Season 2 sees the arrival of a dashing and elegant stranger in Candleford. Rich, enterprising, worldly and without a wife, James Dowling is a successful businessman with a string of London hotels, and has come to transform Candleford and bring it new prosperity. But not everyone welcomes his entrepreneurial qualities and it isn't long before he is sparring with the spirited, yet suddenly unusually flustered, Dorcas and aggravating the pride of the male Lark Risers with his superior business acumen and somewhat overbearing manner.

• Olivia Hallinan
• Julia Sawalha
• Claudie Blakley
• Brendan Coyle
• Ruby Bentall
• John Dagleish
• Mark Heap
• Dawn French