The Light in the Hall series 2: 'Slow-burning' thriller about 'buried secrets' returns after three years with Still Waters
It's a foreboding drama set in a moody Welsh town
The Light in the Hall: Still Waters is series 2 of the Welsh crime drama that first aired in 2022, and it’s coming to Channel 4 in June 2026.
The series is the English-language version of Y Golau: Dŵr, which previously aired in Welsh on S4C. The new episodes return to the fictional town of Llanemlyn as a controversial plan to expand the reservoir “reignites long-buried tensions”.
A brilliant Welsh cast come together, with former Emmerdale favourite Sian Reese-Williams back as Caryl. Sian is the only returning cast member in series 2, which is more like an anthology series, than a sequel.
Here’s everything you need to know about The Light in the Hall: Still Waters, including plot, cast, start date, and filming locations.
Is there a The Light in the Hall series 2?
Following the success of series 1 in 2022, The Light in the Hall is returning for a series 2 entitled Still Waters. While it returns to the fictional town of Llanemlyn, it’s a new story with largely new characters. Only Sian Reese-Williams is back as Caryl.
Caryl Huws is the central character in the Welsh crime drama series (known in Welsh as Y Golau). In series 1, Caryl was working in her father’s butcher shop. In series 2, she is an aspiring journalist.
The upcoming episodes follow ex-convict Rhys Owen, who returns to town after 20 years in prison. It’s worth saying that he has always protested his innocence. In 1995, activist Llyr died in a bombing, and his cousin Rhys was jailed for his murder. Fast forward to 2025, and Rhys returns to a town facing a new reservoir expansion protest.
Young protesters Mabli and Hari reignite the conflict, drawing in trainee journalist Caryl. As she digs deeper, long-buried secrets emerge, including affairs, lies, and hidden evidence, which forced the town to confront its past.
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Channel describes The Light in the Hall: Still Waters as “a gripping drama of protest, guilt, and generational reckoning”. The series is created by Regina Moriarty, creator and lead writer of the first series of Y Golau / The Light in the Hall.
How many episodes is it?
Series 2 of The Light in the Hall is six episodes.
This is the same as series 1, which was also six episodes. You can still watch it on Channel 4’s streaming service.
Who is in the cast of The Light in the Hall series 2?
The second series features an ensemble cast led once again by Siân Reese-Williams. She returns to play Caryl in the Channel 4 crime drama. Soap fans will know Siân for playing Gennie Walker in ITV’s Emmerdale between 2008 and 2013. She’s also famous for her leading roles in Hidden, and Wolf. Siân recently played the victim’s mum Carys Davies in the Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards.
Keeping Faith and Out There actor Mark Lewis Jones will play convicted murderer Rhys Owen, while Bang’s Nia Roberts stars as Eve Davies. Sherwood and Hustle star Robert Glenister portrays Robert Davies.
The supporting cast includes:
- Wolf King’s Tom Rhys Harries as Hari Breckon.
- Run Away’s Maeve Courtier-Lilley as Mabli Davies Owen.
- Stad’s Wyn Bowen Harries as Bryn Owen.
- Hidden’s Mali Tudno Jones as Megan Breckon.
- Broadchurch’s Matthew Gravelle as Gareth Breckon.
- The Pact’s Gillian Elisa as Eunice.
What filming locations were used? Is Llanemlyn a real place?
Llanemlyn is not a real town in Wales. It’s a fictional location.
The Light in the Hall was actually filmed in the market town of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. It lies on the River Tywi , midway between Swansea and Brecon.
Producer Nora Ostler Spiteri said: “It has been a pleasure to collaborate once again with Long Story and APC to bring this story to the world. It has been wonderful to collaborate with such a talented cast and crew, and it was lovely to return to Llandovery to bring the world to life.”
Talking about filming there, actor Mark Lewis Jones told Radio Times: “I think the world of Golau is really seductive, it’s kind of really small town Wales, but with these incredible backdrops, in particular the reservoir. The landscape is extraordinary, I think. And they’re just really great stories.”
When is the start date?
The Welsh language version of the series aired on S4C in September 2025. The English language version arrives on Channel 4 on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 9pm.
Like Keeping Faith, production filmed a Welsh language version, alongside an English version.
What happened in The Light in the Hall series 1?
The first season starred Joanna Scanlan, Iwan Rheon and Alexandra Roach, and aired in 2022.
It followed Joe, who was released on parole after a long sentence for the murder of 15-year-old Ela. He never explained the reason for the crime or revealed the location of her body. Cat, a reporter who grew up in the same town, returned to cover the story.
The foreboding drama also centred on the mother, a woman still grieving for her daughter who disappeared 18 years earlier.
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