One of the best-loved TV dramas of 80s is back with a brand new cast

Set against a glorious Channel Islands backdrop with glamorous characters, fast cars and brutal murders, Bergerac was one of the best-loved TV dramas of the 1980s.

Starring John Nettles as the eponymous policeman zooming around Jersey in his classic 1947 Triumph Roadster, the drama aired for a decade from 1981, winning millions of fans.

The series began when easy-on-the-eye detective Jim Bergerac returned to work after struggling with alcoholism and a badly broken leg. Nettles’s sensitive portrayal of a conflicted character battling inner demons only added to its allure.

No wonder the director of the highly anticipated reboot – reimagined by writer Toby Whithouse – admits he felt the pressure of measuring up to the original.

“Obviously there is a responsibility to do something good with it, that feels interesting and fresh, and also ticks boxes for people,” says Colm McCarthy, who directs the first three episodes of the new series.

“Yet while the name and identity are much cherished, a lot of people don’t necessarily hold on to the details of the story.

“As long as you make something that’s entertaining and provides an escape to the place of Jersey within it, I think an audience will be happy and enjoy it.”

He says he loved Toby’s scripts from the start. “They manage to be quite dark and go into fairly serious places with the characters, but all the time they have this humour to them that sparkles on the page.”

The Split star Damien Molony plays Jim Bergerac, back on the coastal roads of Jersey in his predecessor’s red Roadster (yes, it is the exact same car). And despite Nettles’s ownership of the iconic role, McCarthy insists his own leading man brings something new to the brooding cop.

“Damien’s Bergerac is somebody the audience will enjoy spending time with,” he insists. “He has created somebody who is human, has points of failure and isvulnerable – as well as being an intelligent, brilliant detective.”

Damien, also known for his roles in Derry Girls and Say Nothing, was a stand out.

“Dozens auditioned. It was a part that a lot of people were excited by,” McCarthy reveals. “Then Damien came in and he was able to tread between the intelligence of the detective, the broken dark broody side of him, but also be very funny.

“He’s shown this on other shows he’s been in, like Being Human. He’s got this great comedic side to his acting chops that chimes with Toby’s writing beautifully.”

This is no mere impersonation.

“I was lucky enough to work on Sherlock – I don’t think Benedict Cumberbatch ever tried to be Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett,” says McCarthy.

“He tried to do his own version of that character and this is similar to that.

“Damien’s version of Bergerac is completely different to John Nettles.

“It is brilliant as a result of that, yet maintains the essence of the character.”

Zoë Wanamaker and Philip Glenister (who fresh out of drama college played a small role in the final episode of the first run) also star in the new six-part series which takes place after the death of Bergerac’s wife.

Her loss leaves him a broken man, deep in the throes of grief, and prey to a serious alcohol problem.

There were talks with John Nettles for a cameo role in the new series. “But I don’t think John was particularly interested in doing it, and I’m not sure we had the right role for him,” says McCarthy.

“I wouldn’t rule it out as something for the future, but it’s really between Toby and John and it would depend on what John thought of what we’d done with it.

“He created something that was iconic in its own time and we’ve definitely tried to do something different with it.”

Nettles, at 81, said Molony has a “lovely ease and expressiveness” in the role.

He declined the offer of a cameo because he didn’t want to “muddy the waters”.

McCarthy continues: “In a way I think it’s good for the show that it didn’t happen just yet, so it’s allowed to generate its own identity as this new telling of the idea of Bergerac for an audience.”

Nettles, also known for playing Tom Barnaby in Midsomer Murders for 14 years, met his successor for lunch recently and told the younger actor he felt “too old” to appear on the show again, but gave his blessing to his replacement.

“He was just so lovely, and he said so many nice things about the first episode too,” Molony, 41, revealed.

Filmed last summer in Jersey and Devon, fans can’t wait to tune in to the “darker” reboot. There are hopes it will become one of the network’s most streamed new shows when it airs from Thursday on U&Drama.

