Adrian Dunbar has spoken warmly about his Ridley co-star Julie Graham, describing their enduring friendship and her exceptional talent.
The former Line of Duty actor, who portrays Dr Alex Ridley in the ITV crime drama, praised Graham’s abilities whilst discussing their work together on the programme’s second series.
“We’ve been such good friends for a long time. And she’s so good, that’s the other thing,” Dunbar said of Graham, who plays Annie Marling in the detective series.
The pair’s on-screen chemistry reflects their off-camera rapport, with Dunbar highlighting how their characters complement each other professionally.
Graham’s character runs Marling’s, a jazz club that features prominently in the new series, whilst Ridley performs there as part of his post-retirement activities.
He continued: “We wanted something that Ridley was going to do when he retired, and it was going to be with his wife and their best friend, and we knew we’d be filming in the winter and we wanted to go somewhere that had a bit more warmth about it and is more relaxed.
“And then Marling’s came up run by Annie Marling and in this series, Marling’s features pretty heavily, because at the start of this series we find out that Annie has a new boyfriend, and he happens to be at the centre of the investigation in episode one and continues to be under suspicion throughout all four episodes.”
Graham emphasised her character’s distinct role within their partnership. “She’s the brain,” the actress explained before ruling out any musical performances of her own.
“She’s the business head. She doesn’t want anything to do with performing. That’s why her and Ridley get on.
“He does his stuff and she does her stuff. They’re a good team. No duets!”
Their characters operate as an effective duo, with each focusing on their respective strengths – Ridley handling the entertainment whilst Annie manages the commercial aspects.
When asked how it feels to welcome stars onto his show, Dunbar replied: “It’s one of the great things. You think, ‘Oh, John Henshaw is on today,’ or Maggie Steed, or Kevin Doyle.
“All these people are amazing actors, and it’s great to know that they are taking care of this central character. It gives you a great feeling to know that we can get this quality of actors to come on the show.
“And hopefully it will start to build now, when people see that you get a chance to do some proper acting. Elizabeth Berrington is back for series two.
“She made a big impression in series one, and her character, Jean Dixon, returns. Of course, her and Ridley left on very difficult terms, and now Ridley is being asked to patch things up with her because there’s a murder that’s happened that she was across about six or seven years ago, and she’d be vital to finding out who the killer is.
“They have to bring her on, so as well as the complicated investigation itself, he has to deal with the personal stuff as well.”
Talking about how Ridley is not a regular detective, Graham added: “I think the strength of it is that Ridley, well he’s been around the block a bit, has got lots of people in his life who come in, and they build the stories on these characters to a certain extent.
“And that’s one of its strengths. They’ve got these great parts for women as well.
“A lot of these cop shows can be very male-heavy. But there’s a lot strong female presence in Ridley as well, which is a is a boon to the show. It’s one of its strengths, for sure.
“That’s a lot down to the writer, Paul Matthew Thompson. You’ve got these lovely, big, well-rounded female characters in there who are very much part of the show.
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“It’s an easy show for me, because I don’t really go anywhere else, except to come in and do all my jazz club scenes.
“So it’s a really nice gig for me, and as I say, I absolutely love working with Adrian. It’s a joy. We laugh all day long. He’s an absolute hoot.”
The detective drama makes its comeback to ITV1 and ITVX this Sunday, 10 August, with viewers returning to the programme’s north Manchester setting. The second series promises fresh investigations for the singing detective, including cases involving a jewellery theft and the discovery of a body at an unauthorised rave.