Ridley's Adrian Dunbar on his "tragic" and "complicated" new detective
Dunbar spoke about his new role in the upcoming ITV detective drama.
Line of Duty's Adrian Dunbar is returning to the world of policing for his new ITV drama Ridley in which he plays the title character, a retired detective inspector with a tragic past.
Speaking with RadioTimes.com and other press ahead of the new series, Dunbar explained how Ridley's backstory will play into the episodic detective drama, saying that audiences are unlikely to "immediately warm to him".
Dunbar said: "Ridley is a guy who's worked at the top end of policing most of his life and then finds himself in a reasonably big northern English town and working towards his retirement. Unfortunately for him there’s a tragedy that happens towards the end of his policing days, and his wife and daughter are tragically killed in a house fire.
"One of the things that occurs throughout all this series is this relationship he has with the person who's been put in prison for that crime. And that's a very strange element to the piece that plays itself out across the four episodes."
Dunbar continued: "Ridley finds himself isolated and alone after the death of his wife but of course isolation is not really good for anybody's head and something happens at the start of episode 1 that brings him back into the world of work.
"What's interesting, I think, is that through the series he does find a lot of empathy for other people who are, like himself, in some kind of grief. So he's a complicated character, you don't immediately warm to him. I think it's going to take a little bit of time for us to sort of understand where he's coming from."
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Dunbar also spoke about how the show differs from some other current crime dramas, explaining that Ridley is a darker series than many.
He said: "We’ve got a wonderful writer in Paul Matthew Thompson, who writes for Vera. I think this show’s slightly darker than some of the other things that are out there, I think it is a bit grittier. I think being set in the north of England helps in that respect."
Ridley also stars Bronagh Waugh (Unforgotten), Terence Maynard (Time), George Bukhari (The A Word) and Georgie Glen (The Crown) and starts on ITV later this month.
Ridley will air on ITV on Sunday 28th August 2022. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
