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This is a list of fictional characters that have appeared in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Life on Mars , and the following series Ashes to Ashes .
| Character | Portrayed by | Life on Mars | Ashes to Ashes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Gene Hunt | Philip Glenister | Main | ||||
| Sam Tyler | John Simm | Main | ||||
| Annie Cartwright | Liz White | Main | ||||
| Ray Carling | Dean Andrews | Main | ||||
| Chris Skelton | Marshall Lancaster | Main | ||||
| Phyllis Dobbs | Noreen Kershaw | Recurring | ||||
| Nelson | Tony Marshall | Recurring | Guest | |||
| Alex Drake | Keeley Hawes | Main | ||||
| Shaz Granger | Montserrat Lombard | Main | ||||
| Viv James | Geff Francis | Recurring | ||||
| Luigi | Joseph Long | Recurring | ||||
| Martin Summers | Adrian Dunbar/Gwilym Lee | Recurring | ||||
| Jim Keats | Daniel Mays | Main | ||||
DCI/DI Sam Tyler is played by John Simm in the original British version of Life on Mars and in the American version he is played by Jason O'Mara. The character of Sam Tyler is the main protagonist within the programme.
WPC/DC Annie Cartwright is portrayed by Liz White. [1] During the first series of Life on Mars, the character was a Woman Police Constable serving in uniform. Early in the second series, DCI Gene Hunt allows her to join CID as Woman Detective Constable. Throughout both series, Cartwright helps the programme's protagonist, Sam Tyler adjust to life in the 1970s. A degree of attraction is displayed between the two characters, lending a distinct sexual tension. Cartwright is the only person in 1973 who Sam tells that he has travelled back in time, and she treats him sympathetically, believing that he is suffering from severe concussion after being hit by a car. During the first episode of series one, when Sam climbs onto the police station roof, considering suicide, Cartwright convinces him not to jump. Upon Sam first losing consciousness after the car accident which sent him back in time, he sees a fleeting image of a woman in a red dress running away from an attacker. The image is later revealed to be a childhood memory of Annie chasing after Sam's father, and being attacked by him. No references are made to Annie's family in either the first or second series, apart from a mention of an unnamed nephew in "The Crash", which indicates that she has a brother or sister.
Before the final episodes of Ashes to Ashes, the reason for her absence and whereabouts have never been stated. During the course of Ashes to Ashes , it is revealed that Sam and Annie married and were described as the "happiest couple ever seen" and had no children. In the finale, Keats mentions that there is no trace of Annie anywhere but it is revealed in the final episode that Gene Hunt, who helps souls of the police force pass on, ultimately helped both Sam and Annie move on, implying that Annie too was a police officer either killed or critically injured in the real world. Some fans believe she was most likely beaten to death by Vic Tyler as witnessed by a young Sam Tyler, however this notion creates continuity issues as she is "alive" in the series after the attack by Vic Tyler. This attack also takes place after her actual death prior to being assisted to move on by Gene Hunt.
In the US remake, Annie Norris (Gretchen Mol) is a uniformed policewoman with an undergraduate psychology education who has aspirations of making the detective squad. [2] Norris constantly struggles against sexist attitudes about the role of a woman in police work. Owing to her gender, her nickname among the detectives is "No Nuts Norris". [3] She is the only one on the force to whom Sam has revealed that he is from the future – although she does not seem to believe him, she is the most sympathetic of his colleagues; she puts more faith in his claim after a prophecy from Sam saves her life from Vic Tyler in the counterpart episode to the BBC's first series finale. She is promoted to detective in the finale.
DC/DS/DI Raymond Milton [4] "Ray" Carling [5] is portrayed by Dean Andrews.
Ray Carling is shown to be similar in character to his boss, DCI Gene Hunt. During Life on Mars, Carling often prefers Hunt's brutality and corruption over DI Sam Tyler's ideas. Carling has also been described by the BBC's website as Hunt's "right-hand man when it comes to fighting, shooting, gambling and the ladies". [6] Throughout the series, Carling frequently clashes with Sam Tyler regarding his policing methods. It is revealed that Carling had applied for promotion to DI (Detective Inspector), but was passed over for the apparently transferred Sam Tyler, fuelling his grudge against Tyler. During episode 7 of the first series, Billy Kemble is arrested on drug-related charges. In an attempt to make him reveal his supplier, Carling and Chris Skelton force-feed Kemble cocaine, but Kemble has a heart attack and dies in police custody. After an extensive cover-up operation, Hunt angrily demotes Carling to DC (Detective Constable). After a period of time as a DC, Hunt re-promotes Carling to DS in series 2, episode 1, which he remains at for the next decade until 1983 in Ashes to Ashes.
During episode 3 of the second series, Carling is blown up by a car bomb and hospitalized. A short time before the explosion, Sam Tyler claims it is a hoax and not the IRA as he knows from 2006 that they never used dynamite. Carling believes Tyler and investigates, only to be caught in the explosion. He suffers severe post-traumatic stress disorder after his release from hospital and unwittingly compromises Tyler's investigations. He is, however, hailed a hero by the rest of CID. During series 2 he drove a Morris Marina.
