Will The Tourist return for season 2?

Warning: this article contains a discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation that some readers may find distressing.

*Contains spoilers for all episodes of The Tourist*

The final episode of The Tourist – BBC One’s latest thriller – airs on Sunday, with the story of Jamie Dornan’s amnesia-stricken character coming to an end after a dramatic series.

Written by Baptiste’s Jack and Harry Williams, The Tourist sees The Man wake up in an Australian hospital after being run off the road with no memory of who he is and why he’s there, with the likes of Shalom Brune-Franklin, Danielle Macdonald and Damon Herriman appearing in The Tourist cast.

All episodes arrived on BBC iPlayer at the start of the month so if you binge-watched the whole series and are wondering after that The Tourist ending whether Dornan will be back in the outback, then we have some information for you.

Read on for everything we know so far about The Tourist series two, whether it has been commissioned by the BBC and what the creators have said about the hit thriller.

Will The Tourist return for season 2?

The BBC has not yet announced whether The Tourist season 2 will happen.

However, considering the drama left viewers on a cliffhanger with the first season’s finale, it’s very possible that The Man – who we found out was called Elliot – may be back.

Jamie Dornan certainly thinks so, with the show’s star telling RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that while they originally planned for it to be a one-off, the demand seems to be there for a follow-up.

“I guess it’s a little bit open-ended with the end, people still have questions,” he said. “Obviously we had good plans for it, wanted it, but the response to it, as you know, has been insane and the amount of people [who have] watched it, and the love for it is very real.

“I saw something the other day that they said that there’s talk of… they’d be looking into how they could do a second series of it if there is a want, and it seems there is a want,” he added.

“So who knows, the plan was only ever to play The Man once, but we’ll see.”

Meanwhile, The Tourist creators Harry and Jack Williams told RadioTimes.com before the show aired that they were talking about possible ideas for a second series.

“I would love to make this show again with these people,” Harry said. “I’m not entirely sure it’s possible. I love the tone, I love the world. It’s been our lives for three years and we’ve been very, very involved with it, more so than any other show.”

His brother Jack added: “We are talking about how we could return to this world, aren’t we?” with Harry replying: “Yeah, this world and this tone. I feel like we’re not done with that. In terms of the story, we’ll see how it goes if people like it.”

Fingers crossed!

When could a second season of The Tourist be released? 

If The Tourist is renewed for a second season, then it most likely won’t arrive until 2023 at the earliest, taking into account the time necessary to write scripts and shoot and edit new episodes.

While we’re yet to hear official word from the BBC as to whether The Tourist does return, the finale left us with some loose ends that could be tied up in season 2.

When we last saw Elliot, he had drunk a bottle of vodka and swallowed lots of pills in an attempt to end his life, having found out that he was a drug trafficker before losing his memory. However, Constable Helen Chambers (Danielle Macdonald) decided to give him a chance by sending him a burrito emoji – which a few episodes earlier they established as a symbol of love.

With Elliot now having something to live for, season 2 would reveal whether he lived or died and whether he continued his romance with Helen. We also wouldn’t be surprised if another shady figure from his past popped up to give us a villain for season 2.

Which of The Tourist cast could return for a second season?

Nothing has yet been confirmed as for season 2 – however, it wouldn’t be The Tourist without Jamie Dornan and given that he’s not rejected the suggestion of returning to the show for a second round, we can expect the international superstar to reprise his role as Elliot if the drama does come back.

Similarly, it’s a fair bet we’d see Danielle Macdonald return as Constable Helen Chambers and potentially Damon Herriman as DI Lachlan Rogers, who was jailed for murdering Rodney Lammon.

However, we know that Shalom Brune-Franklin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Alex Dimitriades won’t be back as their characters died in season one.

The Tourist season one is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features.