Bergerac star Damien Molony got John Nettles' blessing for "darker" reboot

An additional change sees the show switch from a procedural format, featuring a different self-contained mystery each week, to a single mystery spanning all six episodes of the first season.

Clearly not precious about the tweaks made to the character and show that shot him to stardom, Nettles gave Molony his blessing in a recent meeting between the two Bergerac actors (via Metro).

"I had lunch with him last week and he was just so lovely, and he said so many nice things about the first episode too," said Molony.

"He finished our lunch saying, 'Bergerac has been so good to me and my career, and I really hope it does the same for you', which I just thought was a really lovely sentiment, and it just goes to show how much of a good guy he is."

Nettles would find further success in the realm of detective drama, playing DCI Tom Barnaby over 14 years of ITV's Midsomer Murders, while he later appeared in the BBC's hit period drama remake Poldark.

Earlier this month, Molony also spoke to Radio Times magazine about his brand new iteration of Bergerac, describing it as a "darker" spin on the material than the original.

"I think being a father really helps when you're playing a father," said the Brassic alum. "I'd be halfway through a scene and trying to replace it with my own family situation, trying to equate it with, 'What if that happened in my life?'

"I would try and find something that had already happened, to me... I wasn’t trying to copy Nettles’s Bergerac. I was bringing my own thing to it. I think this is darker."

The series also stars Zoë Wanamaker as Bergerac's mother-in-law, who looks after his teenage daughter in the midst of the detective's self-destructive spiral.

Molony added: "Bergerac is completely shattered by the loss of his wife, but he must be brave for the sake of his daughter and convince the other cops he can come back to work. Because, really, he shouldn't be at work."

Bergerac premieres on U&Drama on Thursday 27th February 2025.

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