The actor will be joined by Andrea Lowe (Love Life, Monroe) playing DS Annie Cabbot and Caroline Catz (Doc Martin) as DI Helen Morton when the new episodes start filming in early 2016.
Tompkinson said: “Series five is taking us to its most dramatic place so far and I can’t wait to be reunited with the cast and crew to make our most memorable series to date.”
Produced by Left Bank Pictures, the new season will see Banks will be forced to question all that he holds dear, as he pits his detective skills against criminals who will stop at nothing to escape the law.
When he confronts a powerful adversary who has been dubbed by his superiors as too big to bring down, Banks’ dogged pursuit of justice sets in motion a chain of events that rips at the very fabric of his life, both professional and personal.
Banks needs his team around him but Helen’s rule-following approach threatens to undermine him and her desire for promotion could cause a divisive rift.
Spurred on by Helen’s ambition, Annie pursues her own results-driven, gut instinct style of policing, and Ken faces a dilemma when he is entrusted with a secret about Annie’s marriage.
“DCI Banks has become a firm favourite with the ITV drama audience and this series will be the grittiest yet,” said ITV’s Head of Drama Series, Jane Hudson.
“We’ll see the team embark on an investigation that will truly change things forever.”
Executive Producer Andy Harries added: “I’m delighted we are producing a fifth series of DCI Banks, one of ITV’s best loved dramas. The stunning backdrop of the Yorkshire countryside is deeply contrasted with the uncompromising storylines the team are dealing with.”