An additional change from the original sees the show switch from a procedural format, featuring a different self-contained mystery each week, to a single mystery spanning all six episodes of the first series.

McCarthy is confident of its success, adding: “I feel lucky enough to have worked on lots of different shows over the years (including Peaky Blinders and Sherlock).

“You usually have a sense of whether things have worked for an audience and I think we’ve made something good.”

The first episode sees a woman from a prominent Jersey family murdered and Bergerac tasked to help solve the case.

He is forced to use his sharp instincts when a convict from his past resurfaces, causing a massive distraction when he is already on shaky foundations.

Bergerac has returned to work, not only to crack the case but to prove to his daughter Kim (Chloé Sweetlove) and mother-in-law Charlie (Wanamaker) that his life is back on track.

“Bergerac’s family story is as important as the crime story and it deepens the show for that,” says McCarthy. “While his wife Rachel has passed away, she is sort of a character in the story as well. Although we never meet her, we see moments of her in flashback and memory.

“But you feel the presence of what she meant to Bergerac really keenly, because of what’s missing in his life.

“Grief is a big theme in the series and it will be relatable to audiences.”

Early in the series viewers find out that his daughter Kim wants to move out and live with her grandmother instead of him, which comes as a massive blow.

“His ability to parent Kim has become extremely compromised and he thinks that returning to work, maybe a little sooner than he should, is a way to maybe prove himself to his daughter, that he can be an adequate father and fix things between them. That dynamic between Bergerac, Charlie and Kim is spicy – it’s a lot of fun.”

Life On Mars star Philip Glenister plays wealthy local businessman Arthur Wake-field, whose daughter-in-law Cate is the murder victim.

A clearly delighted McCarthy says: “We’re really lucky to get him. He is a sort of bridge for us to that old series, playing a very different character. He represents the corrupt element of money and the side of Jersey that our Bergerac rails against somewhat – the world of privilege on the island. He represents the seedier side of that. He’s a great villainous performance in the show.”

Speaking about his role, Molony says: “I’m incredibly excited to be stepping into the role of Jim Bergerac.

“John Nettles has left an incredible legacy with big shoes to fill, and I hope I can bring a fresh new take on the character.

“I’d only seen the very first episode of the original and remember the iconic moment when he flies into Jersey airport with amazing aerial shots of the island.

“Jersey looked incredible. Then, when I first touched down in Jersey, it felt like I was reliving that scene.

“That was a massive moment for me, like ‘wow, this is really happening’. I can’t wait for audiences to join me on this journey.”

He added that when his friends andfamily found out about his starring role, they wanted “to know about the car” – the red Triumph Roadster.

He adds: “It’s great that we get to follow this huge journey, not only Jim’s emotional rollercoaster, but also this gripping, edge of your seat, criminal investigation.”

The island of Jersey, a paradise full of millionaires, but also filled with secrets, remains central to the drama.

Coastal scenes were shot using drone footage, to best showcase their beauty.

“There are these huge, vast, windswept beaches that, on a rainy day, look dark, brooding, foreboding and dangerous,” explains Molony.

Locations included the private boy’s school Victoria College, St Brelade’s Bay Hotel, St Brelade’s Bay, Gorey Pier, the Driftwood Café on Archirondel Beach and St Ouen’s Methodist Church, which is pivotal to the storyline.

Location manager Sophie Frost says: “I think it will put Jersey back on the map. Fans of the show will want to go.”

She laughs: “Ironically though, Bergerac’s house is actually in Hope Cove in Devon!”

The success of the original show turned the tiny Channel island into a tourist trap.

Committing £1.2million to the reboot, the Jersey Government has said it hopes the series will boost tourism on the island.

The rights to the first season have already been sold to nine countries ahead of its UK premiere. So will there be a second series?

McCarthy replies: “All I’d say is that Toby has got more of the character in him if there is an appetite for it. Audiences are interested in what happens to Bergerac. That’s the first thing you want as a storyteller – bums on seats, eyeballs on screen.”

● Bergerac, U&Drama, Thursday, 9pm