The new six episodes will be written by series creator Peter Bowker alongside Rachel Bennette and Matt Jones, which will continue to tell the story of World War Two through the eyes of ordinary people whose lives have been thrown into chaos.

October 1940. As lone pilots are sent to destroy German bombers prowling the skies above Manchester, the beginning of the Northern Blitz signals the true reality of war arriving in Britain.

The second series of World On Fire will take viewers from the streets of Britain into occupied France, Nazi Germany, and to the sands of North African desert. British troops struggle alongside Indian Sappers and Australian diggers to adapt to a very different kind of combat.

Lesley Manville will reprise her role as Robina, with the returning cast also including Jonah Hauer-King as Harry, Julia Brown as Lois, Zofia Wichlacz as Kasia, Blake Harrison as Stan, Eugénie Derouand as Henriette, Eryk Biedunkiewicz as Jan, and Cel Spellman as Joe.

Joining the cast for series two will be Mark Bonnar (Guilt) as Sir James Danemere, Ahad Raza Mir (Resident Evil) as Rajib, and Gregg Sulkin (Runaways) as David. Further new and returning cast will be announced in due course.

Lesley Manville says: “It’s wonderful to be bringing Peter Bowler’s epic scripts to life again. Rich characters telling great, human stories set against the backdrop of World War Two. It’s a feast!”

Creator and writer Peter Bowker added: "The second season of World On Fire has been a long wait due to a certain pandemic and this makes the beginning of filming especially exciting. It has been a real joy to pick up the story with our inspirational cast, both our established regulars and new and exciting talent who have embraced the show’s scale and ambition.”

Filming on series two of World On Fire is currently underway in Northern Ireland.