Lennie James had "lot of fun" watching Jason Flemyng act in a dress while filming 'Save Me'.

Lennie James as Nelly in Save Me

Lennie James as Nelly in Save Me

The 52-year-old actor, who wrote and starred in the hard-hitting Sky Atlantic drama, enjoyed casting his 'Snatch' star friend as cross-dresser Tam, and he has heaped praise on his pal's portrayal, insisting his performance was a "revelation".

Lennie - who played down-and-out Nelly Rowe in the series - exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I loved it. It's a weird thing because Jase is a mate, as is Stevie Graham, as is Susan Lynch.

"But in all of the cases, I didn't think we would get them, so I wasn't banking on my friendship as making anything definitive.

"I had to prove myself to Jase and talk to him about the character and where it was going. Not twist his arm but show him it was worthwhile.

"I'm very proud of the job we did on the show, but one of the things I'm most proud of is Jason's performance.

"I think he's been a revelation on 'Save Me'. There's much more to come from Tam in series two.

"It was a lot of fun to see Jase in a dress."

Lennie was delighted with the positive reaction to 'Save Me' - which featured Nelly desperately searching for his estranged teenager daughter after she mysteriously disappears - but he is "quite happy" he was in the US when the show aired in the UK, because he would've felt "overwhelmed" by the response.

He added: "It's really weird but the reaction to it is the reaction I hoped for. You can hope for it but you don't expect it.

"The way that it has been received has been slightly overwhelming.

"I was quite happy with the distance that I had from the reaction to it, being out here in America because otherwise it might feel like there was an undue pressure on me to write the second series.

"But I've been able to get a sense of how people have felt about it and reacted to it without being completely overwhelmed by it."

'Save Me' is released on DVD on May 7, 2018 and is available to pre-order now.

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