Alongside Gene Hunt and Chris Skelton, Carling moved from Manchester to London and joined the Metropolitan Police shortly after the death of Sam Tyler in 1980. Despite Carling openly being racist and sexist during Life on Mars, he is consistently displayed to have an improved attitude throughout Ashes to Ashes. Unlike his disdain for DI Tyler in 1973, he forms a good working relationship with DI Alex Drake and, most of the time, fully respects her authority over him, despite her gender. During the third series in 1983, Carling is promoted to a DI while Hunt is on the run for Drake's shooting, and takes overall charge of CID. When Hunt returns with Drake, he hastily disregards and lampoons Carling's efforts, describing him as looking like a "maths teacher". Carling goes on to ruin a stake-out during a hostage situation, but after the case is solved, Hunt acknowledges that it was a difficult operation and finally applauds his ability and effort. It is also revealed that Ray's father and grandfather were in the army, but Ray never joined himself as he went out drinking on the night he was supposed to sign up and never got around to going because he was scared, his relationship with his father subsequently souring despite his successes in the force. In series 2 in 1982, Carling actually fills out an army application form, but when he asks Alex Drake to write a reference, she takes the form and rips it up into little pieces, convincing him to stay. Ray, along with Shaz and Chris, endures visions of stars and space and hears strange voices, like that of in a pub, and described by Chris as Nelson (Tony Marshall), the publican from Life on Mars, asking him what is he having to drink. Although he initially dismisses it as alcohol-related, he is eventually brought round by Shaz and the three of them share the vision together in the street outside Luigi's. He drives a MkII Ford Granada 2.8S.
Along with Chris and Shaz, it is revealed that Ray Carling had previously died in the real world. As a young DC, he had been struggling with the feeling that he had failed his father and grandfathers, who were all army sergeants, after he failed basic training for entry to the Army. Ray took out his frustrations on a drunk young man outside a pub and ended up killing him, something which his DCI covered up. Ridden with guilt, he committed suicide by hanging himself in a bout of severe depression and alcohol abuse, on 6 May 1972, the day of that year's FA Cup Final. [7]
The character displays homophobic, racist and sexist attitudes throughout Life on Mars. During Life on Mars, Carling has little respect for Sam Tyler, due to their disagreements over policing methods and Tyler's getting the job to which Carling hoped to be promoted. In Episode 5 of series 1, Carling is shown to be a big Manchester United fan, even faking an illness in order to get time off work to attend the Manchester derby match. By 1981, when the first series of Ashes to Ashes is set, Carling resents having a female superior, DI Alex Drake and is still sexist and opposed to having women in CID. However, during the second and third series he is much more willing to work with Drake and respects her as his senior officer and equal colleague. In Ashes to Ashes season 3, episode 3, Carling shows more of his true personality, which he usually hides under bluster and banter. However, as the series moves on, he returns to his usual self until the final few episodes, when he once again becomes more open towards Chris and Shaz as they share the visions they are experiencing. During series 2, it is revealed that Carling is a Freemason, and holds the rank of Tyler. He notes the ironic nature of the title.
PC/DC Christopher Daniel "Chris" Skelton [8] is portrayed by Marshall Lancaster.
The character of Chris Skelton has been described as a "dogsbody" who is a "cheeky but likeable character" by the BBC's Life on Mars website. [9] Throughout both series of Life on Mars, Skelton finds himself torn between the "old and the new ways of policing", represented by Gene Hunt and Sam Tyler, respectively. He is generally regarded as a waste of space by Hunt throughout both series and plays only minor roles in the storylines that unfold. Skelton finally proves himself in series 2 episode 6, saving Hunt, Tyler and Annie Cartwright (Liz White) from death when he shoots Big Bird. Unlike Ray Carling, Skelton eventually comes to respect Tyler and begins to emulate his modern policing methods, such as tape-recording interviews years before it became standard procedure. Tyler also helps Skelton overcome his clumsiness, nervousness and naivety. During the finale of the first series of Life on Mars, Skelton informs Tyler: "I don't underestimate you Boss, I just don't understand you".
Alongside Gene Hunt and Ray Carling, Chris moved from Manchester to London and joined the Metropolitan Police shortly after the death of Sam Tyler in 1980. By the time in which Ashes to Ashes is set in 1981, eight years since that of Life on Mars set in 1973, Chris' confidence, maturity and policing skills are displayed to have improved. During one episode, he described himself as "cautious rather than nervous" (as opposed to his demeanour in Life on Mars). During the programme, Chris enters into a relationship with fellow officer Sharon Granger. Chris proposes to her in the second episode of season two and they become engaged.
Series two of Ashes to Ashes follows Gene Hunt and Alex Drake battling to put an end to police corruption and searching for an officer who is fabricating and disposing of evidence within Fenchurch East CID. During the penultimate episode of the second series, Chris is revealed to be the mole in CID, explaining that to pay for an engagement ring for Shaz he accepted money from corrupt officers. Chris initially thought that he could infiltrate the group and learn who was involved, but the more tasks he performed, the more involved he became, and he found it impossible to tell either Hunt or Drake about what was happening to him. Ashamed, Chris quietly attempts to resign from CID. A disgusted Hunt views the resignation as cowardice and refuses, telling him that although Chris will not go to prison, he has no choice but to stay on and bear the consequences of his betrayal. The revelation of his betrayal ostracizes him within CID and casts serious doubts on his relationship with Shaz. However, in the final episode of the second series, Chris puts himself in danger by agreeing to go along with the corrupt officers' robbery plan; this eases tensions between Chris and the other characters and his relationship with Shaz recovers, as she admits that she still loves him because "he cares when he gets it wrong".
During episode one of the third series, it is revealed that Chris and Shaz have split up, though the details are undisclosed; however, in episode 6 series 3, when he and Ray believe they are about to die, Chris says that if he does not make it, Ray should tell Shaz that Chris still loves her. In episode 7 series 3, Chris's working relationship with Hunt is strained due to him laughing at a mishap at Viv James's funeral and spilling his drink at the wake. Chris then disobeys an order from Hunt and the two fight in the office. Later on, Chris refers to Hunt as "the best DCI I've ever had" and says he is "proud to have worked under [him]"; however, he also tells Hunt, "I'm not going to be your doormat any longer. Those days are over." After this, the two of them make up. Throughout the third season, Chris, Shaz, and Ray all have disturbing and intrusive visions of a sky of stars, and at times hear strange voices, like those heard in a pub. In episode seven, following the resolution of his argument with Hunt, Chris says he recognises the voice as that of Nelson (Tony Marshall), the landlord of The Railway Arms from Life on Mars, asking him what he is having to drink.
