9 missing Luther characters who could still make a comeback

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

From Digital Spy

Luther has inflicted more than its fair share of death upon us, but while certain characters are officially dead and buried, preventing any future return, a handful of faces simply disappeared without any explanation.

From fellow crime-fighting compadres to perilous underworld figures, the following nine characters technically still exist in the Luther-verse, and there's every chance that they could one day return for good.

1. Detective Sergeant Emma Lane

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

The detective sergeant, played by Rose Leslie, pops up in both episodes of series four.

At the beginning of the series, Luther is living alone in a ramshackle cottage by the sea, but his silence is shattered when Emma turns up to convince Luther to help her catch a killer, alongside Detective Chief Inspector Theo Bloom (Darren Boyd), who is later blown to pieces following a bomb explosion.

Emma is deeply affected by the death of Bloom, vouching to do “anything” she can to bring the killer to justice, and she is the one who ends up shooting the killer dead with a gun that she stole from Luther.

Luther and Emma have one last conversation following the incident, and that's the last that we see of her.

Technically, Leslie could make a comeback because her character is still alive. But speaking to Radio Times, writer-creator Neil Cross ruled that out, declining to say any more.

During the series, we find out that Emma's girlfriend is expecting a baby, so we'd like to think that she took a break to enjoy some quality family time, before returning back to the force and kicking ass once again.

2. Detective Chief Inspector Erin Gray

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

DCI Erin Gray, played by Nikki Amuka-Bird, is a career-driven, play-it-by-the book type of woman who pops up in series two and three.

It’s clear from the very beginning that she isn’t a fan of Luther, labelling him “His Satanic Majesty” and asking Justin Ripley if “he’s really as dirty as they say”. She is convinced that Luther is up to no good, and is looking for evidence to use against him.

During series two, Luther sets the fire alarm off so her can use the police database for unofficial business, and thinks that he's gotten away with it. But Erin tells Justin that she saw what he was doing – Erin repeatedly tries to convince Justin to help her nail Luther, but while he is momentarily swayed, he never fully commits.

Eventually, Erin speaks to one of her superiors about Luther, but it's of no interest because she doesn't have any concrete evidence. Erin is lambasted for her behaviour and told to do some thinking about her future in the service.

She goes on to leave the Serious and Serial Unit between series two and three, becoming Detective Chief Inspector in a unit investigating police corruption.

Erin works alongside Detective Superintendent George Stark, who is later shot by vigilante Tom Marwood, on an investigation focused on bringing Luther down.

Throughout series three, Erin attempts to get Justin on side once again, something which Luther gets wise to fairly quickly, despite Erin kissing Justin during one of their covert meetings to throw him off the scent.

The last we see of her is when Marwood has a gun pointed in her face – he is looking for Mary Day, Luther's love interest at the time, and Gray and Stark had been guarding her in a supposedly safe location.

But Erin lives to see another day, so she could technically make a comeback if Cross decides to reintroduce her.

We're not sure Luther would be too happy about that.

3. Jenny Jones

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

We meet Jenny Jones, played by Aimee-Ffion Edwards, in season two.

Jenny’s mother Caroline demands that Luther help her daughter, who is a prostitute, both self-harming and taking drugs. According to Caroline, it is Luther’s fault that Jenny's life has panned out the way it has because he sent her father sent to jail for murdering and cutting up a prostitute, and argues that it was that which sent her daughter off the rails.

Luther takes Jenny from the brothel where she is working to a safe house, and after some convincing he decides to fully commit to helping Jenny turn her back on her old life, but not before she is forced to kill Toby Kent (David Dawson), Baba's sadistic grandson, in Luther's flat after he rapes her.

Luther helps Jenny dispose of the body and pins the murder on one of Baba's henchmen.

A lot of people meet their maker in Luther, but Jenny is not one of them, so it's entirely possible that we'll meet her again.

4. Caroline Jones

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

We first meet Caroline (Kierston Wareing) in season two when she arrives at Luther’s office and asks him to help Jenny.

And the last time we see Caroline is also in season two, right at the end, when Frank turns up at her flat expecting to speak to Jenny about Toby’s disappearance. But Jenny slips out, calls the police and they find Toby’s body in Frank's car.

5. Baba

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Baba, played by Pam Ferris, appears in season two.

She is a powerful underworld figure who runs a “tight operation”, including the prostitution ring that Jenny was working in. Baba claims that Luther owes her a favour after taking Jenny from her brothel, and asks him to ensure that her grandson, Toby, isn’t implicated in an investigation involving people trafficking, despite having very much been involved.

Baba tells Luther that if he does what she asks, she won’t harm Jenny or her mum.

Following Toby’s death, Baba summons Luther, demanding to know where her grandson is, but Luther denies knowing anything and says he’ll keep an eye out. She also asks Luther to find out where Frank has gone, but he refuses and tells her he’s done.

Luther also warns Baba that if she ever tries to harm Jenny again, he’ll send Alice her way.

6. Frank Hodge

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Frank Hodge, played by Alan Williams, appears in series two.

He is essentially a henchman for Baba, doing a lot of her dirty work, and it's Frank who works out that something sinister has happened to Toby after finding a bucket of bloody water in Luther's flat.

After confronting him in a car park, Luther manages to outsmart Frank and sticks Toby's body in the boot of his car.

Jenny calls the police and Frank does a runner, and that's the last that we see of him.

Will Frank return to wreak vengeance on Luther? It's certainly a possibility.

7. Detective Superintendent Rose Teller

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

DSU Rose Teller, played by Saskia Reeves, appears in series one.

She is Luther’s boss and, despite his doubters, robustly defends him, arguing that a previous investigation carried out on Luther came up short. She doesn’t consider him a risk, but an investment to the force.

Rose is there when Alice first rocks up after having killed her parents, and she continually reminds Luther throughout the series that he needs to do his job by the book.

Teller is also when present when it looks, from an outside perspective, that Luther has killed his ex-wife Zoe – we know that it was Detective Chief Inspector Ian Reed (Steven Mackintosh) who killed her – and Rose leads the chase to bring him to justice.

Reeves hasn't featured in any of the show's recent series, and we're doubtful that'll change.

8. Mary Day

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Mary Day, played by Sienna Guillory, appears in series three.

She becomes Luther's latest love interest, the pair first meeting after she crashes into his car.

But Erin and George warn her about Luther, telling Mary what they have on him, including the suspicious circumstances in which his ex-wife Zoe died. Mary confronts Luther and asks to know the truth, and in time he obliges.

At the beginning the the last episode, we see Mary at Luther's house after he asks her to meet him there, but Marwood shows up with a gun. Mary manages to escape and finds her way to Erin and George who take her to a secret location, essentially telling Mary that Luther wants her dead because she knows too much.

At the end of the series, Marwood, Luther and Alice all rock up to the safe location, and it looks like several people are going to die. But Alice saves the day after stabbing Marwood in the neck, and both Mary and Luther agree to go their separate ways after a final embrace.

9. Megan Cantor

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Megan Cantor, played by Laura Haddock, appears briefly in series four, where she gives Luther a message from Alice: "Stacey has the owl".

When Luther contests this (Alice is supposed to be dead, after all), she agrees and says that Alice "appears" to her.

He later meets Megan on a park bench where he accuses her of not knowing Alice at all, and we discover that she is a person from his past – Megan is still traumatised by a murder during her childhood which she blames Luther for, and has supposedly killed Alice to get his attention and remind him that he had failed to solve that particular case.

At the end of the series, Luther warns Megan to be scared of him because he is coming for her, so there is every possibly that she could return in the future.


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