Neil Stuke

Martha Costello (Maxine Peake, The Village) returns to Shoe Lane Chambers having earned "silk." Now as a new member of the Queen's Counsel, Martha finds the stakes higher than ever as she faces Shoe Lane's newest prosecution barrister. As the pressure rises, so does the romantic tension between her and fellow barrister, Clive Reader (Rupert Penry-Jones, MI5). Meanwhile, Senior Clerk Billy Lamb (Neil Stuke, Inspector Lewis) turns to an unsavory solicitor...

Two years after the events of season one, Dr. Gemma Foster's husband Simon returns and brings unwelcome complications and instability to Gemma's life and that of her teenage son Tom.

Martha has to put her personal feelings aside when she is asked to defend a close friend from her past. Is she strong enough to ask him the tough questions in order to do her job properly? The evidence against him in the case of a gangland execution is overwhelming.

Martha defends a vulnerable teenager and the pupils are given their first opportunity to stand up in court, taking on a low-level magistrates' court case. However, as the cases progress, both Martha and Nick find themselves in challenging positions. Can Martha save her client without endangering not only her silk application, but also her career?

Martha Costello is now a QC, but she learns fast that it can be lonely at the top. At Shoe Lane Chambers times are tough, and senior clerk Billy struggles to keep things afloat while Clive Reader tries to be stoic about his unsuccessful silk application.

Clive has finally become a Silk but his celebration party is dramatically cut short when news of the arrest of the son of the Head of Chambers for killing a police officer reaches the celebrations. Martha must step in to defend the young man despite the overwhelming evidence.

Battle lines are drawn when Martha and Clive find themselves on opposing sides in a high profile case of assisted suicide. A mother is accused of helping her severely paralyzed daughter to die and Martha must fight to defend her client in a test case amidst the moral arguments that surround such a contentious subject.

Martha is becoming increasingly isolated as she fights to defend ex-boyfriend Sean against overwhelming evidence. Determined to ignore an angry Clive who attempts to force her to confront the holes in her client's story, Martha begins to wonder if she's cut out for this world. As she begins to uncover further lies Sean has told she is shocked when she has to rely on an old enemy to have any hope of clearing his name.

At the Supreme Court Martha is representing Jackson Henderson in a death row case. Against a ticking clock and with Billy breathing down her neck, Martha faces the toughest legal argument of her career. Clive increasingly feels that he's not the right barrister for Fatima Ali and at the risk of losing George, persuades Martha to take the brief, conveniently leaving him free to prosecute Jody Farr.

Martha prosecutes a teacher accused of assaulting a pupil, but believes he is on too serious a charge and is not being properly defended by her colleague, Noah. Meanwhile, Nick takes on his first major case, and both Martha and Clive have their Silk interviews. Will Martha be able to ensure a fair trial for the teacher at the same time as succeeding in her interview?