During the finale it is revealed that, in reality, Skelton was dead. On 14 February 1975, [10] whilst serving as a uniformed constable, his Sergeant told him to "do as he is told", which was for Chris to move out into the open at the blow of his Sergeant's whistle, resulting in him being gunned down and killed. Chris ponders on how he acted as a dogsbody for the Sergeant and did absolutely whatever he asked, just like his relationship with DCI Hunt, which he changes after standing up to Hunt in series three, episode seven. He reunites with Shaz when she kisses him before entering The Railway Arms and crossing over to the other side. She tells him that she loves him "forever and a day", to which he responds: "Fab."
DI Alexandra "Alex" Drake is portrayed by Keeley Hawes and as a child by Lucy Cole. [11] The character of Alex Drake is the main protagonist of Ashes to Ashes. The character has been described as "ballsy, confident and bright", along with being "perceptive in deduction" and "understanding the workings of the criminal mind". [11] [12] During the first episode of Ashes to Ashes, it is revealed that Alex Drake is the unnamed police psychologist mentioned in the finale of Life on Mars, who interviewed and recorded case notes of Sam Tyler's time in 1973 and studied his subsequent suicide, as witnessed in the finale of Life on Mars. During the opening scenes of the first episode, Drake, while driving her daughter Molly to school is unexpectedly called to a hostage situation near the embankment of the River Thames. Upon arriving, she is informed that the hostage taker, Arthur Layton is demanding to speak to her, despite Drake having no knowledge of him. Drake eventually negotiates the release of the civilian hostage in favour of herself. This prompts Drake's frightened daughter, Molly to rush past the cordon into the middle of the situation. Arthur Layton takes hold of Molly and rushes down the steps to the river's edge, followed by Drake shortly after to find her daughter unharmed with Layton missing. Upon returning to her car she fails to notice Layton in the back, who forces her at gunpoint to a disused barge and tells her that he knew her parents who died in 1981, Tim and Caroline Price. Shortly after, Layton shoots Drake in the head.
Following the shooting, Drake finds herself in 1981 less than fourteen weeks before the death of her parents, Tim and Caroline Price. Upon waking, she finds herself in the same location - on the barge which is host to a party. From studying Sam Tyler's notes, Drake is familiar with Gene Hunt, Ray Carling and Chris Skelton, and is so surprised to learn they actually exist, that she faints upon first seeing Hunt. After shocking the unit with the revelation she is the DI of the squad, Drake learns that Hunt, Carling and Skelton transferred to London following the death of Sam Tyler a year previously. Drake initially believes that she has assimilated Tyler's notes to create this world, and addresses her new colleagues as if they are not real. As well as this, Drake uses a dictaphone to record her experiences and frequently searches for radio communications and television images for information about her, knowing that Sam Tyler received information this way. As the first series progresses, Drake comes to believe that she has been sent back to 1981 in order to save her parents from death. Along with this, Drake is constantly haunted by hallucinations of "The Clown". Eventually, it is revealed that her father Tim is the clown and that he arranged to blow himself up along with his wife, Caroline, and daughter, Alex, by hiring Arthur Layton to rig a car bomb after finding that Caroline was having an affair with Evan White.
By the second series (set in 1982) Alex Drake is shown to have become more at ease with her life in the 1980s, and that her relationship with Gene Hunt has improved to the point where they work separately from the rest of the team and conduct unofficial investigations. In the first episode of the series, Drake is attacked by an unknown man who attempts to interrogate her about this world. After this incident, she realises she is being stalked by the same, who later is revealed to be Martin Summers who claims to be able to help her return to the present day. Coinciding with the Martin Summers plot, the main storyline witnesses Drake and Hunt working together in order to uncover corruption within Fenchurch East CID. After several discoveries and unofficial investigations led by Hunt and Drake, it is revealed that their superior officer, Charlie Mackintosh is heavily involved in the web of corruption. During episode four, Mackintosh kills himself and shortly before dying warns Drake and Hunt of "Operation Rose", but is unable to reveal more detail. Shortly afterwards, Drake becomes aware that the 1982 younger version of Martin Summers is working in Fenchurch East Police Station. The older Summers arranges a meeting with both Drake and the 1982 Summers, leading to the older Summers shooting the younger. The older Summers forces the firearm used into Drake's hand to incriminate her, prompting Drake to dispose of both the body and firearm in cement.
Towards the end of the series, it is revealed that Operation Rose is the unofficial codename and call-sign for a gold bullion robbery masterminded by a web of corrupt police officers, involving the older version of Martin Summers, who returned to 1982 as his younger self stood by when the robbery happened in the real world. During the series finale, Hunt shoots and kills the older version of Summers and goes on to accidentally shoot Alex Drake. Upon waking in the present day, Drake observes Hunt screaming at her to wake up from her comatose state in 1982 through hospital monitor screens. It is then made clear that Martin Summers was a comatose patient a few rooms away from Alex Drake in the same hospital, explaining his ability to hear discussions about Alex's condition.
During the first episode, Drake finds seemingly herself back in the present day. Along with talking to a therapist about her dreams of Hunt heroically chasing criminals in his Audi Quattro, to the sound of "Ride of the Valkyries", she observes Sharon Granger, Chris Skelton, Ray Carling and Gene Hunt visit her in hospital and ask her for help in differing forms through television screens. She re-awakens in 1983, with Hunt slapping her to bring her out of her coma in order to help clear his name. Following her return to the 1980s, Hunt explains that after his accidental shooting of her he was accused of attempted murder and fled to the Isle of Wight and the Costa del Sol for a period of three months. During the series, Drake is haunted by visions of a police officer with severe exit wounds to the left side of his face. Speculating that this relates to Sam Tyler, she tries to discover the truth about his death. Evidence and hints from the ghost and DCI Keats increasingly point to Gene having a hand in the incident. Although she begins to have more romantic feelings towards Hunt, his reluctance to tell her the truth leaves Drake wondering if he murdered Tyler.
