It takes TWO

MANDIP GILL and ROBERT JAMES-COLLIER on what sets TV's latest crime-solving partners apart

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Mismatched detective partnerships have been at the heart of many mystery dramas over the years. Now, Downton Abbey star Robert James-Collier and Doctor Who favourite Mandip Gill are excited to be joining their ranks as they team up to play the titular crime-fighters in much-anticipated new whodunnit Cooper & Fry.

‘It’s the classic odd-couple story,’ notes Robert, 49, as TV Times joins him and Mandip, 37, for a chat ahead of the show’s launch on 5 this week.

‘Their clashing techniques soon weave together to make them a formidable duo – I actually think they’re the most charismatic TV detective pairing since Lieutenant James Dempsey and DS Harriet Makepeace [played by now-married couple Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber in ITV’s 1980s hit crime-drama series Dempsey and Makepeace]. I’m 12 years older than Mandip, so when I made that comparison, she said, “I’ll have to google that!”’

Inspired by four early stories in the bestselling Cooper & Fry novel franchise by Stephen Booth, the quartet of feature-length cases are set in the fictional Peak District town of Edendale and see Robert play DC Ben Cooper, an affable local cop, while Mandip is DC Diane Fry, a dedicated high-flyer who has just transferred from Leeds but under somewhat secretive circumstances.

As they are thrown together to investigate the discovery of a body on a Derbyshire farm, can they put their differing policing styles aside in their search for the truth?

Here, Robert and Mandip tell us more… How would you describe your characters?

MANDIP Diane is sharp and streetwise, and does things by the book. She just wants to do her job, keep her head down and stay safe. She seems cold, but she does have a reason for being so...