Boyd: I can do light and shade

Case Sensitive star Darren Boyd has revealed he seized the chance to tackle a more serious role.

The actor, a familiar face from TV comedies such as Kiss Me Kate and the Bafta-winning Spy, plays DC Simon Waterhouse in the two-part ITV1 crime thriller.

He said: "I want lots of variety. I want to have my cake and eat it too... When you become a bit known for one thing, in my case comedy, if you get a chance to do something that's not comedy you grab it. It's been a very conscious choice for a while to walk that line between the two."

The actor added: "I'm not a comedian and I don't come from a comedy background so it was very much by accident that that became my primary output."

The first series of Case Sensitive proved a hit, with an average of six million viewers per episode, and Darren revealed there are "good intentions" for more sets of episodes to be made at the end of year.

As well as being thrilled to work with the "class act" that is The Sixth Sense star Olivia Williams, who plays his boss, Darren was immediately drawn to the character of Waterhouse.

He explained: "I found him really intriguing because he's not an alpha male. He's socially awkward, he's got issues and I liked his restraint. On the surface not much is given away but there's stuff going underneath and the more you explore, the more you get to show."

:: Case Sensitive: The Other Half Lives is on ITV1 on Thursday, July 12 and Friday, July 13.