Reece Shearsmith is happy he's got the opportunity to do some serious acting in ITV's upcoming drama The Widower.
The three-part drama sees Inside No.9 star Reece play Malcolm Webster, who was jailed in 2011 for killing his first wife in a fake car crash and staging a similar attempt to kill his second.
He said: "I was so pleased to be thought of as an actor and not just a sketch-show person. I think I got the part of Malcolm Webster because ITV thought I was the right person to play him and not because they wanted an ITV name, which sometimes does happen. I felt I'd earned it and I really believed I could do it."
But Reece assured his fans he won't be giving up comedy any time soon.
"Inside No.9 has just been recommissioned, which is great, so the part of me that loves dark comedy is catered for there and I'm the boss of that.
"I've written a long time for TV, but only for myself. I've no interest in writing stuff for other people to play. And I'm quite picky, I get offers for a lot of comedies and I never think they're as good as the stuff I do, so I always say no.
"But the acting work is great, too, so if I can get jobs I'll take them. I have the best of both worlds."
The Widower, which also stars Sheridan Smith, John Hannah and Archie Panjabi, premieres on ITV on Monday, March 17.