In the finale, Drake follows clues from the ghost and Keats to a shallow grave in rural Lancashire, where she believes Sam to be buried. However, the body is that of the dead police officer haunting Drake and is identified as a young Gene Hunt. Drake learns she is trapped in a purgatory where Gene is a guide or male Valkyrie for dead police officers, while Keats is a demon tempting them to hell. She realises her temporary return to 2008 was just a hallucination within this purgatory and finally accepts she died of her injuries. Drake grieves that she cannot reunite with her daughter, before bidding a sad farewell to Gene as she passes on to the Railway Arms pub (a police analogue to Valhalla) with Ray, Chris, and Shaz.
Alex is initially portrayed as convinced that her experiences in the 1980s are fantasy, being played out in her mind during the final seconds of her life after being shot. In the early episodes of the first series, Drake addresses her colleagues as "imaginary constructs" and mimes air quotes when saying their names. After her parents were blown up in a carbombing, Drake remembers someone taking her hand as a little girl. Drake always assumed the hand belonged to Evan White, but once she went back to 1981 and witnessed her parents' death she observes it was Hunt who took her hand. This causes her to question whether Hunt is in fact a real person. The series 3 finale explains that the 'Gene Hunt world' is in fact a purgatory for police officers with the Railway Arms pub acting as a 'gateway' to heaven.
WPC/DC Sharon "Shaz" Granger is a fictional character in BBC One's science fiction/police procedural drama, Ashes to Ashes . The character is portrayed by Montserrat Lombard. The character's look and style are based on Joanne Catherall of The Human League in 1981. [13]
The character of Sharon Granger is described as "friendly, eager and helpful" by the programme's official website. [14] Granger joined Gene Hunt's Criminal Investigation Department two years prior to the second series, acting as a uniformed aide with responsibility for administration. During the first two series, Granger is shown to be unfulfilled with her current tasks within CID. Despite having been referred to as a "lobotomised Essex girl" by Gene Hunt, Granger has demonstrated a "keen intelligence and diverse knowledge" on literature, history and the arts. [14] She has a more progressive attitude than many of her colleagues, frequently challenging them on their various prejudices. She is also a supporter of the Labour party, and opposes Thatcher. Following the arrival of protagonist Alex Drake in the series, the two become friends.
During the second series, Granger enters into a relationship with Chris Skelton and eventually they become engaged. During the first episode of the third series, it is revealed that Granger and Skelton are no longer together; however, they mend their relationship in the finale. Granger is also close to Alex Drake, who tells the comatose Sharon that she is her "favourite imaginary construct", because she "is so alive". Granger expresses her admiration of Drake throughout the series, describing her as "the most amazing woman [she's] ever met". Granger has a strained relationship with Ray Carling, whose sexism means he often mocks her and doesn't take her seriously. They also clash on many political issues, such as Carling's support of Thatcher and his dismissal of opposition to apartheid, leading her to call him "intolerant", "prejudiced", and "racist". During episode two of the second series, Granger reveals that her mother is Romani, after hearing Carling making antiziganistic remarks. [15] Their relationship improves over the course of the third season, with Carling telling Granger that he is "very proud to be a colleague of [hers]" in the second episode. In the fifth episode of the third season, the two sing a duet of 'Danny Boy' on stage together. Ray also confides in Shaz about his visions of stars, and she comforts him when they later share these visions. Granger admires DCI Hunt, calling him "brave as a lion", however, in the third season, she becomes frustrated with his harsh treatment of her and her colleagues, especially Chris, and with his inability to keep his promise of promoting her to CID. She overcomes this in the finale by obeying his orders to leave Keats and join the undercover operation.
During episode two of the third series, Granger contemplates leaving the Metropolitan Police. However, after she goes on an undercover operation to catch a serial killer - during which she saves herself from an attempt on her life by stabbing her attacker with a screwdriver - and Hunt promises to allow her into CID by Christmas, she decides to stay. After she accepts Hunt's offer, there is a brief musical cue of 'Life On Mars' and a close up of a spaced out Granger. A voice can also be heard; this is later revealed by Chris, who has a similar experience, to be that of Nelson, the landlord of The Railway Arms from Life on Mars. This moment seems to symbolise the resolution of her internal conflict relating to her revelation in the finale, as on this occasion she is able to successfully defend herself. Along with this, Shaz, Ray and Chris all have worrying visions of stars throughout the third season.
During episode 7 of the first series, Granger attempts to apprehend an armed and dangerous Gil Hollis, shortly after he fired upon the team while they were taking cover in Luigi's trattoria opposite Fenchurch East Police Station. After eventually nearing Hollis, Granger tackles him to the ground, the knife Hollis is holding penetrating her stomach as they fall. Once Alex Drake, Chris Skelton, Ray Carling, and Gene Hunt arrive at the scene, Drake carries out CPR on Granger. After Drake's attempts seem to have failed, Hunt orders Hollis to his knees and allows Skelton and Carling to violently assault him while he is in police custody, despite the protest of Viv James. However, Drake manages to revive Granger and she is taken to hospital. During episode 8, Granger recovers and joins the group again.
During the finale it is revealed that, in reality, Shaz is already dead. She was killed in 1995 [16] (although in the original script of the finale she died on 19 April 1996). [17] while attempting to apprehend a would-be car thief stealing a Ford Sierra. The thief stabbed her in the abdomen with a screwdriver, leaving her to bleed to death. The world she occupies during the series is a form of limbo. After Alex persuades Gene to join the undercover operation that Chris, Shaz and Ray have organised, he radios through to Ray, Chris and Shaz just as DCI Jim Keats is going to take them away. After persuading Ray and Chris to return to him, Gene radios Shaz and informs her that "Shaz, you are now promoted to Detective Constable, effective immediately". Granger is the first to return to Gene and Alex just before the sting. She and Chris are reunited before crossing over into 'the pub', together with Ray and Alex. Before leaving, she gives Hunt a peck on the cheek, Hunt telling her "you keep [Chris] out of trouble, Detective Constable Granger".
