| Who'll Fix It For Jim? Poor Inspector Jim Oulton. As the new series of Merseybeat opens, he's split from his wife, has no home and his daughter's marrying a man he doesn't trust.. Mersey Beat fans are about to be put out of their misery. The last series left more loose ends than you'd find in a tin of spaghetti, but now the top cop show is back. At last we can find out who was left alive after the dramatic shoot-out; whether Sergeant Bill Gentle's heart attack was fatal; and if inspector Jim Oulton gets back with his wife Dawn. Actor John McArdle, who plays Jim, has a good reason for hoping they repair the split. Dawn is played by John's real-life wife Kathy Jamieson - and the couple's on-screen bust-ups have upset their 10-year-old son Joseph. 'I've explained to him that it's only pretend but he still doesn't like it,' laughs John. 'His big sister Katy grew up with me working on Brookside so she's used to it, but Joseph is a sensitive lad. He's always asking me to tell the scriptwriters to get them back together.' John loves acting with his wife. 'We met at drama school but Mersey Beat is the first time we've worked together. We try to leave the job behind us when we go home but sometimes some "Jim-isms" come out and Kath has to remind me I'm not in the police station!' Sadly, in this new series, on-screen happy families are a long way off for Jim. 'He's trying the single life because that seems less complicated,' explains John, who has been nominated as Best Actor by the Television Society for his role in the series. 'But it doesn't work out that way.' Jim moves in with his father Bernie, played by Tony Booth. 'That's been a fantastic experience,' says John. 'I remember watching him in Till Death Us Do Part.' But the set-up has its own problems. 'It all becomes a bit Steptoe and Son,' laughs John. 'Jim's a very tidy man and he's always nagging his dad. In the end he winds up sleeping all over the place - even in a cell.' Jim also has to deal with the repercussions from his fling with Sergeant Connie Harper (Michelle Holmes). 'Jim is a moral man,' says John. 'Even with Connie he got involved because she pretty much seduced him. He likes her, but he thinks of her more as just a friend.' In this week's opening episode, there's also the added problem of Jim's daughter Jenny (Julia Haworth) marrying a man he can't stand. 'He goes to the wedding but feels that this isn't a man to be trusted. We'll have to wait and see if he's right.' |