Martin McCann on growing up in 1980s Belfast and why he’s not chasing the Hollywood dream…
In the new series the chemistry between your character Stevie and trainee Grace develops more — particularly while you’re sharing buns in the patrol car. How much cake do you get through?
It’s sometimes wise not to eat lunch beforehand, because you know what’s coming. By take six, you’ve probably consumed 3000 calories and it’s all sugar.
But they’re props to play with and a bit of light relief. It’s part of our little love language, this innocent and cute thing.
You’re a Catholic, brought up in west Belfast — are you surprised to find yourself playing a police officer there?
I was born in 1983, and being a police officer was never a career option — that was something “the other side” did. It wasn’t class, but a cultural thing. But times have changed and me playing an officer today in the Police Service of Northern Ireland reflects that. It’s a testament to how far away from those days we’ve come. I’ll be in a coffee shop and someone will come up and say, “I want you to know I’m actually a police officer, and I love the show”. They whisper it because you still can’t openly shout it from the rooftop. I’ve had fans tell me the show has educated them and they now understand the job a bit more.
