The Responder’s Warren Brown: 'It’s only going to get worse for Chris'

Another awarded the opener "10/10", adding: "It is great acting by Martin, his accent is so authentic and the storyline promises to be so different from the typical cop shows we see. I can’t wait to see the next episode."

Freeman stars as Chris Carson, a police officer from Liverpool whose mental health is in a precarious place as he struggles to stay afloat during a run of six consecutive night shifts. In the first episode, he's also dragged into a dispute between a local drug dealer and a young heroin addict that further inflames his anxieties.

“It gets pretty bad [for Chris as the show goes on]," Freeman told RadioTimes.com and other press. "It starts stressful and it escalates from there, really. He's constantly trying to bring all these threads and strands in his life together, and he’s spinning a lot of heavy f**king plates, for sure."

Raymond Mullen (Warren Brown), who we meet briefly towards the end of the premiere, clearly has history with Chris's wife Kate (MyAnna Buring), and he's also teased plenty more to come in the following four episodes.

"If you think [Chris] has got enough on his plate already, it's only going to get worse as the show goes on," he told RadioTimes.com and other press.

“We also learn later that my character Ray Mullen is also in the police and it becomes very apparent that he's got quite a strong dislike for our lead man Chris Carson.

"And it would appear that he’s out to get him and to try and get him out of the job and to do that by whatever means. And if that means manipulating people, then I think he may go down that route and make life even more complicated than it is.

"Things are teased and alluded to, and you never really quite know the truth. They’ve worked together and there's a history – there have been some demotions across the board. And I think someone might blame someone for all of this.”

The Responder continues tonight on BBC One. All five episodes are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. Check out what else is on with our TV Guide, or visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.