The BBC is premiering another drama on Monday night in the shape of The Responder, which is written by a former police officer.
Hot on the heels of the likes of The Tourist, Four Lives and Rules of the Game, which ended last week, the five part series sees Love Actually and Sherlock star Martin Freeman return to screens in the role of a crisis-stricken, morally compromised, unconventional urgent response officer tackling a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool.
A teaser from the BBC claims that The Responder 'holds a mirror up to the emotional extremes of life on the front line of British policing - sometimes darkly funny, sometimes painfully tragic, always challenging.'
Martin is joined in The Responder cast by Adelayo Adedayo as Chris new cop partner in crime Rachel and The Last Kingdom's Ian Hart.
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While The Responder will hit close to home for many people who watch it, it is NOT a true story.
However, it should be a very real reflection of what life is like for those on the beat in cities across the UK, as it is written by former police officer Tony Schumacher.
Discussing why he decided to write the drama, he said: "In some way I feel that I am The Responder to a degree and that this is my story.
"I was a police responder who was out in the rain at one o’clock in the morning, two in the morning, three in the morning, chasing people up and down alleyways and running over rats."
He added: "I quit the police because, and there’s no getting away from it, I was cracking up in the police force and I had this overwhelming urge to write. I was really struggling mentally and I needed to get away and find myself."
Now a successful author, Merseyside born Tony was desperate for Martin to take on the lead role in the first drama he's written for TV and, ahead of episode 1 going out on BBC1 on Monday night, he said: "My fantasy casting when I was writing the character of Chris in The Responder was Martin Freeman. Seeing that fantasy become reality is beyond exciting. Martin is one of the great British actors.
"He brings such a well of talent and humanity that breathes magic into the words I've been lucky enough to give him. I can’t wait for audiences to get to see his performance in this role, it’s one I feel very lucky to have had a front row seat for.”
Anticipation was high for The Responder's first episode. After seeing the trailer, one viewer took to Twitter to post: "Looks like a powerhouse performance by Martin Freeman tonight’s The Responder on the BBC."
A second tweeted: "A new series which I predict will become a cult series starts on Monday BBC 1 Called "The Responder" starring Martin Freeman,,,have seen the trailer and it looks like a top-class drama."
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