Ridley’s Adrian Dunbar explains the singing of the show – which was his idea

Adrian Dunbar discussed his singing in a new detective drama Ridleyrevealing that this special side of the character was his idea – and that it wasn’t his first musical performance.

The Northern Irish actor’s most recent role is former detective Alex Ridley, who is lured back into police work on a recent case, which he takes on alongside running a jazz club.

Dunbar sings multiple times throughout the series and told the press in a live question-and-answer session that the potential client didn’t intimidate him, having previously played in a three-piece country band as well as finding work as an Elvis Presley impersonator.

He said of going up the stage: “No, no tension at all. It started [out] Playing in bands, so being on stage is something I’ve done a lot. And even in my forties, I put another band together and went out on the road in Ireland, and played in pubs and pubs and things like that, just for your own pleasure, because I love it.”

Besides his personal passion for music, Dunbar was keen to include an element of Ridley’s jazz club to give the character some extra depth and show “something interesting” about the character outside of his day job.

“I really wanted to do something with the music in it, so I suggested he own a jazz club. And then I did some research on jazz, northern England, etc. I came across Richard Hawley, whom I didn’t know, and started listening to his songs,” he recalls. Dunbar in an interview published to the press.

“Then we called Richard and found three of his songs that we really liked, because I thought they really suited my personality. So we went, recorded them, and installed them on the show. And I think that element really works. He also wanted a place on the show every week you go to that would be a little warmer.” and more lustrous.”

Dunbar went on to describe Ridley Club as “too engrossed” in the show, in a similar vein to how other famous TV detectives have done side projects or quirks that have come to define them.

“I thought if he was running his own club with the wonderful Julie Graham, who is an old mate, it would feel kind of right…a lot of it was my idea and fortunately, the guys ran with it.” line of duty star.

Make sure to catch Dunbar’s cool tunes this weekend on ITV.

Ridley premieres on ITV at 8pm on Sunday, August 28, 2022. Check out more drama coverage or visit our website TV guide To find out what’s going on tonight.

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