffan Rhodri as DCI Barry Clarke — The senior officer overseeing the cases. Rhodri brings a steady hand and wry bite to scenes that could otherwise feel procedural. He knows when to let Mallowan run and when to pull her back.
- Alexandria Riley as Helen Baxter — A key presence around the investigations, anchoring the local side of the story. Riley grounds the ensemble with a practical edge and gives the team a clear, no-nonsense counterpoint.
- Rithvik Andugula as DC Evan Chaudhry — Younger, keen, and quick with legwork. Chaudhry handles the unglamorous tasks that make the breakthroughs possible and often ends up in the right place at the wrong time.
Guest stars add colour, misdirection, and the kind of character turns this genre lives on:
- Melanie Walters as Yvonne — Familiar to many Welsh TV fans, Walters brings warmth with a hint of steel.
- Patricia Hodge as Helena — Elegant and unreadable, the sort of guest role that keeps you guessing until the last beat.
- Remy Beasley as Rhiannon — A local with more going on than first impressions suggest.
- Mike Bubbins as Tony — Charming, slippery, and quick with a story that almost scans as truth.
- Sian Gibson as Wendy — Comic timing applied to a character who may or may not be as harmless as she seems.
- Amy Morgan as Sioned — Connected to the community and a hinge point for one of the cases.
- Steve Speirs as Lloyd — A familiar face who plays stubborn like a sport, and often knows more than he admits.
- Eryn Kelleher as Ava — Younger, fiery, and central to a subplot that tightens just when you expect it to loosen.
- Nathan Foad as Owen — Brings a dry line delivery that doubles as a tell if you’re paying attention.
- Charlotte O’Leary as Izzy Eldwick — A character you underestimate at your peril.
The show uses its guest line-up smartly. Each episode plants personalities that feel lived-in—villagers, business owners, local fixtures—with motives that overlap in messy ways. It’s the cosy crime sweet spot: suspects you like, even as they give you reasons not to trust them.
What makes the central duo work is contrast. Chapel doesn’t carry a badge or a rulebook. He listens, watches, and nudges people to reveal themselves. Mallowan runs on instinct and hard work. She connects dots at speed and doesn’t mind stepping on toes. Together, they turn interviews into scenes—one plays to the crowd, the other cross-examines—and that rhythm keeps the cases moving.
The writing gives both room to breathe. Chapel’s past as a TV sleuth isn’t a gimmick; it’s a lens on how stories get told, especially the ones criminals tell about themselves. Mallowan’s grief isn’t just backstory; it shapes how she trusts, how she pushes, and why she needs to get it right.
How Death Valley came together
Death Valley was created and written by Paul Doolan, who leans into classic detective fiction without getting stuck in nostalgia. There’s a clear nod to Agatha Christie baked into DS Janie Mallowan’s name. Christie married archaeologist Max Mallowan, and Janie’s first name tips the hat to Jane Marple. It’s a neat literary wink that signals the show’s comfort with tradition—and its willingness to play with it.
Filming took place in June 2024 around the Vale of Glamorgan. Production set up shop at Penarth Conservative Club and Penarth Pier, gave Llantwit Major’s streets and coastline a moody polish, and even used St Illtyd’s Church for a slice of history on screen. The camera loves this area: weathered stone, narrow lanes, sea views that look peaceful until the sirens arrive. Death Valley uses that natural contrast—beauty and menace—to keep you off balance.
Casting for the leads wrapped in May 2024, with Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth announced as the centre of gravity. It’s a pairing that makes immediate sense. Spall brings decades of craft; you can see Chapel’s wheels turn even in silence. Keyworth matches him beat-for-beat, turning fast dialogue into a map of a mind that won’t slow down. Their scenes spark because neither character is quite what the other expected.
Stylistically, the show sits where British viewers are happy to settle on a Sunday night: twisty but not bleak, witty but not smug. If you’ve enjoyed Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise, or the lighter moments of Vera, you’ll clock the familiar comforts—then notice Death Valley’s updates. The jokes land without undercutting the stakes. The suspects feel like people, not plot devices. And the leads aren’t opposites so much as complementary tools.
Structurally, the six episodes build like a well-paced novel. Each case stands alone, yet threads from Chapel’s past and Mallowan’s private grief run through the season. That dual focus pays off when the finale pushes personal choices into the same space as the final reveal. No spoilers, but the satisfaction comes from character and plot clicking at the same moment.
The show’s tone also benefits from restraint. The humour is observational—small-town politics, grand speeches in tiny rooms, and the way everyone in a village knows your worst day. Chapel’s celebrity never turns into a parody of fame; it’s closer to how minor TV legends live in the real world: mostly ignored, occasionally mobbed, and always one selfie away from the past catching up.
You can feel the value of local casting too. Welsh actors fill out the world with accents, rhythms, and side-glances that don’t need explaining. When a guest star turns up, they fold into that fabric rather than sitting on top of it. That choice adds a lot to the believability of the cases, especially in a genre where coincidence can sometimes do too much heavy lifting.
The visuals deserve a mention. The Vale of Glamorgan gives the series texture—grey skies that look like they’re thinking, cliff paths that feel like secrets, and interiors that say as much about the characters as the dialogue. It’s not just pretty. It’s purposeful. The settings pin motives to places, which helps you track who could have done what, when, and how.
As for the music, the score keeps things nimble. It leans light when Chapel and Mallowan bounce off each other, then tightens as suspects corner themselves. It’s never overpowering, which fits a show that trusts its actors’ faces to carry the tone.
Audience response has been loud and positive—especially for the central relationship. Social chatter has tipped into armchair-detective mode, with viewers trading theories and freeze-framing scenes for clues. The iPlayer launch also helped: with all six episodes available at once, many watched the series in big gulps, then went back to re-check their hunches.
Why does this work now? British TV knows how to do cosy crime, but Death Valley tweaks the formula with that “actor meets detective” premise. It lets the show talk about storytelling inside a story about solving one. Chapel understands how villains sell a narrative. Mallowan knows how to break it. That meta-line never gets too clever. It stays grounded in people trying to figure out what really happened.
Could there be more? The setup leaves room for another run—new cases, new guest stars, and more time with a partnership that still feels fresh. Nothing official has been announced, but the response and the tight six-episode run make a second series feel like a natural next step.
For now, all episodes are streaming on BBC iPlayer. It’s an easy binge: six instalments, each trimming the fat and aiming for that final, satisfying click. If you’re new to the show, start at the beginning—watch how Chapel and Mallowan learn each other’s rhythms, then see how that pays off when the suspects stop smiling.
Here’s the quick reference again if you’re keeping a cast list at home:
- Main duo: Timothy Spall (John Chapel), Gwyneth Keyworth (DS Janie Mallowan)
- Police circle: Steffan Rhodri (DCI Barry Clarke), Alexandria Riley (Helen Baxter), Rithvik Andugula (DC Evan Chaudhry)
- Guest stars: Melanie Walters (Yvonne), Patricia Hodge (Helena), Remy Beasley (Rhiannon), Mike Bubbins (Tony), Sian Gibson (Wendy), Amy Morgan (Sioned), Steve Speirs (Lloyd), Eryn Kelleher (Ava), Nathan Foad (Owen), Charlotte O’Leary (Izzy Eldwick)
If Death Valley has you eyeing footprints on your own local beach, you’re not alone. The show invites you to play detective, then rewards you for paying attention. That’s the trick with good cosy crime: it makes you feel clever, then shows you why you were.