Holby City star John Michie says it's a great period for British drama because TV producers have the freedom to take risks in making dark, psychological dramas.
John told What's on TV that shows like Line of Duty and Happy Valley prove there's an appetite for uncomfortable drama.
He said: "It's good to see people with the money and the budgets taking a few risks, you have to take risks. Drama's about risk and if we stop taking risks it's all over... And I think [late TV dramatist] Dennis Potter did say that it's all about taking extreme risks. It was nice to see shows like Line of Duty and Happy Valley giving writers freedom to really write interesting drama."
John says he'd enjoy the opportunity to work in darker drama like these, but is loving playing hospital CEO Guy Self in BBC1's Holby, having recently starred in Coronation Street at killer Karl Munro.
John claims Self has the interests of the public at heart, even though his methods might be unpalatable.
"Psychopath might be going too far [to describe Self], although I know a few consultants and they have interesting minds, shall we say, so he might be mildly psychotic. Maybe," he said. "He certainly has a huge ego and power complex and he HAS to win, he's one of those people who has to win. But that's the kind of person in many ways that you need to run a huge institution the size of Holby."
Watch an interview with Holby City star John Michie:
