It was announced last summer that the Silk actor had been cast as a character called Captain Hatch in the upcoming fifth series.

Interviewed by SFX in the magazine’s latest issue, out today, Davis revealed: “It was irresistible, because it’s so well-written. He’s very clever and very funny. He kills people with a smile on his face – or persuades them to kill themselves. I want the audience to enjoy his evil and be scared of him at the same time. I want them to be laughing and then stopping dead.”

He joked: “I’m one of those rare actors who comes out of make-up looking far worse than when he went in! They blacken my teeth, paint veins on my forehead and put earwax dripping out of my ears – it’s a pretty disgusting sight. He’s described as ‘a little angry fist of a man’ to start with, but as he gets more powerful, he becomes more relaxed and urbane.”

Being Human creator Toby Whithouse added: “It’s a brilliant performance, imbued with such presence and danger, and that effortless evil that Phil does so well. I wrote it, but I’m genuinely chilled by some of the stuff he does. And he’s not afraid of making himself look ghastly. Hatch goes through a transformation as we get towards the end, but up until that point Phil was happy to make himself look utterly rancid!”

Series 5 is expected to begin airing on BBC Three next month.

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