THE RESPONDER: MARTIN FREEMAN POLICE DRAMA SHELVED AFTER TWO SERIES ON BBC ONE

The Responder, the police drama starring Martin Freeman, is has been shelved by the BBC after two series, with potential for a third in the future.

The first series of The Responder held a mirror up to the emotional extremes of life on the front line of British policing – sometimes darkly funny, sometimes painfully tragic, always challenging. Released on the BBC in January 2022 it attracted 9.6m viewers (episode one 28-day figure), making it one of the year’s biggest new dramas.

A source told The Sun: ""The BBC are really invested in the series but due to schedules the show has had to be put on ice. Tony is currently working on another project but there is a hope a third series will be made at some point in the future."

Series two joins Chris Carson six months later. Chris is attempting to rebuild his life, and his relationships, desperate to avoid the corruption that nearly sucked him under. He is trying to be a better police officer, a better man, and most importantly, a better father to his daughter Tilly.

All whilst still dealing with the relentless trauma of being a night response officer. Chris wants a day job. Chris needs a day job. But is he prepared to risk everything to get one? Rachel Hargreaves is putting her life back together too.

She’s still fuming at the way Chris broke her dreams of being a police officer and dragged her down with him into the dirt, and now she’s desperately trying to take control of a life and a career that sometimes feels like it’s slipping away. But after working with a succession of ‘normal’ coppers, Rachel is starting to realise she’s got more in common with Chris than she’d ever want to admit.

As they are sucked back together, and into the night, they must pull each other back into the light. But then a routine stop on a black Range Rover changes everything, and suddenly, the darkness beckons once again.

The Responder is available now on BBC iPlayer.