It’s rare for a holiday to outstay its welcome but, for Woody (Beesley), Quinn (Glenister), Baxter (Simm) and Rick (Warren), this one definitely has. No surprise given ‘highlights’ so far have involved pint-sized assassins, drug cartels and expat gangsters. Quality R&R isn’t on the menu this time around either, as creator and writer Cris Cole prepares a fresh tangle of twists to trip up the boys.

> Buy the Series 1-2 boxset on Amazon.

> Order Series 3 on DVD on Amazon.

Series 3 begins at 9pm on Tuesday 4 June on Sky1.

How does Rick cope with being separated from the other three?

“Well, he doesn’t really. He feels like he’s been abandoned by the boys, and he gets involved in some pretty dodgy stuff. He turns into a bit of a wrong’un.”

There’s a lot of comedy with Rick’s character this time round, isn’t there?

“Yeah, he’s the one who has more of the extremes – he’s the one who’s more likely to cry and more likely to say the stupid thing, so I kind of get a lot of the funny lines.

“He does all the crazy stuff which is great, which is what I wanted. I think I tend to perform better as a performer when I’m doing more extreme stuff.”

As an ongoing series, do you open each script and pray that it’s as good as the last one?

“I don’t really think like that, no, I just rock up and do it really. But when we read it, I knew it was good. Chris puts a lot of work in it and I consider Chris a friend and I think he’s done a fantastic job, so I’m really pleased for him personally. “

How does it compare to the previous series?

“I don’t know really. It all feels fantastic, but you just never know until it goes out. With this one, it’s nice because it’s more about their individual journeys in the time they’ve been apart so it’s a bit more personal.”

Do you have anything in common with Rick?

“I like to think I don’t really do much that Rick does. He’s a nightmare! I like to think I’m not like him at all, but I’m sure some people would argue against that…

How have you enjoyed filming in South Africa?

“It’s been strange. It’s been very pleasant and we’ve done some really good work, but I can’t explain it. South Africa is an extraordinary place and I haven’t even scratched the surface, there’s so much to offer.

“But I just liked the feeling of Majorca. I had a lot of a personal history and involvement with Majorca so maybe that’s why. I’m not a great tourist, to be honest. I went horse riding with John one evening and that was pretty special, and I went up Table Mountain and all of that.”

Can you tell us about the fourth and final series?

“I wanted to do a fourth series. I think the story needs to be finished off. I won’t give away his idea but he’s let me in on it and I like it! He’s got it all mapped out. He’s very clever, Chris.”

Now there are tax breaks in the UK, it could be filmed there…

“Yeah, that’s true, maybe we will do the fourth in the UK. When we were doing Hustle, we had to shoot in Birmingham because London was too expensive. So maybe more things will be shot in London now as well, which I think is great.

“But with Mad Dogs, the location is almost a character in the piece: Majorca was a character in the second series and Cape Town is a character in this series, so I think that’s kind of the joy of this programme. And anyway, we’ve spent the past 20 years of our careers working in London, so I don’t particularly want to go back yet!”

> Buy the Series 1-2 boxset on Amazon.

> Order Series 3 on DVD on Amazon.

Watch the trailer…

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