Life of CRIME

JULIE GRAHAM and SEAN BEAN on their 'mould-breaking' gangland drama

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THIS CITY IS OURS NEW SUNDAY, 9PM, BBC1 DRAMA (BOX SET, BBC IPLAYER)

On a bright but blustery June day, TV Times is inside a beautifully ornate church in Liverpool, where Sean Bean and Julie Graham are cooing over a cute baby. We've been invited to watch filming for BBC1's no-holds-barred new drama This City Is Ours, which stars Sean (Snowpiercer) as crime boss Ronnie Phelan and Julie (The Hardacres) as his wife Elaine, and in the scene being shot, they have gathered loved ones together for their grandson's christening. As the eight-part series begins, everything is going well for the family, who import drugs from Colombia into Merseyside, and Ronnie is contemplating retirement.

But a shipment goes missing, leading to suspicion that there's a traitor within the gang, and a battle for control of Ronnie's empire ensues between his reckless son Jamie (Hijack's Jack McMullen) and his level-headed deputy Michael Kavanagh (A Thousand Blows actor James Nelson-Joyce) – how far will they go to secure power? Here, Sean, 65, and Julie, 59, give us their take…

What was it that first drew you to this story?
SEAN When I received the script, my reaction was, 'I have to be in this.' It was profound, funny, shocking and sinister, but real – I was hooked. There's not been anything like it.