Strike viewers spot Call the Midwife and Coronation Street stars in new Ink Black Heart series – did you recognise them?

EAGLE-eyed Strike viewers will spot two familiar faces in the hit new BBC crime series Strike: The Ink Black Heart.

The new series, based on the book of the same name, kicked off last night and sees detective duo Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) and Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) try to solve the mystery of the death of a popular cartoonist, Edie Ledwell. 

Robin and Cormoran are thrust into the mystery as they discover an entangled network of family disputes and business interests.

A number of familiar faces have reprised their roles alongside leads Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, while a new host of guest stars have also joined the series for the latest episodes. 

In particular, fans will spot Coronation Street’s Tupele Dorgu on the show, as she takes on the role of Midge Greenstreet, the newest addition to Strike and Robin's team. 

Tupele found fame on the ITV soap opera when she joined the cast in 2004 but hasn't been seen in soapland since 2010.

The popular actress portrayed the role of loudmouth factory worker Kelly Crabtree on Coronation Street for six years.

After leaving the show, her acting career continued to flourish with the actress becoming a regular star of stage and screen.

She starred in Waterloo Road, Casualty, All at Sea and Cucumber.

Meanwhile, Call the Midwife’s Ben Caplan also features on the show as Allan Yeoman, who works at the creative agency where Edie was signed.

Ben Caplan is most known for his role as PC Peter Noakes who was married to Miranda Hart's Camilla “Chummy” on Call the Midwife. 

Strike: The Ink Black Heart is based on the sixth book in JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike series, which she writes under the name Robert Galbraith.

It's the first time viewers will have been able to get their fix of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott in two years, and a big question has been hanging over them since they were last on our screens.

At the end of season five in 2022, Cormoran failed to confess his true feelings for Robin as she navigated her way after a messy divorce.

Yet it remains to be seen whether series six will bring a romance or not for the detective pair.

Strike is one of the UK's most watched dramas with the previous instalment, Strike - Troubled Blood, averaging 8.4 million viewers across its run in 2022.

The series is split in four-parts, with the first episode airing on Monday December 16, second episode on Tuesday, December 17 and final episodes on Monday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 24.

All episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.