Speaking to Life Of Wylie to promote his new BBC One drama Exile, Simm discussed his departure from the ’70s-set sci-fi/cop show: “If anything, maybe I was a bit hasty with that. I should have done another Life On Mars. Maybe one more.”

He explained: “I missed my family and I missed being away from home. The reasons were genuine. If they’d have moved it to London, I would have done it.”

He added: “And then, ironically enough, they did the spin-off in London. Ashes To Ashes was set in London. I saw that and I thought, ‘Oh, for God’s sake, we could have worked something out.’ It’s a shame. It’s gone now.”

Created by Paul Abbott (Shameless), Exile stars John Simm alongside Jim Broadbent and is written by Danny Brocklehurst (The Street, Clocking Off). The three-part psychological thriller begins at 9pm on Sunday 1st May on BBC One.