Sergeant Viv James first appears in series one as a uniformed sergeant working in the front office of Fenchurch East Police Station. During episode seven, Shaz Granger is stabbed by Gil Hollis and in retaliation, Gene Hunt allows Chris Skelton and Ray Carling to violently assault Hollis while he is cuffed and in police custody. James pleads with the officers to stop, and eventually receives an apology from Hunt.
During episode six of the third series, James enters HMP Fenchurch East in order to quell a major prison riot along with his colleagues, and on their retreat he is left behind and taken hostage by those inside. It is later revealed that he arranged with Jason Sacks, the orchestrator of the riot, to bring in a firearm in return for another prisoner to admit to the crime his nephew is being held for, allowing his release. During the episode, James is shot and while the riot is underway he single-handedly defends the wing his cousin is held on. He is later shot again by Jason Sacks and as he lies dying, he is found by DCI Jim Keats, who makes no attempt to help him, but places his hands either side of his head while he dies, claiming when the rest of the team arrives that James was already dead when he got there; Gene instructs the rest of the team to claim that James was simply injured in the riot without revealing his role in it.[3] In the finale Chris mentions a dream he had of Viv surrounded by flames; given the episode's revelations about the characters all being in an afterlife, who Keats is and how Viv died, the implication is that Viv has ended up in Hell.
The Clown (Andrew Clover) is the main antagonist during the first series, dressed in a Pierrot costume resembling that worn by David Bowie in the music video for Ashes to Ashes and on the album cover, appears to have a similar role to the Test Card Girl from Life On Mars , offering Alex Drake cryptic messages, often in her daughter's voice. Unlike the Test Card Girl, the Clown frequently appears in the background of scenes. On Andrew Clover's website the character is referred to as The Angel of Death.
In any near death experiences adult Alex has until 10 October 1981, the Clown appears, often distorted and blurred out of Alex's own vision. The clown stalks Alex frequently throughout the first series. In the seventh episode of the series the clown speaks in what is clearly Alex's father's voice while delivering a dangerous threat.
It is seen in the climax of episode 1.8, "Alex's Big Day" that the clown and Drake's father, Tim Price, are one and the same person. Moments before his death, Tim Price removes his glasses, and is perceived by adult Alex to transform into the clown before smiling and winking at her. Startled by the horrific revelation, she has only time enough to ask "Dad?" before the car detonates in front of her.
The Clown is briefly visible to WPC Sharon Granger when she is stabbed and approaches clinical death in episode 1.7, "Charity Begins at Home". She pleads with DC Chris Skelton, "Tell it to go away! I don't like clowns!"
Since her parents' deaths, adult Alex is no longer stalked by the Clown. The Clown (or, arguably, David Bowie in the same Pierrot costume) appears in the lower left area of Luigi's celebrity mural at the close of Episode 1.8, at which time neither Alex nor Shaz seems to take any notice when walking toward it,; [18] it is gone again from the mural in the second series.
Martin Summers (Gwilym Lee [younger] & Adrian Dunbar [older]) [19] served as the main antagonist of the second series. Summers is – like Alex Drake – simultaneously lying in a hospital bed in 2008, and alive and well concurrently with his younger self in 1982. [20] He is referred to as "Doctor Death" by DCI Gene Hunt in episode 2.1, and uses the alias "Boris Johnson" in episode 2.5, much like Sam Tyler's tendency to use future celebrity names as aliases in 1973. [21]
Originally from Wicklow, Ireland, [22] he is described by Sergeant Viv James as being approximately the same height as Hunt, and in his mid-fifties. [23] His younger self - first shown in the trailer for Episode 2.7 - is, therefore, approximately 25–30 years of age in 1982, [24] at which time he is a police constable (PC). [25] He holds back the crowds during the 6 September 1997 funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, [26] and retires from the police service in disgrace at an unspecified date sometime thereafter, but it is revealed in the series finale that he was a detective inspector (DI). [27]
In 2008, Summers is dying slowly and painfully. [28] It is generally believed that from his hospital bed, he sees the BBC News report of DI Alex Drake's disappearance, although the bedridden viewer's identity has not been definitively shown. [29] It is confirmed that he knows of Alex's subsequent discovery, gunshot wound to her head and that her daughter, Molly, has rushed to the hospital. [27] Older Summers knows when Drake is about to undergo surgery to remove the bullet [30] and telephones her in 1982 to tell her, [30] although Alex already knows, having seen a vision of herself being wheeled into surgery [30] He sends her dead roses to suggest she's missed her chance. [30] As Drake recovers from brain surgery, a nurse informs a physician that "the coma patient in room five is having a seizure." [30] It is not yet revealed if that patient is Summers.
