The Responder: New police drama returns to BBC

As those who watched the first run know, the Liverpool-based copper had already made grave errors before we met him, resulting in him being demoted from his position as an inspector.

He’s now back on the beat, working as a night response officer.

When we last saw Chris, he was estranged from his wife, was undergoing therapy to help him deal with the scarring left behind by events in his personal and professional lives, and had just faced the most traumatic five shifts of his life.

All he claims he wants to do is make it to clock-out time alive and unscathed, but he’s more conscientious than he’s willing to admit, something that repeatedly leads him into danger – doing the right thing, according to his own moral code, often results in misery, for himself and others.

Viewers probably spent a lot of their time shouting at the screen while realising the trouble Chris was about to land himself in, but part of the reason why they felt so much sympathy for the character is Freeman’s all-so-human performance.

It came as no surprise when he received a Bafta nomination as Best Actor for his work on the show.

“The reason I wanted to play Chris is that he is a great mixture of vulnerability and strength,” claims Freeman.

“I think there is something about a man of few words that is attractive. There’s a reason why people like characters that don’t have to over-explain themselves and I think Chris is one of them.

“He’s very intelligent, he’s emotionally smart, but he’s a copper.

"He finds it hard to be open at home and with his counsellor, and in his job it’s probably wise not to be open, so he picks his moments when he can let off steam and talk to people.

"But those are few and far between and the amount of plates he is spinning is frightening.

"So much so that if he drops even one of those plates he could wind up dead.”

If the scripts have a sense of reality about them, it’s probably because they were written by Tony Schumacher, himself a former Merseyside police officer.

He states that although the storylines are fictional, Chris has “a lot to do” with him and his experiences.

Now he’s pleased to be behind a desk, tapping away at a computer rather than facing criminals and victims on the streets: “Throwing myself back into the world of The Responder has been such a ride over this last year or so. Gathering the characters old and new around me has been a delight, and finally getting to see these people brought to life by so many incredible people fills me with genuine excitement.

“I just can’t wait for you to see them too!”