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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz

Is The Responder based on a true story? New BBC drama starring Martin Freeman

Martin Freeman stars as officer Chris Carson in new BBC One drama The Responder.

The police drama starts on January 24, and follows the urgent response police officer who's increasingly exhausted by the demands of consecutive night shifts in Liverpool.

His personal life has also been hit by crisis, and he's morally compromised in his work.

While trying to keep his head above water, Chris is forced to take on a new rookie partner, Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo).

But they soon discover that survival in the high pressure, relentless, night-time world will depend on them either helping or destroying each other.

Is The Responder based on a true story?

(BBC/Dancing Ledge/Rekha Garton)

In short, yes, The Responder is based on true events, and was written by ex-police officer and author, screenwriter and broadcaster Tony Schumacher.

He also previously worked as a response policeman in Liverpool.

While writing the police drama he drew experiences from his real experiences on the job.

In an interview ahead of the show's debut, he said: "I feel that I am The Responder to a degree and that this is my story.

"I was a police responder who was out in the rain at one o’clock in the morning, two in the morning, three in the morning, chasing people up and down alleyways and running over rats. The Responder is in me, it's in my writing and in my script."

Adelayo Adedayo stars in The Responder (BBC/Dancing Ledge/Rekha Garton)

The series also explores the "darkness" of the mental health battles he has had to struggle with in his own life.

He explained: "When I wrote that element in the script it was like having paid therapy, because it was in me. I got to write it down on the page and see Martin play it out on screen."

However, there are also lighter elements of the story, making it "funny", "dramatic" and "exciting".

Tony added: "It is beautifully acted and it's something that you probably haven't seen before and you will really enjoy it."

In the small-screen adaptation, Schumacher is portrayed through the character of Chris Carson, played by Sherlock star Martin Freeman.

Mark Womack, Ian Hart and Philip Shaun McGuinness in The Responder (BBC/Dancing Ledge/Rekha Garton)

Speaking of the role, Martin said: "Tony Schumacher’s scripts were so unique and honest that I knew very quickly that I wanted to be a part of The Responder and take on the role of Chris. No-one writes like Tony and it has been exhilarating inhabiting the world he has created."

BBC executive producer Mona Qureshi said: “The Responder is a unique take on modern policing, and Tony Schumacher gives us in Chris a heartbreakingly honest portrait of a man coming undone by the pressures around him.”

The Responder continues on BBC on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9pm, and the episodes will be available on the iPlayer.

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