The Responder

BBC1, 9pm, Monday & Tuesday

Anyone thinking that Martin Freeman is still playing such gentle folk as Tim in The Office or Watson in Sherlock should be warned: his latest character is a rather nastier piece of work.

If you’ve ever seen the gritty Harvey Keitel classic Bad Lieutenant you’ll have some idea of the kind of policeman Chris Carson (Freeman, right) seems to be. He’s not only regularly doling out violence to the unwary, stealing from innocent victims and associating with denizens of the Liverpool underworld but also appears to be struggling to hold on to his sanity. It doesn’t help that one of his closest associations is with the menacing kingpin Carl Sweeney (Ian Hart).

But as the story unfolds, you wonder if Carson will have a shot at redemption – if only he can find a way to survive to the end of the five-episode run. ★★★★☆