BACK FOR MOOR

ADRIAN DUNBAR RETURNS FOR A NEW SERIES OF ITV POLICE DRAMA RIDLEY. MARION MCMULLEN FINDS OUT WHAT'S IN STORE FROM THE LINE OF DUTY ACTOR

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JESUS, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey... Adrian Dunbar made his mark as Line of Duty’s catchphrase-laden supremo Ted Hastings, but is back playing a very different crimefighter in ITV's Ridley.

Retired detective-turned-police consultant Alex Ridley left the service after losing his wife and daughter in a devastating arson attack on their home.

The first run aired in 2022 and Adrian says he is thrilled to have been given the chance to return to a role he admits is close to his heart.

"When you come off the back of creating a really interesting character, like Ted Hastings, you don’t think you're ever going to reach those heights ever again,” says the actor, 67.

“Programmes like this, they really do rely on the heart at the middle of it all, and that’s usually provided by the central character.

“I'm getting to play a lot more of me in Ridley because he’s out of the office. With Ted, most of the time you saw him in a very tight world.

“I'm having to bring a bit more of myself to those moments of emotion.”

He adds: “The great strength of the show is the fact that every episode is different.

“When you've got that feature-length format, you can do a little bit more. You can take something that would be a one-hour telly show into a film. And the whole standalone element of the series works really well, given that we have such different episodes. I think audiences like that.

“We're always in the same locale, but the episodes, and where it takes us, and who we end up meeting, changes.