成人快手

Alun Armstrong plays Brian Lane

Alun Armstrong was delighted to return to the role of Brian Lane in New Tricks - even though he admits his character's obsessive-compulsive traits are starting to rub off on him.

"Any character you play for a while you start to turn into. I'm never aware of it but my wife tells me I do become a little bit like the people I play.

"We've all got a spectrum of emotional traits and different ones can become emphasised if you're thinking about them a lot and practising.

"With Brian Lane, it's only natural because all actors are paranoid, it comes with the job!

"It's great to be back, though. We love working with each other and we always have great fun together.

"I enjoy being an actor because of the variety of work but it's great to get back together with Dennis, Amanda and Jimmy. It's certainly an enjoyable chemistry that we have."

Lane was a brilliant detective, but he comes to realise that his dedication meant he frequently neglected his family.

Keen to make amends, he takes over in the kitchen when his wife Esther (Susan Jameson) is confined to bed after a fall - with disastrous consequences.

He also takes his son Mark (Sam Hazeldine) to a football match - which was a memorable scene for Alun.

"Sam is the son of James Hazeldine, who was my best friend. He died when we were filming the pilot of New Tricks. It was a very distressing time. As well as a well-loved actor he was also a very accomplished director.

"When I heard Brian's son was making an appearance in the series I immediately thought of Sam. It was great to work with him - he's a really good actor.

"Brian supports AFC Wimbledon, as do I. It's the breakaway Wimbledon club started when Wimbledon FC was stolen from us and taken to Milton Keynes. It suits the character that he would champion the underdog and a cause he thought was right."

Alun is barely off the screen, appearing in When I'm 64, Carrie's War, Between The Sheets, The Mummy Returns, Sleepy Hollow, Sparkhouse, David Copperfield, This Is Personal, Goodbye Cruel World and Our Friends In The North to name but a few.

He hates the celebrity culture, but being recognised does have its funny side.

"I remember meeting Harold Wilson when I was on holiday in the Scilly Isles and I'd just started doing TV. We stood having a pint when two little girls came to the door, pushed by their mum. Instead of going to Harold, they asked me for my autograph!"

Alun lives with his family in London and his next two projects have a Dickensian theme - he plays policeman Bucket in the 成人快手's new 16-part adaptation of Bleak House and appears as magistrate Mr Fang in Roman Polanski's new film of Oliver Twist.