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"Anna Maxwell-Martin is stellar": The forgotten murder-mystery drama now streaming on Channel 4

Cosmopolitan Published Jun 30, 2026 Reviewed Jul 3, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors
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Season one of The Bletchley Circle consists of three 45-minute episodes originally released in 2012.
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Season two of The Bletchley Circle contains four episodes and was released in 2014.
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The Bletchley Circle is a three-part mini-series set in 1952, following four British women who were former Bletchley Park codebreakers solving murders in post-WWII London.
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The Bletchley Circle cast includes Anna Maxwell-Martin, Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham, and Sophie Rundle.
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While we know and love Anna Maxwell-Martin for her roles in Motherland and Line of Duty, she's also got a brilliant back catalogue of content for digging into. If you haven't watched The Bletchley Circle, it's essential viewing for fans of murder mysteries.

Here's everything you need to know about the three part mini-series, from what it's about, who else makes up the cast and where you can watch it now.

The Bletchley Circle is a mystery drama set after World War II, in 1952. It follows four British women called Millie, Susan, Jean and Lucy, who worked as codebreakers in Bletchley Park - a top secret wartime intelligence centre where codes from the German military were hacked.

The mini-series follow Anna Maxwell Martin's character, now a housewife, who notices a pattern unfolding in murders across London. When police dismiss her theories, she begins a covert investigation into what's going on, alongside her former colleagues at Bletchley Park.

According to the Channel 4 description, "Drama about four fictional ex-Bletchley Park operatives who team up to solve murders. With Anna Maxwell Martin, Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham and Sophie Rundle."

As well as a stellar performance from Anna Maxwell-Martin, who you'll know from Until I Kill You and Code 404, as Susan Gray, the housewife who reunited her ex-colleagues to investigate the murders, the cast includes:

WATCH NOW There are three 45-minute episodes in season one, which were originally released in 2012, and you can watch them for free on Channel 4. There was also a season 2 of The Bletchley Circle, which contains four episodes and was released in 2014, which you can also watch on the streaming platform. You're welcome!

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