On an unspecified date, Summers is transported back in time to an equally unspecified date, sometime before 4 May 1982 [31] Like Drake and Tyler, he feels very lost, alone, and frightened; he wonders if he is dead, mad, or dreaming in a hospital bed far away, and whether he is the first to ever have such an experience. [32] Also like the other two time-travellers, [33] it is his world's unimaginable level of detail that first gives him reason to suspect that it is real; in Summers case, he notices that the sparrow pecking at the woodlice from under his window sill had a little tuft of feathers missing from its back, and asks himself, "Martin, how can this level of detail exist in a bloody dream?!" [32] Whilst living in an East London flat, he keeps a journal of his experiences on a Corona typewriter. [32]
In 1982, Summers' older self is involved with a project known as "Operation Rose", involving members of the London Metropolitan Police, including Detective Superintendent Charlie Mackintosh and at least one other policeman at Fenchurch East. [32]
Eventually, Summers' older self takes notice of DI Alex Drake and postulates that she is his kindred spirit from 2008. [34] On 4 May 1982, he or his agent scribbles "Pont de l'Alma" across evidence photographs to get Alex's attention. [35] That same day, he abducts her in Soho with a rag soaked in chloroform or a similar substance and straps her to a medical table for interrogation while concealing his identity with a surgical mask and letting her scream into an open radio microphone. [35] He escapes as DCI Hunt enters to rescue Alex. [35] He leaves a series of red roses on her desk and in her flat, and periodically telephones her. [36] He stalks her and watches her sleep. [32]
On 8 November 1982, Summers, using the name Boris Johnson, leaves a card for Alex at Sgt. James' front desk, asking to meet at Luigi's at 22:15 that night. [37] He arrives early and leaves another card under Alex's dinner rolls, apologising for missing her, [38] and then follows her into the otherwise vacant CID to introduce himself. [39] He remains calm when the colour drains from Alex's terrified face and she aims her sidearm at him. [40] He tells Alex that he can get her back home to 2008, but only if she cooperates with Operation Rose; he gives her a day to consider. [41] Despite Alex's yearning to get back to her daughter, she refuses to be corrupted and rejects Summers' offer. [42]
Having assembled a team, older Summers appropriates vehicles and has his subordinate at Fenchurch East remove the dockets that would have traced the vehicles back to them. [32] He believes that he is "literally making the cosmos turn for [his] benefit." [22]
Summers leaves 1982 roughly one minute before Drake does, each having been shot by Gene Hunt. Whereas Drake loses consciousness in 1982 and awakes from her separately gunshot-induced coma in 2008, Summers simultaneously dies on the ground in 1982 and in his hospital bed in 2008. His draped corpse is wheeled past Drake's hospital room and her daughter, Molly. [43] This confirmed the previous implication that the two were in the same hospital such that Summers was able to know Drake's 2008 medical condition in 1982; his room was presumably within earshot of those discussing her status, such as medical personnel, police, and/or Molly Drake and Evan White.
However, in the final episode of Ashes to Ashes (Series 3, Episode 8) it is implied that Alex never actually woke up in hospital following her gunshot wound, and that the time she believes she has spent in 2008 following her recovery - and prior to her return to 1983 - were also in fact part of Gene Hunt's reality. As she was aware that Summers was from her own time, it is reasonable to assume that the draped corpse was imagined as something Drake would have expected to encounter upon recovering. With that in mind, the real fate of Martin Summers is unspecified, although it is still strongly implied that he did die in 2008.
DCI Jim Keats appears as the main antagonist of the third series, as an officer sent from the Discipline and Complaints Department (D&C) to assess Fenchurch East CID as part of Operation Countryman. During episode one, Keats quietly vows to Hunt that he will "dismantle the station around him" and that he knows "what Hunt really did", along with informing Alex Drake that he'll "help her" and that he knows "what she is going through".
Upon finding that Drake requested old files and statements regarding the death of Sam Tyler, Keats informs Drake that he thinks Hunt killed Tyler. Keats also claims in his debut episode to have an extensive knowledge of the Bible. Throughout the series, Keats tries to drive a wedge between Hunt and his team. He does this by managing to convince Sharon Granger to resign and convinces Ray Carling to risk his life to make up for "mistakes made in the past". The true extent to which he is willing to take his vendetta is revealed when, upon discovering the badly-injured Viv James in the aftermath of a prison riot, he actually watches James die, placing a hand either side of his head, rather than attempting to provide medical assistance, and later claiming that James was dead when he found him to further damage Hunt in the eyes of his colleagues. In the final episode it is strongly implied that Keats is in fact the devil,[1] a detail confirmed by the writers and actor in an interview on the BBC website.[2] Having smashed Hunt's reality by having each character remember their violent death, he hopes to have them abandon Gene and join him. While Alex refuses outright, Ray, Chris and Shaz leave with him, but eventually change their minds after he calls the lift (the door code to which is 666). The three hear screams from below and the lift comically says "Lift Going Down" (if the characters had entered the lift, it is implied they would have been taken down to hell, a detail again confirmed by the writers in an interview on the BBC website [2]). The trio, alongside Alex, "go to the pub", passing on from their lives in the 1980s. Defeated, Keats slinks away, but not before remarking that he and Gene will see one another again, implying that he will continue to try and steal the souls of the dead police officers who enter Gene's world.
Luigi is the owner of a basement trattoria directly opposite the façade of the Fenchurch East police station. Given its proximity, the CID dine and/or drink there after work, and DI Alex Drake resides in a flat upstairs. An Italian immigrant, he is at times either visibly irritated, exasperated, or amused by DS Ray Carling's and DC Chris Skelton's ethnic humour and DCI Gene Hunt's general abuse. He detects that Hunt and Drake are attracted to each other, and repeatedly encourages Hunt to pursue those feelings. He is quite fond of his neighbour, Drake. He cooks her veal scaloppine using his late mother's special recipe for the sauce which he does not serve to the other police officers who frequent his trattoria. "Pearls before swine," he explains. [44]
In episode 1.6, "Over the Hill", Hunt coerces Luigi to open the trattoria in pre-dawn hours in order that Hunt and Drake can hold a small, impromptu birthday party for eight-year-old murder witness, Donny Cale (Asa Butterfield). Like Drake, he lives in a flat above the restaurant and, after the food is served, tells Hunt to lock up so that he can go back upstairs to bed.
In the final act of episode 1.7, "Charity Begins at Home", Gil Hollis fires several shots into Luigi's restaurant from in front of the police station, leading a determined Hunt to declare that, "I am not dying in a trattoria!"
