Adrian Dunbar asked for a role in 'Inside No. 9'.
Adrian Dunbar
The 'Line of Duty' actor - who played Superintendent Ted Hastings in the hit BBC police corruption drama - personally put himself in the running for a part in Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's anthology series' upcoming sixth season.
In a BFI event promoting the new series, Steve said: "He was one of the ones who said, 'Please find a role for me.' "
The dark BBC series features a different self-contained story for each episode, and the tones varies from slapstick comedy to tense thrillers.
With the show known for its big twists, which means plot and character details are being kept under wraps.
As well as Adrian, the likes of 'Fleabag' actress Sian Clifford and 'Game of Thrones' star Gemma Whelan have signed up, as well as Paterson Joseph ('Peep Show') and Lindsay Duncan ('A Discovery of Witches').
Meanwhile, casting director Tracey Gilham explained that the programme's great reputation means plenty of big names are often trying to land themselves a role.
She explained: "The agents all love it and so they’re very much behind helping you with people, and we get approached by people who really want to do it.
“And sometimes there’s not a role in that series, but you store it all up for the next time. It’s good to know who’s a fan.”
She noted that part of the appeal for actors is the relatively short schedule of "five or six consecutive days", which allows them to fit it around other commitments.
SHe added: "It fits in really nicely [with schedules], it’s usually five or six consecutive days.
"But also just the quality of it and working with Reece and Steve, I think that’s the draw and that was there from the very beginning because of previous work, so it’s always been a joy to cast… the main thing is people’s availability.”