Adrian Dunbar was seen chatting to police officers in Manchester on Monday as he filmed the second season of ITV drama, Ridley.
The actor, 65, who is best known for his role as Superintendent Ted Hastings in BBC police procedural drama Line of Duty, was getting to work on his new detective series when he encountered some real members of the force.
The television star happily posed for photographs for the officers before getting back on set to reprise his role as retired Detective Inspector Alex Ridley.
Ridley debuted last summer on ITV and was created by Paul Matthew Thompson. who is also behind crime drama Vera.
After a second series was announced in June of this year, Adrian said in a statement: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever headed into a production with more excitement and enthusiasm.’
Inspiration: Adrian Dunbar, 65, spoke to police officers in Manchester on Monday as he filmed his return as veteran murder investigator Alex Ridley
Looking good: Adrian donned a brown leather jacket over a green plaid shirt as he filmed his role in the movie
The series follows DI Ridley, a widowed homicide officer who is unwillingly made redundant following a mental breakdown.
His situation is made worse when his replacement on the force is revealed to be former protégée Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh).
However, Acting DI Carol soon enlists Ridley for help with a complicated murder case and he is once again right back in the thick of it, where he belongs.
Adrian is very musical, and told Yours how he took the opportunity to add this part of himself to his character in Ridley.
‘I’ve been interested in music all my life.’ He said. ‘I used to play bass, but I just sing now.
‘When I was putting the character of Ridley together, I thought it would be really nice if we could incorporate a musical element. So, we decided that he should run this jazz club.’
Adrian is known for starring in several crime dramas, and won a legion of fans as Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line Of Duty.
The BBC drama followed DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), a firearms officer who transferred to anti-police corruption unit AC-12 to work under Hastings.
One to watch: Ridley debuted last summer on ITV and was created by Paul Matthew Thompson. who is also behind crime drama Vera
Complicated character: The series follows DI Ridley, a widowed homicide officer who is unwillingly made redundant following a mental breakdown (pictured with John Michie)
During its first series, Line of Duty had an average viewership of just under four million. However, by its last series, viewership surpassed 15 million.
Creator Jed Mercurio said the show was inspired by from the Metropolitan Police’s anti-corruption unit named A-10.
Though it aired for nine years, Line of Duty had just 36 episodes but its impact was huge. It won the Royal Television Society award for best drama and is consistently listed among the greatest British dramas of all time.
In 2023, Neil Morrissey revealed that he got Adrian his role in Line of Duty, with Adrian responding that he was ‘absolutely fine with him claiming that’.
Former cast: Adrian is pictured with Martin Compston and Vicky McClure in Line of Duty. He played Superintendent Ted Hastings in the BBC drama
