BBC One drama The Responder made its TV debut last night, with Martin Freeman taking on the role of Liverpudlian cop Chris Carson.
Ahead of episode 2, airing tonight at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer, RadioTimes.com can exclusively reveal a behind-the-scenes video showing the making of the critically-acclaimed series.
The five-parter, written by former police officer Tony Schumacher and from the makers of The Salisbury Poisonings, Dancing Ledge Productions, follows morally compromised copper Chris as he tries to balance his disintegrating personal life with his role as a night shift response officer.
Being forced to take rookie partner Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo) under his wing, the pair start to feel the pressure on the beat as they try to keep multiple professional and personal plates spinning.
The behind-the-scenes featurette sees Freeman speak about the hit drama, which is available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer now, saying: “Within a few pages, I thought this is really something else.”
Meanwhile, writer Schumacher, who worked as a police responder himself, adds: “I wanted The Responder to be as real as it could possibly be and I suppose I have the luxury of knowing that world.”
Both Adelayo Adedayo and Ian Hart, who plays Carl Sweeney, appear in the video, with Adedayo describing The Responder as “a crime drama” with “so much going on behind closed doors”, while Hart says: “There are many cop dramas and this is a different beast entirely.”
Since debuting on BBC One last night, The Responder has received a number of five-star reviews, with RadioTimes.com‘s David Craig writing in his The Responder review: “This is a phenomenal cast across the board, taking Schumacher’s superb scripts and propelling them to even greater heights.”
Jane Garvey, host of the Radio Times Podcast, described the series as likely to be “one of the most talked about shows of 2022”.
The Responder also stars Warren Brown, MyAnna Buring and newcomers Emily Fairn and Josh Finan.
The Responder continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One. Episodes 3-5 air Monday to Weds next week. The boxset is available now on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.