Sharon D. Clarke Clashes With a 'Slow Horses' Star in New British Detective Series 'Inspector Ellis' Sneak Peek [Exclusive]

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Sharon D. Clarke and Andrew Gower in Inspector Ellis

Acorn TV is about to welcome a new super sleuth to its roster of detectives - Inspector Ellis. Played by Broadway and West End legend and Doctor Who alum Sharon D. Clarke, the tenacious cop is often tasked with coming onto flailing investigations across northern England and finding the answers her colleagues can't seem to crack. Accompanied throughout the three-part series by her right-hand man, Detective Sergeant Chet Harper (Andrew Gower), she's forced to overcome bias against her as a Black woman and ingratiate herself with local police departments to immerse herself in the complex murder and missing person cases she's assigned to solve. Yet, it's not always easy for her to make friends with her fellow detectives. Collider can exclusively share a sneak peek at the series that sees Clarke tangling with Slow Horses antagonist Chris Reilly.

From the moment Ellis steps into the office of Senior Investigating Officer Belmont (Reilly) in the clip, Belmont is already admonishing her approach to the murder and missing person case. In Episode 1, titled "Hanmore," Ellis is called in by Assistant Chief Constable Alison Leighton (Allison Harding) to get results in the case of Rowan Edwards (Daire Scully), an 18-year-old found dead in a car partly submerged in a lake whose mother also happens to be a former Member of Parliament. With the press swarming and Rowan's girlfriend Maggie (Freya Hannan-Mills) missing since the incident, she has to act fast, though it doesn't help that Belmont is disgruntled about being bumped off the case. It's clear immediately that he has a much less empathetic approach than Ellis, insisting that the stepfather of the missing girl is clearly the person of interest and not a victim reacting to stress as Ellis suggests.

The footage emphasizes the challenges ahead for Detective Chief Inspector Ellis as Belmont tears into her about ignoring what he believes are clear-as-day facts pointing to the stepfather, including a motive, a record, and a very shoddy alibi. Ellis doesn't want to jump to conclusions though and proposes building a rapport with the person of interest to get more information on Maggie. She's also not too thrilled with him immediately assuming the father is also a killer, but Belmont puts his foot down and continues to be the bad cop, telling her that she's just in their office to make the department look like they're exhausting all options and that he's still the one calling every shot. It sets up a tense dynamic between the two, as Belmont is the antithesis of Ellis's relentless strive for justice and compassion.

Who Is Behind 'Inspector Ellis'?

Inspector Ellis will consist of three 90-minute episodes exploring the cases that Ellis has been brought on board to save. Originally assigned to "keep an eye on her," DS Harper looks to be a keen partner for her throughout the series' run too, making for a dynamic new duo of crime solvers. The show initially premiered on October 31 on Channel 5 in the U.K. and comes from the creative duo of Paul Logue and Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre, both of whom have experience in the field of mystery. Logue is best known for his writing on series like Shetland, Death in Paradise, and Midsomer Murders, while Berre has written for Murder Is Easy and Nautilus after spending years acting in titles from EastEnders to Netflix's The Princess Switch 3.