Manhunt: The Night Stalker: ITV True Crime Series Is Coming This Month

Manhunt: The Night Stalker will tell the real-life story of the police's hunt for a serial rapist Delroy Grant, who raped elderly people in South East London over a period of 17 years.

In this sequel to Manhunt, Martin Clunes will reprise his role of DCI Sutton, who joins the investigation late and then solves the case in just a few weeks.

The new series will be based on the diaries of the real life DCI Colin Sutton, who spent 30 years in the police force and investigated a number of high-profile cases.

Grant, the antagonist of the new series, was a real-life burglar and rapist who was linked to more than 200 crimes across London, Kent, and Surrey between 1992 and 2009.

Grant would target lone, elderly women, with the oldest being in her 90s, in their homes and sexually assault them.

He lived a double life, committing his crimes at night while going to church and taking care of his family by day.

Operation Minstead was set up by the Met Police in 1998 to investigate the crimes, and is to this day the largest and most complex rape investigation the force has taken on.

Manhunt II: The Night Stalker will also star David Wittes (EastEnders), Diveen Henry (The Dumping Ground), Sule Rimi (Black Earth Rising), and Ian Conningham (Cleaning Up).

The first series of Manhunt saw nine million viewers and was the highest rated new drama in 2019, following Clunes as DCI Sutton investigating the serial killer Levi Bellfield.

ITV's Head of Drama Polly Hill said: "I'm delighted that Martin Clunes will play DCI Colin Sutton once again, taking on a case that had gone unsolved for almost decades.

"The team behind the first Manhunt – writer Ed Whitmore, director Marc Evans, along with Buffalo Pictures and executive producer Philippa Braithwaite – will make sure this is another compelling and respectful dramatisation of a truly shocking crime that affected so many families," she added.

Manhunt: The Night Stalker starts 20th September at 9pm on ITV.