"Ashes to Ashes star Philip Glenister on new - and final - series"
The People, 14 March 2010 - Article by Jon Wise

As hard-drinking chauvinist copper Gene Hunt he shot to fame quicker than his beloved Audi Quattro could hit 0-60mph.

So Philip Glenister, who won an army of fans as the old-style DCI, is understandably glum that the new series of Ashes To Ashes will be the last.
But the star hopes to bag Gene's iconic motor for himself as a memento of his time as telly's most un-PC detective. Phil, 47, said: "It's very sad to be saying goodbye. I shot Gene's last-ever scene a while ago. It was quite moving.
"I have got my eye on keeping the Quattro. I thought it would look good in my back garden. I am planning on taking everything I can lay my hands on - it's all good for charity or for eBay."
He added: "Who knows, after this I might need the money."
Not that an actor of Phil's calibre is likely to be out of work - but he does doubt whether TV chiefs have the nerve in these belt-tightening times to commission another series as ground-breaking as Ashes or the original Life On Mars.
He said: "It was hard enough getting it made in the first place. It's bold and innovative and different and I think people at the moment are frightened to go against the grain and be different. "Programmes tend to be safe and predictable. I hoped Life On Mars would change that but it did not do as much as I thought it would. "There's so much dumbing down on television. They put fame ahead of talent and think someone from EastEnders will put bums on seats."
We chatted in Phil's dressing room during a break in filming of out-ofsequence scenes that will appear in the BBC1 series before Gene's final exit. The set was in a cold office block in Bermondsey, south-east London.
"It will be interesting to see what kind of scripts come in for me now," said Phil. "I don't think I will be doing any more Gene Hunt in terms of spin-offs or anything. It has been such a fantastic part to play - a gift of a part."
Ashes To Ashes regularly attracts up to eight million viewers - but any of those fans hoping to see a tryst between Gene and cop Alex Drake - played by Keeley Hawes, 34 - in the new series are in for disappointment. Phil said: "As soon as they get it together you don't have a show. There are so many things going on that it is so much more interesting than just their relationship. "I hope we have delivered with this series but you never know. We have done the best ending we can and there is a bit of everything for the audience. You will learn everything you need to know about Gene. I am sure it will divide opinion. "You just have to go with the story and we hope the majority of the audience will agree with what we have done."
Talking of the detective who has many fans among real-life officers, Phil said: "Gene is an enigma. There was talk ages ago about bringing in Mrs Hunt and I was vehemently against it. "I knew we must never meet her. We will keep an air of ambiguity." Mystery man or not, Gene is a hit in the US where Harvey Keitel plays him in the American version of Life On Mars. Phil said: "I caught an episode the other day. The team were called to a bar that had been blown up. It was an Irish bar called Glenisters. "It was really odd to switch on and see all these characters saying, 'What is this place? It's Glenisters. What's Glenisters? Whaddya mean man, this bar is iconic'. "I called the wife in and said, 'There you go, I've cracked America'." London-born Phil, who followed elder brother Robert into acting, is married to actress Beth Goddard, 40. They have two young daughters.

Phil starred in ITV1's sci-fi drama Demons as an American vampire slayer. Just as sharp and straight-talking as Gene, he said: "I hope script-writing for telly keeps being character based and not all about the special effects. "Acting against a tennis ball that is then made into a monster using computer generated imagery might look good on screen but it's pretty bloody boring for actors."
Phil's latest role promises to be far from boring. He is in the movie Bel Ami based on the 19th century novel. He plays Charles Forestier, whose wife (Uma Thurman) is pursued by serial seducer Georges Duroy, played by Twilight hunk Robert Pattinson. Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci also star.
But Phil will be seen as Gene on TV this Friday when he and Keeley appear in an Ashes To Ashes mini-episode for Sport Relief. Gene swaps his Quattro for a golf cart as they retrieve a stolen trophy.
The star will look back fondly on his days in Ashes To Ashes, with its riveting time-travel storylines. Looking around his dressing room before being called for his last scenes, he said: "The other day we finished with the set for Luigi's, the off-duty cops' haunt, and within two seconds the bulldozers arrived and it went. B******s." Phil will particularly miss his fellow cast members - and wearing Gene's flash boots. "I am taking those," he said. "There is also a mock-up of Gene doing his firearms course and I might nab that." But he will be pleased to be out of the area where Ashes scenes were shot. "I won't miss Bermondsey too much," he said - then headed back to the 1980s.