Full details of The Responder cast are revealed by The BBC as filming starts in Liverpool for the Martin Freeman series

Written by ex-police officer Tony Schumacher, his first original series for television, The Responder holds a mirror up to the emotional extremes of life on the front line of British policing – sometimes darkly funny, sometimes painfully tragic, always challenging.

The Responder follows Chris (Martin Freeman), a crisis-stricken, morally compromised, unconventional urgent response officer tackling a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool. Whilst trying to keep his head above water both personally and professionally, Chris is forced to take on a new rookie partner Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo — Unsaid Stories; Timewasters; The Capture). Both soon discover that survival in this high pressure, relentless, night-time world will depend on them either helping or destroying each other.

The Responder cast joining Freeman and Adedayo are: Ian Hart (Tin Star; The Last Kingdom; The Terror), MyAnna Buring (The Salisbury Poisonings; The Witcher; Ripper Street), Kerrie Hayes (Tin Star; The English Game; The Mill) and Warren Brown (Luther; Liar; Strike Back). David Bradley (Afterlife; Brittania; Broadchurch) and Rita Tushingham (Ridley Road; The Pale Horse; In The Flesh) with newcomers Josh Finan and Emily Fairn. The picture above (co The BBC) shows Buring, Freeman, Adedayo and Hart.

The series will consist of 5×60 minute episodes, and while no dates are announced, we suspect it will be on our screens early 2022. You can read the full announcement on the BBC press site.