Darren Morfitt admits that it's difficult to find
the words to adequately describe dodgy Detective Sergeant Patrick Yates
without resorting to name-calling or swearing.
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"He's an utter and total you-know-what," says Darren, with a grin.
"The guy is a git, a jerk and so far up his own backside he wouldn't
know humility if it smacked him round the face.
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"He's just arrogance personified; very selfish, always shouting,
and in the first episode when he thinks he's about to get promoted,
he's unbearable."
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As Acting DI in the first episode of the new series, Yates is cockily
confident that promotion is in his sights.
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So when Bing (Mark Lewis Jones) appears out of nowhere,
his nose is severely put out of joint. He tries to worm his way into
his new boss's good books, but Bing sees straight through him.
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Bolshy with his colleagues, unprincipled and ambitious, Yates is still
up to his old sly tricks - and his workmates are beginning to wake up
to the fact that he, above anyone else, can't be trusted.
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"Sometimes I just want to give him a good slap and say: 'Shut up, you
silly little boy who hasn't been able to grow up'," adds Darren.
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"I've always imagined he was bullied as a kid, and I think if you've
had that sort of upbringing then you become a bully yourself, unable
to let your defences down.
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"He's just a terrified little boy inside, and he's hiding behind
all this macho bravado."
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Even Maguire (Michael Hodgson), his former partner,
has distanced himself from Yates, suspecting that he's not been telling
the whole truth about the murder of their former boss, DI Carter.
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And, as far as Darren's concerned, he's not surprised by the mistrust
which surrounds Yates. "You always see Yates doing a bit of a sneer
or giving everyone evils.
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"I love doing all those sneers because I would never react like
that in real life. It's great to get all of that arrogance and aggression
out on screen, because then I can free myself up to just be bubbly and
cute when I'm not at work," jokes Darren.
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Darren has also appeared in Dalziel and Pascoe, Red Cap, Warriors and
cult werewolf movie Dog Soldiers, alongside co-star Emma Cleasby.
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In the break between series, the Hartlepool-born actor got hitched
to long-term girlfriend - actress Helen Latham, who stars in the current
series of Footballers' Wives as Lucy Milligan.
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As well as becoming Lucy's husband, Darren also found time to film
The Government Inspector - Peter Kosminsky's docu-drama about
weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
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He says: "This is the third film I've made with Peter - the guy believes
passionately in his subjects, and I really enjoy being part of a piece
of work that has a social conscience.
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"It's funny because my wife Helen was doing Footballers' Wives
while I was filming The Government Inspector. So we were both coming
home at night talking about our days - and, to be honest, they couldn't
have been more different."
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