Fans of Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar have flocked to defend the new series of his crime drama after it was branded ‘dull’ by critical viewers.
Ridley returned to screens tonight for a second series on ITV, having first aired in 2022.
The British police drama follows Alex Ridley (Dunbar), a retired detective, and his former protégée, DI Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh), with series 1 involving a complex murder case.
Ridley, who retired early due to a nervous breakdown after the death of his wife and daughter in a house fire, is brought back to the force in a consultancy role after 18 months away, having spent the rest of his spare time performing in and co-owning a jazz club.
As for series 2, it picks up with Farman at the helm of the investigations, joining forces with her former boss once more to get to the bottom of some complex crimes.
After its launch in the Sunday 9pm slot, viewers took to X to express their thoughts, with some tempted to switch off after calling the episode ‘truly awful’.
@HinmanMark described the acting as ‘clichéd’ and the dialogue as ‘stilted’, adding: ‘it’s like someone decided it won’t fit into the time so it has to be sped up.’
@DarenMulvihill replied: ‘I was looking forward to its return but find myself agreeing with you, terrible acting all round’.
@HobsonDhobson22 admitted viewing was ‘hard going’, while @cannylad23 accused ITV’s crime dramas of all being ‘the same’.
Comparing Ridley to Irish actor Dunbar’s most successful programme, @BHACG blasted: ‘Ain’t no Line of Duty is it. A right snooze fest.’
Others called the intermittent jazz performances from Dunbar ‘annoying’, as @KimBarrett8 claimed the music ‘spoiled’ the flow.
However, it wasn’t all negative, as plenty of users left glowing reviews, hailing it as ‘perfect’ Sunday night television.
‘Sunday night, a cup of tea and a new series of #Ridley. Perfect!’, tweeted @mrskmob1.
@DavidJosephLaw2 further complimented the drama, saying it’s of the same standard as fan favourites Vera and Karen Pirie, while @NickDentsBrain said they will ‘watch anything [Dunbar] is in’.
And while the performer’s singing hit a bum note with some, for others, it was the highlight of the night.
‘Adrian Dunbar has a fantastic voice!’, said @TellyChat1.
As well as Dunbar, 67, and Waugh, 42, Ridley’s cast comprises Coronation Street’s Terence Maynard, Call the Midwife actress Georgie Glen, Citizen Khan’s Bhavna Limbachia, and George Bukhari of Years and Years.
Other series 2 stars include Toby Hadoke, Julie Graham, Aidan McArdle, Suzanne Packer, Tareq Al-Jeddal, and Christine Bottomley.
A synopsis published ahead of the second instalment said the team of cops would tackle a ‘new slate of mysteries, investigating crimes that will take them from the atmospheric British moors to the pulsating beats of an illegal rave’.
As for Ridley himself, he, too, faces ‘formidable challenges, working tirelessly to solve the most intricate and perplexing cases’.
While the fictional town where Ridley is set is called Framley, it was actually shot in Mossley, a town on the outskirts of Greater Manchester.
‘We chose Mossley town as our location for Framley, as it fits our aesthetic well,’ said producer Juliet Charlsworth. ‘It’s a proud industrial town nestled in a valley surrounded by the Pennines.’
Other filming locations include Ashton-under-Lyne for a jewellery store heist, Bolton’s famous Le Mans Crescent for the police station and jazz bar, and Watergrove Reservoir, Rochdale, for Ridley’s house.
While Ridley is a drama in a fictitious town, Dunbar has revealed that a friend’s tragedy is ultimately at the heart of the programme.
Speaking to Radio Times, the Ted Hastings actor shared: ‘I remembered there was someone I knew, whose daughter had died tragically in a car crash, and he never quite got over it.
‘He never got over it to the extent that he didn’t quite believe that she was dead, and that somehow he would turn a corner and she’d be there. It’s a kind of strange reluctance of the mind to accept something.
‘So I thought, when a young girl shows up at the start [of the first episode], why don’t we try and let Ridley immediately project onto her? Because I know this person did this, he would meet a young woman who was so close to the attributes of his daughter, and it was almost like she had shown up.’
‘These things can be disturbing,’ he stated. ‘So I thought, let’s use that element. I didn’t want to leave his grief behind.’
He further said that it’s ‘important for audiences that there is an element of being able to move on from grief, because we have to, as humans.’
However, he wants it to be portrayed in a ‘gradual way’.
‘And if we get another series, we’ll be able to move him on further.’
All episodes of Ridley are now available to stream on ITVX.
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