We tend to forget that Montserrat Lombard has already done some sterling work, mostly in the comedy genre. She has appeared in Nathan Barley, opposite Steve Coogan in Saxondale, with Nick Frost in Hyperdrive and also Tamsin Greig in Love Soup. That's pretty impressive in anyone's book. Now she is Shaz - hard-working but often neglected WPC in Ashes To Ashes. Series two starts tomorrow night (Monday 20 April) on BBC One at 9pm, and we caught up with her to have a chat about it all. Read on to see what she said. Very lovely she was too.

For all our Ashes To Ashes stuff, go here.

TV Scoop: So I've been hearing that Ashes To Ashes is a lot darker this series...
Montserrat Lombard: It is. It really is. There are some lovely dark storylines that run through it, which will be really exciting for the viewers I hope.

TVS: Is that in response to feedback from the first series? Or is that just a natural reflection of the story?
ML: I think it's a natural progression and exploring a different area of the Eighties and stuff that went on there. So I think it is a natural progression.

TVS: We've had the privilege of talking to Philip Glenister and Keeley Hawes on this site before, but obviusly I've never had the chance to ask you the same questions I asked them. So... you must have been aware of the success of Life On Mars. It really had a huge cult following... were you bricking it or feeling any pressure getting involved in Ashes To Ashes at all?
ML: I didn't really feel pressure. Lots of excitement, but not really pressure. Obviously I'd watched Life On Mars and everything, but I don't think I was aware that there was such a large fanbase. It's just incredible, and that comes through on Ashes To Ashes too. I wasn't aware of that and how crazy people were about the show. When I did I panicked a bit! I didn't know about this side of it! I've never done a show that's got that - an enormous excitement around it even before you've started a show. It hadn't really crossed my mind, but that's probably me just being stupid.

TVS: Why do think it attracts that really loyal, culty fanbase?
ML: It's really well written. As it was with Life On Mars. When it first came out, there was nothing else like it on telly, and it started to influence other things from then on. The storylines and the characters are really rich and loveable, I think that's why people get so into it. Also the writing and all the lines that Gene Hunt has are fantastic.

TVS: So where does Shaz fit into all this? If no one has seen Ashes To Ashes before, how would you describe her?
ML: Shaz is, I suppose, what Alex Drake would have been in 1982. She's a WPC who shows how things have moved in within the force a bit, and how women are a bit more accepted... but only if they behave and are part of a very male orientated team. It also reflects the sexism that's still around, perhaps not so overtly as Life On Mars, but it does show that a WPC really couldn't do much - she couldn't interview suspects, she couldn't really go out on calls and was very much based in the office doing a bit of paperwork, making tea and coffee and bringing biscuits to the team. I couldn't believe that's all they could do... a bit of typing and answering the phone. What struck me is that you see Alex Drake give Shaz a bit more responsibility, or as much as she can in 1982, and she also brings out a different side to the boys too. You see a different side to Hunt, you see a different side to Ray, and a obviously a completely different side to Chris.

TVS: The show does have some interesting relationships at its core. There's Hunt and Drake, and I think Gene's relationship with Ray is interesting too...
ML: Yeah, it's a really interesting relationship.

TVS: But there's also Shaz and Chris... that's the kind of will-they-won't-they love story. Where are they at in series two?
ML: They're a bit more open about their relationship, because you can't really have a relationship with someone in your team in 1982. That's why it was always a bit secretive in the first series. They're still a bit more open and you see them socialising a bit more. The scene where Shaz got stabbed... I think that changed things between them and it got a lot more serious after that. I think Shaz really likes the idea that Chris is really into her, but she still doesn't see him as the perfect guy just yet - she still sees him as a bit sexist and a bit old fashioned.

TVS: She always keeps him at arms length doesn't she? Poor old Chris... he has done everything to impress her. He even adopted the New Romantic look. What can expect from these two in series two?
ML: I can't give too much away, but it's not going to run smoothly and I think that they will go down a path that won't be expected, which is what I think is really nice about Ashes To Ashes in general - they try not to do what everything is going to happen.

TVS: What about Gene and Shaz. You mentioned him earlier. Gene is obviously fairly unreconstructed, but is he going to be cutting the WPCs any more slack this time around?
ML: He's still Hunt. He's always going to be Gene Hunt, but you do see different sides to him and he's a bit more respectful. But he's Hunt and I think that's why Shaz loves him. He's like an annoying dad, but she accepts his faults.

TVS: We've seen lots of publicity shots, we've seen the trailers and read stories about Grange Hill popping up... you were born in the year the show is set. There's absolutely no real reason why I should ask you what the Eighties meant for you...
ML: Everyone says that but the 1980s just seems to be a decade you know about. Tony Hart, Grange Hill... they've been going on forever. I think it's just one of those eras. The fashions have pretty much never gone away, really.

TVS: Well, you look at today and skinny jeans... they were called drainpipes back in the day!
ML: Yeah [laughs]. The music too... everyone seems to be influenced by the Eighties, but it's just one of those eras. It felt really alien at first with all the sets, but it was like that for everyone. Everyone was like: "This is so weird, going back to the Eighties." You never saw anything on TV that was set in purely in that decade, so it was shock to everyone.

TVS: What research did you do for the role? There were some interesting female-led cop shows on telly at the time - Juliet Bravo, The Gentle Touch etc
ML: Cagney And Lacey! [laughs] I actually spoke to some WPCs before I started the show, and they were really great. There were also some books I was given; accounts of what working in the force was like back then for women. I tried to speak to as many New Romantics as I could too... they were all coming out of the woodwork as soon as I said I was playing one. They all came out and said that they went to the Blitz club! [laughs]

TVS: How cool is it to be a TV cop?
ML: [laughs] It's very cool!

TVS: You get to wear a uniform, beat the bad guys...
ML: I've always wanted to do something like this, so when I got it I couldn't believe it. I always thought I could do something like this, but I wasn't sure that anyone would give me the job! Shaz does get to go out a bit more this time around and you do see her get involved in a bit more action, which is really nice to do something different.

TVS: Do you get to slide across any car bonnets?
ML: No, no sliding, which is something I'm quite upset about. [laughs] I feel like I'm only being half a TV cop!

TVS: What about you Montserrat... you've worked with some amazing people - Tamsin Greig, Nick Frost, Steve Coogan, Chris Morris. What was it like working with that quartet of comedy titans?
ML: It was just amazing. I kind of just fell into comedy. Nathan Barley was the first comedy thing I did and that helped me get into lots of other ones. They're just incredible people to work with, with all that improvisation going on that I really enjoy. They're all really really generous people too, who want you to give as much input as you possibly can. I really enjoyed the comedy.

TVS: Who was your favourite?
ML: I couldn't possibly say! [laughs] All of them!

TVS: Good, diplomatic answer! So what's next for you?
ML: I did a little film called Scratch, which should be out in the next few months. It's a Norwegian/British film set in Hoxton around the whole arts scene. I play Susan, an arts student. I did a little part in Terry Gilliams' film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

TVS: Wow! That's the one with Heath Ledger in isn't it? That's an infamous film for all the wrong reasons, right?
ML: Yeah, sadly. But I do think it's going to be amazing.

TVS: Did you get to act with Heath?
ML: Yeah, yeah I did. That was great because I'm such a big fan of his. He really was a lovely, lovely guy.