Life on Mars was originally envisaged as a vehicle for Neil Morrissey, its co-creator Matthew Graham has revealed.
Morrissey was massively popular following the success of Men Behaving Badly, and Graham imagined him playing time-traveling cop Sam Tyler, who was eventually played by John Simm in the drama that saw modern Sam wake up in the 1970s after a car accident.
During the planning stage, Life on Mars was also called Ford Granada and was seen as more of a comedy.
"It was called Ford Granada and it was much more jocular, much more knockabout [humor]," he explained in BBC4's Philip Glenister and Matthew Graham Remember… Life on Mars. "To be honest, we thought it might be a vehicle for Neil Morrissey."
Glenister, who played DCI Gene Hunt, quipped that Neil's Men Behaving Badly co-star Martin Clunes could have taken his role. Graham also explained how they came up with the names of the characters, with Hunt named after The New Avengers actor Gareth Hunt while Tyler came from Doctor Who's Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper).
"Tyler came from Doctor Who bizarely. I said to my daughter what do I call Sam and she was just completely obsessed with Billie Piper playing Rose Tyler and she said what about Tyler?"
He revealed that it was mentioned that Life on Mars might put off some people as it might sound too much like science fiction and Nick of Time was suggested. "I begged, I said 'Please don't let me have to change the title'."
Glenister explained that when he was first briefed about the show it was billed as a cross between The Sweeney and Back to the Future. "I remember thinking I have to play this part," said Glenister, after reading the script for the opening episode.
Life on Mars saw Simm and Glenister both give career-best performances across two electric series and the show easily makes our 100 Best TV Shows of all time list.
You can watch Life on Mars on BBC iPlayer and Netflix now. Philip Glenister and Matthew Graham Remember… Life on Mars is also available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
