Martin Clunes says playing cop who caught rapist left him in 'gloomy headspace'

He is playing the cop who caught the Night Stalker – Britain’s worst rapist, who had attacked hundreds of ­elderly people in a reign of terror that lasted almost 20 years.

So it’s no wonder actor Martin Clunes admits he was left in a “gloomy headspace” as he got to grips with such sickening crimes.

The Doc Martin star is back in another series of Manhunt after the first became ITV’s highest-rated drama of 2019.

He is returning as Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, right, charting the real-life case of serial rapist Delroy Grant, who police believe may have targeted up to a thousand OAPs between 1992 and 2009.

And while Clunes is “­delighted” to be playing the role again, it proved challenging, both in terms of the subject and the Covid-related filming difficulties.

He says: “You are in a gloomy headspace and it was a weird time to be working.

“We were in Bristol city centre and there was all this masking, PPE, testing and that whole level of weirdness. It’s not like shooting Doc Martin on the clifftops.”

The 59-year-old was keen to do justice to those involved and admits it left him full of respect for the police.

He says: “It’s that responsibility of telling the story right, of not skewing it and just ­doing right by them.

“We know they are crimes that are solved but it does not stop you wanting to see the bastard nailed. And that’s what these guys do for us, they nail bastards.”

Based on Sutton’s diaries and told in four parts, bosses were keen to stay away from showing anything graphic. But several chilling scenes convey Grant’s horrors.

He crept into the homes of elderly people in south London before tiptoeing to the bedroom, where his victim would be sleeping.

They ranged in age from 68 to 93, and 10 were men.

Many of his victims were already in poor health.

One, partially-blind Cynthia Stephens, 93, who he attacked in Croydon, south London, in 2009, died three months later, having “lost the will to live”.

It’s thought there could be hundreds more victims as many were too ashamed to come forward.

It wasn’t until 1998 that a dedicated unit – codenamed Operation Minstead – was set up to hunt him down.

While the attacks were easy to link, the wide geographic location and the randomness of the timings meant Grant was incredibly difficult to predict.

The investigation drew a blank until 2009 when Sutton – who had already snared serial killer Levi Bellfield, the subject of the first Manhunt series – was brought in.

He set up a surveillance operation, flooding one of Grant’s favoured areas to strike with 70 undercover officers. It paid off when he was caught in the act of committing ­another burglary.

When they searched his Vauxhall Zafra they found the Night Stalker’s rape kit – a balaclava, grey fleece and crowbar.

In 2011 Grant, of Brockley, south London, was given four life sentences and ordered to serve a minimum of 27 years in prison.

It took a while for the real Colin Sutton to get used to being played by such a famous actor in Manhunt.

Wicked

Sutton says: “It was very strange the first time but I kind of got over that. Martin fits so well and got my mannerisms. My family say things like: ‘He’s just a taller, thinner ­version of you’.

“The strangest thing is that things that were everyday to me in my job are now of so much interest to other ­people. That’s more of a wow factor to me than the fact I’ve got this brilliant, well-loved actor playing me on screen.”

Sutton, who retired in 2011 after more than 30 years’ service, admits the show brought back the emotion he felt working on the Night Stalker case.

He says: “You have to have a thick skin to do the job I did for so long but very occasionally there are some things that do pierce that and stay with you.

“I found it emotional in the same places where it was emotional when it happened for real, which is testament to the script and the acting.”

And he adds: “I think there’s a great good done by telling these stories. That’s to ­reassure, to show people that even when these wicked people do these really wicked things, there are still good people who can do something about it.”

Sutton led more than 30 successful murder investigations during his time in the Met – so could another Manhunt be on the cards?

“I think there might be,” he says. “We’re talking about it and there’s a possibility.”

As for Clunes, he sees similarities between playing Sutton and his most famous character.

He says: “I wonder about our fascination with crime stories where they are crimes that have been dealt with.

“I think maybe we want to see a smart man fix things, which is a lot like Doc Martin actually.

“Wouldn’t it be great if there was a smart man who could fix something – maybe in Westminster?”

Manhunt: The Night Stalker is coming soon to ITV.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk