Ahead of the release of The Ink Black Heart, the BBC has posted interviews with Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger, Tom Edge the Screenwriter, Sue Tully the Director, and Alex Rendell, the Producer.

Here are a few of the questions and answers.

Tom Burke (Cormoran Strike)

Where do we find Strike and Robin at the beginning of this series?

There is a gap between major cases; they don’t know that they’re about to be on another one. It’s a belated birthday dinner for Robin. Just the two of them. And we see them really the freest with each other that we’ve ever seen – partly because of alcohol.

This builds to a particular moment of spectacular mistiming. And subsequently, for most of the rest of this story, the communication goes back several steps. I was a little worried about that before I’d read Tom’s scripts; the book is incredibly detailed about what they’re both going through, but in a sense it’s very private stuff to each of them.

What do you think the attempted kiss at the beginning of episode one means to them both?

The way Robin talks about it, she thinks, had she kissed Cormoran back, he would’ve regretted it and then would have had to address it in a very awkward way.

I don’t think Strike feels that way about it. He just thinks he’s completely misread the situation, and a lot preceding it – going back years. It’s very human, and everyone’s been there – where you’re never quite sure about how the other person feels and you boomerang between the extremes in guessing. It’s the scariest thing on earth to make that leap of faith hoping that they feel the same way.

Do you have any moments in your life when you think, “What would Strike do?”

Do you know, I do. The time that I remember, which was pretty mundane really, I was queuing for a visa a few years ago and I realised there was the relatively new rule that you weren’t allowed your mobile phone in the American Embassy.

I couldn’t ask the stranger next to me to hold on to my phone cause we’re all there for the same reason, and I remember thinking “What would Strike do?”

And I went into a cafe across the way and found somewhere to hide my phone in the bathroom. And it was a very cluttered bathroom actually. It had shelves with an abundance of toilet rolls. And I felt so proud. I thought, “Yeah, that’s what Strike would do.”

Holliday Grainger (Robin Ellacott)

Robin has many disguises, and this season is no exception. Why do you think Robin’s so good at doing that?

I think she initially felt quite comfortable doing accents and the more that she does it, the more she feels comfortable doing it, the more she gets away with it, it’s like Venetia Hall has now become a fixture.

Robin has a tough verbal and physical confrontation with Charlotte’s partner, Jago Ross. Can you tell us why this is significant in giving us more insight into her character?

They’re investigating Jago Ross because he’s Charlotte’s partner and, to get Strike out of a sticky situation with those two, Robin doesn’t want to allow his mistakes to ruin her business.

But while investigating Jago she realises what a horrible, misogynistic piece of work he is. He is an horrendous child and woman abuser. Physically and emotionally. So, when she’s face to face with seeing it, her whole history comes out.

He symbolises everything that Robin hates. Misogyny and also the class arrogance that he has. As a father and leader of the household, he’s in such a position of power over these young girls that he should be loving and creating a nurturing environment for them, and he’s not.

So he’s, in Robin’s eyes, so undeserving of every privilege he has.

The Land Rover’s back! Why does she hang on to this car? Why does she love it so much?

God knows, if I was Robin I wouldn’t go and stake out in that Landy. But we all love the Landy. I think because it’s Robin’s family car, and I think that what I love about Robin is that she’s not frivolous at all.

If it works… She’s not going to buy herself a new car unless this one breaks down. Maybe there is a sentimentality with it as well, but it’s a fully functioning car.

I think there’s a history between detectives and their cars. Without a doubt. And so, you know, it’s Robin in the Landy!

Tom Edge, Screenwriter

What elements of the adaptation did you find the most challenging?

It’s always a challenge, but it’s a lovely challenge. I think Tom and Holliday are so good that even in the earlier stages, there’s a delight in knowing how much they will be able to deliver.

There’s a high degree of confidence as a starting point for which I’m really grateful. I think this season between Robin and Strike is a really interesting one because it begins with Strike’s attempt to kiss Robin and her pulling away from that, and that creates this gulf between them.

It creates an awkwardness and a disconnection. What it also does is force them both to think very clearly about what they feel and what to do about that. And for Strike, it is the decision to try and flee from it.

In previous series we’ve seen him bury his feelings in women he doesn’t care about, or booze. And now we see an attempt by him to return to those patterns, but he can’t sustain them anymore.

We see his body literally breaking down under the strain of it and take him to a point where the truth of what he feels is no longer something that he can run from.

And Robin’s journey sits almost in counterpoint that she sees that her feelings for Strike can destroy everything and has to force herself to actively step into a world where she does date again.

So, both of them are trying to run from something that is essentially true.

There’s a really interesting subplot in this book where Charlotte returns and requires Strike’s help to gain dirt on her ex-husband under the threat that the divorce proceedings will otherwise ruin Strike’s reputation and his agency, making it impossible for him to operate.

So, all of the dysfunction that lay within his relationship with Charlotte, and which is not yet fully put to bed, becomes something that jeopardises the agency that he and Robin have built together. The relationships conducted by Strike, if they’re done with his customary dysfunction, have the capacity to create vast destruction.

Alex Rendell, Producer

What practical difficulties do you find across production and shooting in London?

London can be expensive to film in, particularly when you need to be more central and servicing locations can be tricky.

Obviously, the Strike books are rooted in London, his office is in Denmark Street and Jo includes some very specific London locations that she will have researched. We always try and visit some of them whilst filming, depending on permissions and budget!

As a producer managing logistics and budgets, when you read “They turn up at ComiCon”, does that make your heart sink?

No, but I do of course have to be realistic and as much as I’d like thousands of people to recreate Comic Con we have to work within our means. Our director Sue Tully was very keen to do this sequence, and heads of department worked hard to find a way to make a version that looked great and was financially manageable.

Lucasfilm were very helpful in giving us permission to use Star Wars costumes which was great because Strike was scripted, as in the book, to wear a Darth Vader outfit.

We also had some wonderful supporting artists from Live Action Role Playing, LARPing, who came with their own costume designs.

Sue Tully, Director

How loyal do you want to be to the locations that you read about in the book?

Jo [Rowling] goes everywhere in the books. So, when we’re preparing, looking for locations, our first point of call is always to the real place. It’s brilliant because it means you get access to places that you might not normally – like Raymond Blanc’s place that we went to in Lethal White – Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, or no-women allowed gentlemen’s clubs we get access to.

Jo understands that the only reason that we wouldn’t use the real locations is for logistical or financial reasons. She understands that we’ve got a schedule and that we’ve got to shoot within a certain budget.

We try and make it work as much as we can. And there are certain things where I’ll just think it’s a no brainer, we’ve just got to go there.

For the full interviews visit the BBC’s website.

Strike is one of the UK’s most watched dramas, with the most recent instalment: Strike – Troubled Blood – averaging 8.4 million viewers across its run in 2022.

Strike: The Ink Black Heart is airing from this Monday, 16th December on BBC1 and iPlayer, and will be released internationally soon.

The Ink Black Heart is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Galbraith. It is produced by Bronte Film & TV Ltd in co-production with the BBC, HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery. Executive producers are Ruth Kenley-Letts and J.K. Rowling. Producer is Alex Rendell and Director is Sue Tully.