Claire Rushbrook plays D.S.I. Marilyn Merchant

I had worked with Paul Abbott on two of his creations: Touching Evil and the comedy drama series Linda Green. So I was very familiar with Paul’s work and always loved his writing so was super excited to be asked to be on board with this. I had avidly watched the first two series of NO OFFENCE because of the writing, production values, cast and stories - and the dark, dark humour were really up my street.

Marilyn Marchant is a Detective Super Intendent and what you see is what you get. She is a solid, straight, warm and sincere boss who has exceptionally high expectations of the team.

She has respect and admiration for Deering and the team. But Deering’s unconventional choices, verve and flare do worry Marilyn deeply. Marilyn’s main dynamic is to run a tight ship without bending too many rules. She’s tested to limit several times and might ultimately be persuaded to bend the rules….

With NO OFFENCE it is the quality of the scripts, the subtlety and the darkness and the drama of what Paul had written - so witty and dry. All the cast are up and running and know what they are doing so offered me a very secure pool to be part of. On set there’s a febrile energy absolutely essential for the stories Paul’s telling.

The main thing for me was not so much coming into a new show but coming into a new show and playing the boss, so I had to focus on looking high status and the jargon and terminology can sometimes be difficult getting your mouth around. I watch 24 Hours In Police Custody and am always blown away by how respectful and friendly they are. So it was important to keep her human, confident and composed.

My first ever filming job fresh out of drama school was playing a copper in Casualty. I had two lines but it was a crippling nerve wracking experience with my right arm and right leg moving at the same time as I tried to walk! So Marilyn is my second outing as a copper, and this time I’m a Detective Super Intendent!