As of November 1982, Hunt has a substantial bar tab at Luigi's. [45]
Luigi is notified by telephone in November 1983 that an unliked cousin has died and left him a significant inheritance, prompting Luigi to return to Italy. [46]
Molly Drake (born 1996) [47] (Grace Vance) is the twelve-year-old daughter of Alex Drake and Peter Drake. [48] She is named for Caroline Price's grandmother, a suffragette, and coincidentally shares her name with her father's childhood cat. [49] Molly's father abandons her and her mother when Molly is six months old. [49] Her mother commonly addresses her as "Molls" [50] as her father called his cat. [49] Her proper name and nickname are extraordinarily similar to the two nicknames by which her mother is normally addressed by Gene Hunt: "Bolly" and "Bolls". Like her mother, Molly is the goddaughter of Evan White who calls her "Scraps". [50]
Her paternal grandfather, Bryan Drake, paints her portrait for Alex. [49]
Her voice is first heard reading from Sam Tyler's file in the opening scene of episode 1.1, "Deja Vu", while her mother drives her to school through central London; the notes she reads are the same post-coma statement Sam narrates at the start of episodes 1.2-2.8 of Life on Mars , and lead her to scoff, "Whatever. That is so lame!" She is celebrating her twelfth birthday in 2008 when the series begins; Evan has given her a BlackBerry as a present and is getting her a "seriously chocolatey" cake; her father Peter is travelling in Canada with a woman named Judy and is not believed to have sent her a birthday present. That morning, she relishes the chance to place the flashing blue emergency light on her mother's car herself in order to go "blues and twos". [51] Molly is briefly held at gunpoint by Arthur Layton when she defies Alex's instructions to remain in the car. After the hostage situation, Alex tells her, "It's a hard, screwed-up world but, if you trust me, I will try to help you get through it." Alex then leaves her in the care of Evan while Alex attends to reports, promising to be at Molly's birthday party in time to blow out the candles on her cake together. Unbeknownst to Molly, Alex is abducted by Layton moments later. [52]
Late that night, [53] Molly travels to the hospital where Alex is taken for surgery after being discovered with Layton's gunshot wound to her head. [49]
After Alex is sent back in time, Molly acts as something akin to the Test Card Girl of Life on Mars, frequently appearing to Alex as hallucinations at points throughout the series. Alex cannot observe Molly directly, but either senses her presence in the room or sees her in reflections and in her peripheral vision; Molly vanishes whenever Alex turns to look directly at her. The Clown Angel of Death (Molly's maternal grandfather) occasionally speaks to Alex in Molly's voice in the first series. At the end of episode 1.1, "Deja Vu", the Molly-voiced clown tells her, "You've just been shot, a second ago. You are lying on the wet ground. Don't fight to wake up; it will hurt too much. You'll never make it to her party. All those memories, but it doesn't have to hurt."
Alex directs many of her audiotaped progress notes toward Molly and frequently talks to her. Getting back to Molly, especially before the birthday party, is Alex's overarching goal. Her line to Molly about the state of the world and trust, is repeated verbatim back to her by DCI Gene Hunt after the 1981 climax scene of episode 1.1, "Deja Vu".
The exception to Alex's inability to look straight at Molly is when Molly appears as if cast in 1980s television programmes. Molly looks for her mother while interacting with Zippy and George in episode of Rainbow set in the Fenchurch East CID office. [50] Molly later appears in a 1982 episode of Grange Hill in which she is questioned about her mother by head teacher Bridget McClusky. [54] Molly Drake appears in a 1982 episode of Angels where she is told by a woman off-camera that Alex will not wake up for a very long while. [55] Alex later hears her (through Luigi's radio) being told that Alex is "doing really well," and that "the operation was a complete success;" they need only wait for her to wake up. [55]
A moment after Alex awakens from her coma in 2008, an overjoyed Molly is brought to her bedside for a brief visit. As Molly exits to give her mother some rest, she and the draped corpse of Martin Summers cross paths in the corridor. In a reversal, once Molly is away, Gene Hunt appears to Alex on the video screens; albeit on hospital diagnostic monitors, whereas Molly would appear on Alex's 1980s television in Hunt's absence.
When Alex dies and Gene Hunt slaps her "awake" into the Geneverse purgatory in the season 3 première, Molly's jacket is on the chair in Alex's hospital or hospice room. In the finale, Molly appears in a dream, supporting her mother in an It's a Knockout style game, against Gene Hunt, both Alex and Gene are foam rubber suit versions of themselves. Molly repeatedly shouts to her mother to "Get up!" because "He's coming!"
