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US specialOldfavouritesandtop new shows

John Simm and Philip Glenisterstar in a new drama about a coptransported back to the Seventies

NEW SERIESLIFE ON MARSBBC1 . MONDAY

~eeds-born John Simm has

i shown himself to be aserious player, thanks to

. major parts in a number ofacclaimed and challenging dramas,including State OfPlay, Sex Trafficand The Lakes. This week, he starsin Life On Mars, BBC1's neweight-part detective series from theproducers of Spooks and Hustle.

'I wanted to do something a bitmore mainstream,' explains the35-year-old, 'and I thought thescript was absolutely insane!'

Simm plays Sam Tyler,anassiduous young detectivewhose job is to keep the streets,ofmodern-day Manchester!crime-free. His work and private

'e become entangled when heIspects that his girlfriend andlIeague Maya (Archie Panjabi)s been kidnapped by theime suspect in the murder case's working on.But, after being involveda near-fatal car accident, hekes up in the year 1973 -toi sound of David Bowie'ssong Life On Mars?) has our young detectiveally been transported back

.me? Or is it all just a fantasy

created by a damaged mind?Simm says the part of Tyler

was just too good to pass up.'A Seventies detective with

a Ford Cortina and a leatherjacket. I was like, "Yeah, man,it's Back To The Future meetsThe Sweeney!"

But the series also makes someserious points. As Tylertries tocome to terms with his new lifeas a Seventies cop, he has todeal with a formidable boss,DCI Gene Hunt (PhilipGlenister),who gets results by trusting hisgut instinct and, all too often,using brute force.

On a quest to find the truthabout his new circumstances,Tyler befriends colleague WPCAnnie Cartright (LizWhite). Whilethe rest of his team appearbigoted and unruly, Tylerfinds

I

, Cartri

nd open~es to,unfaver'the

ffiYSiE!iY~fhisapparent timetravel, the drama focusesheavily on the changes thathave occurred in policing overthe past 33 years.

In Seventies Britain, Tylerfindshimself struggling with a system inwhich witnesses are intimidated,suspects are nailed with noevidence and archaic technology

constantly hampersthe speed of investigations.

'I think the world was verydifferent then,' explains Simm,'and my character is shocked athow they fit people up, how theybeat up suspects and how theysmoke in morgues. He'sgobsmacked by it all.'

The actor is well known forinsisting on keeping his privatelife private and is reluctant

to talk about his actresspartner Kate Magowan andtheir four-year-old son Ryan.He admits that the fame gameis something he finds reallydifficult to handle.

'I'm not tabloid fodder. I'm justnot interested in that.'

JohnSimm'If I travelledback in time...- "

I'd form the Sex Pistols before MalcolmMcLarendid, and get there first by

writing classic songs like Oasis's Wonderwall. It would also be great to stop- '

things happening, like Mark Chapman shooting John Lennon.'

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