It would be awful to be on the receiving end but sure was fun to watch.
“I drink too much, I smoke too much, I gamble too much. I * am* too much.” Writer Jimmy McGovern created an unforgettable anti-hero in criminal psychologist Dr Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald ( Robbie Coltrane), who helped Greater Manchester Police solve murders while splashing around in the moral murk himself. Coltrane, who won three consecutive Baftas for the role, was supported by an outstanding cast including Christopher Eccleston, Geraldine Somerville, Ricky Tomlinson and Barbara Flynn. Throw in Robert Carlyle, Samantha Morton, John Simm and Adrian Dunbar as criminals, and you have a drama of dizzying quality. A highlight were those adversarial interview scenes, where Fitz would press a suspect’s buttons and drill down into their psyche until they snapped. It would be awful to be on the receiving end but sure was fun to watch.