The Responder star reacts to 'surprising' twist during time jump

Most notably, we learn that Chris and his wife, Kate (MyAnna Buring), whose marriage appeared to get a reprieve in the season 1 finale, have finally separated after years of turmoil.

In the season 2 premiere, Kate is living with her new partner, Ray Mullen (Warren Brown), while Chris is struggling to take good care of himself in a messy bachelor pad littered with fast food packaging.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, The Responder co-star Buring revealed that she was surprised to see Chris and Kate's relations take such a dramatic downturn after the hope that viewers were left with at the end of the previous run.

"I was [surprised], but also, I thought it was an interesting choice," she explained. "I think the storyline that was more interesting for [Tony Schumacher, writer] to explore was this idea of 'what's the context that Chris is walking into the world with?'

"And it’s that his partner and he have – after years of trying to make their way through the quagmire that his job has created for him – finally decided to call it quits."

Buring continued: "Definitely, Kate is someone who's gone, 'I need to put a stop to this, I need to end this cycle, it's never going to get better. I need to move on with my life and I need to take care of our child – and create a future where I know that she's going to be safe'."

The actor, also known for her work in The Witcher and The Salisbury Poisonings, went on to say that she appreciated the nuanced characterisation given to Kate, which goes far beyond the shallow, stereotypical "angry ex-wife".

"She's definitely somebody who's trying to make it work, who's trying to be accommodating to Chris's needs as well," said Buring, referring to her character's offer to stay in Liverpool if her ex-husband can find a suitable day job.

"And I think what [Tony] seemed interested in was exploring that reality, which is the reality for so many people who split up with children: How do you move on? How can you be good ex-partners? And that takes a lot of work, a lot of compromise."

Buring concluded: "So I was surprised, but also as soon as my head wrapped itself around what he was interested in looking at, then it made total sense and it wasn't too far of a leap… I'm actually surprised Kate stuck with him for as long as she did."

Another surprise in The Responder season 2 is seeing Marco (Josh Finan) attempt to get on the straight and narrow after fathering a child with his new girlfriend; a storyline which, Buring suggests, acts as a "mirror" to Chris's own parenting woes.

One more development that occurs between seasons is the passing of Chris's mother, June (played Rita Tushingham in season 1), which compels the troubled cop to seek out his abusive father, Tom (Bernard Hill).

The Responder is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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