Gene, as of last night, is back and although he’s only been around for a couple of years I don’t think anyone would deny him his place as a Small Screen Icon, especially not on the last day of our Ashes to Ashes week and, even more importantly, because to do so would risk being called “a Southern jessie bastard” or some other similarly apposite Gene-rific shibboleth.

No, Gene deserves his status as an icon. Iconic look (different now, in A2A, but still distinctive), iconic behaviour and above all, iconic language. Shame that we only feel empowered to enjoy it because he’s firmly rooted in the past. We can secretly envy his ability to call a spade a bloody shovel while publicly claiming that is how it was back then, so what can you expect? If Gene could roll back the nauseating tide of political correctness then he’d become much more than just a small screen icon.

For a more complete resumé of Gene, his family and his career, go to Gene Hunt on Wikipedia.

To read Philip Glenister’s views on playing Gene (in Life on Mars), see the BBC LOM pages.