成人快手

Last series, had a lot of personal issues - his father died, he reunited with his estranged son and faced his ex-wife again. Where do we find him at the beginning of series 12?

Steve's still struggling to maintain a relationship with his son. He obviously wants the best for him, but his son is at that stage where all he wants is the latest gadget. He has his sights firmly set on getting a car for his 18th birthday - which is bad news for Steve because he’s skint. Ever since the divorce, he’s been spiralling deeper and deeper into serious financial trouble - but is too proud to admit this to his workmates, which causes problems in its own.

Steve and have become a bit of a double act over the last few series. How does Steve cope with the departure of his old mate?

In Gerry’s final storyline, the whole team steps up to support their workmate, but Steve in particular has his back. They come up against some pretty dodgy characters and Steve is prepared to fight them to protect his friend if it comes to it. Then all of a sudden, Gerry’s gone and the rest of UCOS still have to come in to work and get on with their next case. Out of all of them, Steve takes this the hardest - he misses Gerry a lot and finds it hard to adjust to this new character who comes in and tries to take over (or so Steve thinks).

joins the cast this series - how does his character change the dynamic of the team?

Steve just can’t work out at first. He strides into the office one day, all set to take on a new case and start ordering Steve and about. But he’s also a wild eccentric and relies on all these little superstitions to avoid jinxing the case. They’ve heard he’s well-respected within the force and gets results, so they go along with it but Steve in particularly is a bit put out - especially when Ted makes a dig about his clothes.

Once Steve and Danny start to realise that there’s method in Ted’s madness and that he’s actually a brilliant detective, they begin a rivalry to try and earn his respect. Cue some competitive baking and some nice, comic moments where Steve tries to improve his image by buying new designer clothes in a bid to impress the new guy.

Was there a particular episode you enjoyed filming most this series and why?

One of the best things about filming New Tricks is being taken to some of the most random and far flung corners of London. There’s a scene this around the middle of this series, where myself, Nicholas and Larry are on top of a skyscraper, right in the heart of the London by Tower Bridge. It was really early in the morning, the light was something else and the three of us had an incredible view across the Thames. It’s not often you’d get the chance to see the city in that perspective so it was definitely one of my favourite scenes to film.

What have been your favourite moments working on the show for the last few years?

There was a hilarious moment last series where Gerry and Steve have been on a bit of a bender and wake up in the same bed, with no idea how they got there. A lot of that scene was improvised on the day – is brilliant at just throwing lines in – and it took everything I had to stop myself from cracking up. The first two episodes of the new series are brilliant too – wrote and directed them so we knew they were going to be good fun.

Why do you reckon the show’s had such longevity?

No one seems to be able to put their finger on that one. Only that it works! I think it’s a mixture of good writing, the right level of humour and the intricacies of the plot that keep the audience interested. The characters are all a bit off-beat and come with their own set of eccentricities and personal issues, which I think makes them a lot more relatable than the glam cops you see on other shows about investigating crime. Audiences can get on board with that and it keeps them interested in where each of them will go next.

Will you miss playing Steve and where do you reckon he’ll be in five years’ time?

I've enjoyed playing Steve enormously but no I won't miss him - it's been four years and I feel ready to move on. As for Steve, I think he will eventually return to his home patch, Glasgow. Either that or come into some unexpected money and land up on a beach somewhere, with a cold pint in his hand!