Whatever you do, don鈥檛 call it a cop show.
Perhaps Warren Brown is sensitive about being typecast, after playing policemen in the BBC dramas Good Cop and Luther 鈥 he was memorably killed as Luther鈥檚 sidekick DS Ripley.
So he bristles at the suggestion that his new drama, By Any Means, involves cops. Even though it does.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not a cop,鈥 he says adamantly about his character, Jack Quinn. 鈥淵es, he catches criminals, but he鈥檚 not part of the police. People assume he is but it鈥檚 a grey area.
鈥淗e runs a clandestine team who do things the police can鈥檛 do, who step outside the law to catch people, using any means.鈥
Warren is talking in between takes on set in Birmingham where the whole series, which begins on Sunday on BBC1, was made.
The unit also comprises Mistresses鈥 star Shelley Conn and Primeval鈥檚 Andrew-Lee Potts, while Gina McKee is an enigmatic police figure.
Guest stars include Keith Allen, Martin Jarvis and John Henshaw.
It鈥檚 made by the same production company, Red Planet, as Hustle and created by the same writer, Tony Jordan.
By Any Means has a similar feel to it, helped by the fact it鈥檚 shot in many of the same locations. In both cases, Birmingham stands in for London.
Filming for the 拢6 million production took 16 weeks between April and August.
The crew confused passers-by on Waterloo Street when they turned the outside of a building into the Colombian Embassy, complete with flags. A criminal takes refuge there, Julian Assange-style, and the team have to con him into leaving so he can be arrested.
The interior was filmed at Spring Grove House in the grounds of West Midland Safari Park in Bewdley, Worcestershire.
Other filming locations include Birmingham Magistrates Court, Hotel La Tour and the Hyatt, Colmore Row, New Street, the Mailbox and Cannon Hill and Sutton parks.
The futuristic-looking base where the team hang out was created at The Bond in Digbeth on the edge of the canal.
Producer Tim Key鈥檚 last job was filming Death In Paradise on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, but he seems happy enough to have moved to a slightly less glamorous location.
He explains: 鈥淟ondon is increasingly hard to shoot in, so we felt we鈥檇 get much more for our money elsewhere.
鈥淚鈥檝e shot in Liverpool and Manchester, but as I鈥檓 from Bewdley, I thought of Birmingham. The opportunity to come back home was too good to miss, and the company had a good experience filming Hustle here.
鈥淚 saw quickly how it could double for London really well, with a huge variety of locations that suit us. We can get across the city easily and get out to the countryside 鈥 in London, it can take an hour to move from one side of Tower Bridge to the other.
鈥淚 was especially pleased to film at Spring Grove House, because I remember going carol singing there with the church choir when I was a kid. I was head chorister at All Saints in Wribbenhall.
鈥淲e were trying to find an interior for the embassy and struggling. Having given up on finding somewhere in Birmingham, we started thinking about country houses and I remembered Spring Grove House.鈥
Tim began his broadcasting career at the BBC鈥檚 studios at Pebble Mill in Birmingham.
鈥淚 did work experience on Howards鈥 Way,鈥 he remembers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very sad that the studios don鈥檛 exist any more, but it鈥檚 good that dramas like By Any Means are being filmed in the city.
鈥淚t shows how film-friendly Birmingham is. The more productions that come here, the better. We are good for the local economy, as we鈥檙e using local caterers and are basing our production facilities at The Bond.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of money being spent here, and actually we are the first 海角视频 production qualifying for the new tax credit. The government introduced it in April to keep film production in the country and attract foreign shoots. It means we can claim back 20 per cent of our budget, so we can spend more money.鈥
Warren Brown is actually back in the city where his acting career began. Born in Warrington, he was a professional Thai boxer for 10 years. He travelled the globe for bouts and became World Champion twice.
鈥淚 knew I had to get a proper job eventually,鈥 says the 35-year-old. 鈥淚 wanted to learn a new skill and thought I鈥檇 try out acting for fun, so I started doing TV extra work.
鈥淚 got on set and something sparked, so I did more extra work and then signed up for acting classes in Manchester, where I was spotted and did a bit on Shameless.
鈥淏ut my very first extra role was in Doctors in Birmingham. I played a patient, and I really looked the part because I鈥檇 just been fighting in Finland and came back with stitches and a black eye.
鈥淚 had got another part lined up as an extra but I had to cancel it because of my injuries, then they sent me Doctors.
鈥淲hen I got there they said 鈥楤rilliant, it looks like we鈥檝e already done your stitches鈥.
鈥淚 had to walk out of the consulting room and wasn鈥檛 supposed to speak. But the actress playing the doctor ad libbed 鈥楴ext time, be more careful鈥 and I replied 鈥楢ll right, thanks鈥.
鈥淭he director said 鈥榃hat did he say?鈥. I thought 鈥極h no, I鈥檓 not supposed to speak鈥. But then he said 鈥楽ay it a bit louder鈥, and that became my first line on TV.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been to drama school, I鈥檝e just learned on the job. I kept my Thai boxing
career quiet at the beginning, but after 10 years of acting, I feel I鈥檝e done enough now to prove I can act.鈥澛犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅
Gina McKee鈥檚 last experience of Birmingham was not a particularly pleasant one 鈥 she was left in a pool of blood with her throat cut.
She came to a messy end while filming the crime drama Line of Duty in the city. Now she plays the unit鈥檚 handler, Helen Barlow, in By Any Means.
鈥淏irmingham is a very friendly city and it鈥檚 nice to have such an easy commute to work,鈥 says Gina, last seen in two very contrasting roles 鈥 as feisty, scheming Caterina Sforza in the lavish historical drama The Borgias, and as Vic Reeves鈥 wife in the Geordie sitcom Hebburn.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the antidote to everything else I do,鈥 she smiles of the comedy, which is returning for a second series. 鈥淚 do get a lot of strong women roles, but I like to seek out variety.鈥
Shelley Conn admits she didn鈥檛 have the best image of Birmingham.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 too happy when they said we were filming there,鈥 she reveals. 鈥淢y only experience of the city was changing trains at New Street years ago, and I wasn鈥檛 impressed.
鈥淚 thought 鈥榃hy can鈥檛 we shoot in London?鈥. But I admit, I鈥檝e been seduced by Birmingham and I really appreciate it.
鈥淓veryone has been welcoming and I love the Bullring.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before at Stratford-upon-Avon, which was nice, but I remember looking at all the terrible clothes in Marks and Spencer and thinking 鈥業鈥檝e got to get back to London鈥. But Birmingham has Selfridges!鈥
Shelley plays sassy Jessica Jones, who鈥檚 not afraid to use her feminine wiles to set up the criminals they鈥檙e chasing.
鈥淪he鈥檚 very driven and her passion is to fight for justice. There鈥檚 a moral ambiguity about what she does, but she feels that it鈥檚 OK to bend the rules if it鈥檚 for the greater good.鈥
* By Any Means starts on BBC1 on Sunday at 9pm.
