Traces cast: who stars with Molly Windsor and Martin Compston in the crime drama - and how to watch it on iPlayer

The show has been shown before, but now it’s more readily available on the BBC’s iPlayer

(Photo: BBC)

A new Dundee-set crime drama has made its way to iPlayer.

Traces stars Line of Duty alumni, and explores the world of SIFA, the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science.

The show was originally broadcast in December 2019 on UKTV’s crime channel Alibi, but has since made the jump to the BBC, where it’s likely to get a much bigger audience.

(Photo: BBC)

Here's everything you need to know about it - including how to watch it.

What is Traces about?

"When 23-year-old Emma Hedges returns to Scotland to take up a new position as a lab assistant at SIFA, she signs up to an online course which teaches the principles of forensic science," says the show's official synopsis.

Hedges soon discovers that the fictitious case study has a strikingly similar and shocking link to her past, and as Emma’s sleuthing takes her into darker corners and unpicks more and more secrets, it becomes clear that she should trust no-one.

"Running alongside Emma’s central story, other cases and different forensic disciplines will shine a spotlight on science’s contribution to solving the mysteries of human existence."

Who stars in it?

"Traces introduces us to three compelling and very different female characters," says the synopsis, "Emma Hedges, Prof. Sarah Gordon and Prof. Kathy Torrance - who together will use the rigours of forensics to uncover the truth about an unsolved murder case."

BAFTA award winning actress Molly Windsor stars as lab assistant Emma Hedges. She picked up the BAFTA for her role as Holly Winshaw in Rochdale grooming scandal drama Three Girls, and starred alongside Katherine Kelly in TV drama, Cheat.

Laura Fraser (The Missing, Breaking Bad) co-stars as Prof. Sarah Gordon, and told RadioTimes.com her character”feels a sense of responsibility and duty towards her students.

“She tries to maintain quite a strong boundary between them… it’s a professional boundary that can’t be crossed, but at the same time she feels such maternal urges towards Molly’s character because she’s so vulnerable and so bright.”

Rounding out the trio of female leads is Jennifer Spence (Travelers, You Me Her) as Prof. Kathy Torrance.

They’re all joined by Martin Compston, who will be instantly familiar to fans of similar crime shows for his time as anti-corruption cop DS Steve Arnott in Line of Duty.

He's also appeared in Mary Queen of Scots, Victoria and The Nest, but unlike in Line of Duty, Compston will be delivering his lines in his native Scottish accent here.

When can I watch it?

All six episodes of Traces were added to the BBC’s iPlayer at the start of January, and are still available to stream there for the next five months or so.