The gloves are off in ITV comedy Piglets as Superintendents Bob Weekes and Julie Spry go head to head for the top job at Norbourne Police Training College.
When Chief Superintendent Cunningham is unceremoniously sacked for misconduct, Julie (Bancroft’s Sarah Parish) soon has her eye on the shock vacancy, which would make her Bob’s boss.
"Bob is the good cop to Julie’s bad cop; their relationship is like a long, tired marriage - they’re just about tolerating each other's annoyances - but it’s one that works, until it doesn’t," says Friday Night Dinner’s Mark Heap, who plays him. "Bob doesn’t have any skills and floats in the slipstream of Julie - but he likes to feel important."
Indeed, when trainee officer Leggo (Sam Pote) cruelly suggests he’s an ‘underachiever’, Bob boldly tells Julie he’s going to apply for the Chief Supt’s job, too!
And, lucky for him, he’s got smitten secretary Melanie (Rebecca Humphries) on his side...
"Bob has a love interest, except he’s not aware of it," says Mark. "He’s completely oblivious to how Melanie feels, bless him. Who knows where that relationship is going to go?"
With Melanie’s help can Bob give Julie a run for her money?
"I couldn’t be a police officer, it must be an impossible job, having to deal with awful situations every day," admits Mark. "That said, I quite like the idea of stopping the bad people. I’d be very incorruptible - I wouldn't have any street cred though."
Piglets continues Saturdays at 9.30pm on ITV1 and you can also catch up on missed episodes on ITVX.
