Imelda Staunton

Click here to watch our interview with Imelda Staunton.

Imelda Staunton plays DCI Billie who leads the investigation into the murder of a 21 year old man.

The disaffected detective soon finds her cynicism challenged by the victim's mother, Angela, who refuses to be ignored.

Imelda Staunton talked about her new series with Jeremy and Sophie on Breakfast this morning.

Click here for the "Murder" web site.

"Murder" starts on Wednesday 29 May 2002, 9.00pm, BBC TWO

"Angela makes her think that there's something you can do on a personal level," reveals Imelda Staunton. Imelda's first thought upon reading the script for her character was, "I would never cast me as this.

The description of her didn't sound like me at all." But she was intrigued enough by Murder's storyline and Billie's role to tackle the part.

"It's interesting because it goes behind the normal depiction of police work.

There's no 'where were you on the night of the whatever' ... it shows it like it is.

You think that all their time's spent on one case but Billie has eight on the go.

The difference with this case is that Angela's so outraged by that and so persistent that it changes Billie's attitude."

Playing a police officer's becoming a regular gig for Imelda, who played a detective in Crush, her most recent film.

"Crush was comedy, and you didn't see Molly do much policing," she says, though there was one thing Imelda was able to carry over from that part to Billie.

"I did wear the same boots!" she grins. Imelda met up with a female DCI in Kingston to research her role as Billie.

"I had a few meetings with her and she was amazing, not at all what you'd expect," Imelda recalls.

"She was very jolly and never stopped talking. It was no good as far as character material went, because Billie's quite serious and bossy - she's like me in that respect! - but it was very useful for the practicalities of police work."

She admits that some of the things she learned were quite eye-opening.

"Did you know that they can keep the body for 80 days, because if they charge someone, they have the right to have the body re-examined?

Can you imagine that?" she says with a shudder. Talking with the real-life DCI, Imelda was surprised to realise that actually, her job as an actor has certain similarities to that of the police.

"There's a pressurised atmosphere in a police investigation team - it's a bit like a cast and crew working together on a play or TV drama, you're all in it together." That intense climate can lead to more than just team bonding, as Billie demonstrates.

"You're often living off adrenaline and you need to work that off physically too," says Imelda.

"For Billie, she likes to go out and have a good time, but she also likes to do it through sex.

She has no proper relationships but she's seeing this policeman in her team.

That's not actually allowed in the police, so it's all very hush-hush.

But there's nothing real between them - it's just sex." She reveals that the most important thing she looks for in a new project is the quality of the writing.

"If it's good all you have to do is say it out loud," she says modestly, then smiling adds, "I just want to do things that make me look good!"

Imelda Staunton Fact File

Imelda's performances have been many and varied, ranging from the films Shakespeare In Love, Sense and Sensibility to Chicken Run.

Her recent TV credits include David Copperfield, Midsummer Murders, Tales From The Crypt and Is It Legal?

She's also appeared in Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective and alongside Auf Wiedersehen, Pet's Timothy Spall in Frank Stubbs Promotes.

Imelda's worked extensively in the theatre since graduating from RADA, in roles from Shakespeare to musicals.

She's an accomplished singer and even fronted a big band for a while, although she admits she "hasn't sung a note for a while now."