Arthur Layton (Sean Harris) [56] is a criminal with a talent for using explosives. He is uncomfortable with people staring at him [56] and wears mirrored sunglasses to hide his eyes. [56] It is his gunshot which sends the programme's protagonist, Alex Drake, back in time from 2008 to 1981. [56]
On the same morning as her arrival in the past, 7 July 1981, [57] DI Alex Drake notices Layton's name on the side of a Betamax video cassette on a shelf in the Fenchurch East police station's electronics storage room. [56] To DCI Gene Hunt, he is merely a tinker with a minor record [56] whom Hunt tolerates in exchange for periodic information. [56] Drake, however, is certain that his surveillance tape would not be there if Layton were not crucial. [56] In the surveillance tape, he wears a t-shirt depicting the cover of David Bowie's Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) album which includes the song, "Ashes to Ashes". [56]
Layton's criminal record includes convictions for fencing stolen property through his junk business in Shadwell, [56] but Drake believes him to be the kingpin behind a drugs smuggling operation in the city. [56] Drake and DC Chris Skelton pay him a visit [56] and Drake orders him arrested for no apparent reason. [56] He is unintimidated by Drake's interrogation, denying all involvement in the drugs trade, [56] and is quickly released by Hunt. [56] While in custody, his subordinate, Edward Markham, attempts to shut down their supply line through a series of nine payphone calls and a message picked up [56] on Charterhouse Lane [56] near Tower Bridge. [56]
Drake visits his junk shop again [56] and leaves with his encoded notebook. [56] Hunt takes the notebook from a drunken Drake that evening [56] and shows it to DS Ray Carling who doesn't know what to make of the numbers. [56] Drake's attempt to link Markham and Layton results in the kidnapping of WPC Shaz Granger, but succeeds in linking the two men, as the car in which Markham takes Granger is found to be registered to Layton. [56] Also found to be registered to Layton are boats including The Prince Charlie. [56] That revelation causes Hunt to realise that the numeric code in Layton's notebook are tide times for shipping the drugs. [56]
CID find Markham, Layton, their gang, and Granger at a large drugs deal at the docks near Tower Bridge, [56] and Drake admonishes her team that she needs Layton alive. [56] He takes Granger hostage at gunpoint during the ensuing gunfight [56] and is pursued by Drake. [56] In his 1981 stand-off with Drake, Layton holds Granger in the same manner that he will hold the woman hostage in 2008 when Alex similarly approaches him. [58] In 1981, however, Drake is armed and aiming at his head. [56] The stand-off is broken by Hunt who arrives via a commandeered speedboat with Carling and Skelton, [56] allowing Granger to escape. [56] Drake arrests him for, not only drug trafficking and abduction, but additionally for shooting her in the head [56] which he will not do for twenty-seven years. [56] Hunt sprays Layton's direction with an Uzi, [56] only wounding him superficially. [56] Despite Drake's wishful thinking, Layton's arrest does not result in her return to 2008. [56]
Layton is later released from jail near the end of episode 1.8, "Alex's Big Day" through the efforts of his barristers, Tim Price and Evan White and is commissioned by Tim Price to install a suicide bomb in White's car which Tim borrows under the pretext of driving Caroline and young Alex Price to the train station. Layton wires the bomb trigger to the car's cassette tape player. While riding in the back seat, young Alex sees Layton walking down the road as they pass him. He watches from the hillside as the bomb detonates, killing Tim and Caroline, but sparing young Alex who had alighted the stopped car to fetch her balloon which had escaped through the window. In the excitement, his presence is apparently unnoticed by Hunt and adult Alex Drake, as neither rushes to arrest him on suspicion of murder.
On several occasions in 1981 and 2008, he quotes the lyric "I'm happy, hope you're happy too" from David Bowie's song, Ashes to Ashes . The song plays on the car's cassette player leading up to the bomb's detonation.
In 2008, Layton is down-and-out, still bearing the scar on his left cheek from Hunt's 9mm Uzi round twenty-seven years earlier, his crime empire merely a memory. [56] One morning, he takes a woman hostage on the embankment in front of the Tate Modern, [56] and demands to speak specifically with DI Alex Drake, [59] causing Drake to detour on her way to delivering her daughter Molly Drake to school [60] her twelfth birthday. [61]
He holds the hostage in the same manner has he held Granger twenty-seven years earlier. [58] When Alex manages to cause Layton to release his civilian hostage in favour of herself, [59] Molly defies Alex's instruction to remain in the car [59] and approaches through the crowd of observers. [59] Although Layton's name and aged face mean nothing to Drake, he tells her, "I knew you when you were a little girl. You've got your mother's eyes, Alex," and proceeds to twice taunt her with the lyrics "I'm happy; hope you're happy too," from David Bowie's 1980 hit single "Ashes to Ashes" before cocking his revolver's hammer and saying, "Boom!" [62] This prompts a frightened Molly to rush past the barricade tape toward her mother, [59] whereupon Layton takes Molly hostage instead [59] and leads her down the steps toward the river's edge, threatening to kill her if followed. [59] Drake puts herself in between the police sharpshooters and Layton & Molly, whilst repeatedly screaming "Hold your fire!" to the former. [59] When Layton fires, Drake rushes down the steps, [56] to find Molly unharmed and Layton gone. [59]
Later, at approximately 10:00 that morning, [63] after Alex has sent Molly home with her godfather, [64] Alex gets into her car, still parked on the south bank, [65] without noticing Layton sitting in wait for her in the back seat. [59] With his revolver to her head, he directs her to drive to an old, apparently abandoned barge on the north bank, opposite The O₂. [59] Walking swiftly to the barge, he claims that she will be his "ticket out of this mess," before placing a call on his mobile phone and telling the other party, "You're gonna [ sic ] have to listen, 'cause I've got a piece of your past standing [ sic ] right here in front of me: Tim and Caroline Price's daughter; and I'm gonna [ sic ] tell her the truth why her parents died." [66] The party whom Layton telephones in 2008 is not yet revealed conclusively. At the end of episode 1.8, "Alex's Big Day", adult Alex Drake opines in 1981 that Evan White is whom Layton calls, telling Hunt that "I'm the piece of his [Evan's] past, or I will be. He'll be blackmailed by Layton for not telling the truth."
Once in the barge, Layton laments his lost success, telling Alex, "I had an empire back in the day. I had connections; I had dealers on every street corner." [59] Alex uses her psychological training and experience in an attempt to calm Layton and save her own life. [59] Her attempt fails, and Layton decides not to reveal the truth about her parents' death before shooting her [56] in the head. [67] In the instant Layton's bullet impacts her, Alex sees a series of disconnected images, [68] which include Layton shooting her instant before, [69] and a childhood memory of seeing Layton as a young man walking beside the road as she rides past him. [59]
BBC News soon report Drake's disappearance and the police's suspicion of Layton's culpability; Layton is described as "dangerous and armed". [65] A poster seen in Series 2, Episode 8, states that Layton is still at large in 2008. While the precise amount of time that has elapsed while Alex is in hospital is not stated, the statements by Molly and medical personnel which Alex hears during her surgery, infection, and treatment of her infection suggest that a scant few days have passed since Layton's abduction and shooting of her on Molly's birthday.
