TV preview: Marc Warren on his portrayal of the Dutch detective Van Der Valk

Marc Warren has been a firm fixture on our telly screens since the Nineties.

The Northampton-born actor's big breaks came in the form of STV cop show, The Vice, plus an award-winning turn in the channel's Christmas production of Oliver Twist.

Various big series have followed; BBC One drama Hustle, Sky One's Mad Dogs, Netflix thriller Safe.

But, turning up on set for his latest project - STV's remake of much-loved detective drama, Van Der Valk - Warren, 53, really felt the pressure of playing the lead role.

"I have played lead roles before, but it was mainly in my thirties I was doing that kind of thing - not so much in my forties," he confides.

"It would be much more ensemble stuff like Mad Dogs, and you spread the load there. If it goes down in flames, you're all going down together. But when you're the title character, there's a lot more pressure to it.

"The main thing I remember from the first day was turning up and really thinking, 'I have no idea what I'm doing'. I felt like I'd never acted before in my life, I had never seen a camera before."

At this point, he laughs - a friendly, hearty chuckle - at himself.

Then he adds, sincerely: "But having watched the episode back, you can't tell, and I suppose, with experience, if in doubt, do nothing.

"Try and keep still, say the lines and try not to mess it up, and it can be quite forgiving in that way."

The three feature-length episodes - which are set and filmed in contemporary Amsterdam - follow engaging, unapologetic and street-smart Dutch detective, Piet Van der Valk, as he investigates a series of high-profile cases, immersing him and his team in the worlds of art, politics, addiction, mysticism and the fashion industry.

The original series - loosely based on the novels by Nicolas Freeling - was set in the 1970s and 90s. It starred the late Barry Foster in the title role, and had a memorable theme tune (Eye Level by the Simon Park Orchestra) - which Warren reveals there is a nod to in the new version.

Of his approach to the re-vamped character, he notes: "Well, I didn't base anything on what Barry Foster had done in the original.

"He's a bit of a loner, he's a bit of the silent type - little bit moody, doesn't really look at anybody much," he continues. "But if he thinks you've murdered someone, he never takes his eyes off you. So that can be a bit disconcerting.

"He loves his boss's dog, so I guess you see a little bit of his warm side there. He lives on a boat, so he's a bit of a loner. But he gets on well with the team."

Referring to the Covid-19 pandemic, Warren follows: "I just hope that we've made something that, in these difficult times, will just be a bit of escapism for people. They can go and visit Amsterdam on their TV screens and see what it was like last summer when we were all walking about."

On that note, the chatty star is happy to share how he's looking after his mental health during lockdown.

"I've always been a bit of a meditator, and I try and do a bit of exercise, and walking and running.

"I've been doing a bit of Wim Hof breathing. Wim Hof is The Iceman. He does this great thing that's supposed to be good for your immune system, and ice cold showers; it's a great way to start the day.

"Apparently, it's very good for you. I've been doing it for three years, but not two minutes ice cold - I'd been doing sort of 20 seconds. The two minutes takes you to new areas of endurance."

Plans to start filming a second series of Van Der Valk in May are obviously now on hold because of the coronavirus.

But Warren really enjoyed getting to explore Amsterdam when they shot there for just over three months last year.

"I got to see some unusual parts of it; we shot in the Rijksmuseum so we had access to areas without the public being there. They closed it off so that was really cool - standing in front of Rembrandt's The Night Watch, on your own.

"It's a city you just walk around. There's not a lot of cars there, it's mainly bikes. You've got to really be careful about the bikes because they're whizzing by at 40mph from all directions and if you don't know what you're doing, you could seriously hurt yourself!"

Is Van der Valk a part he can see himself playing for a while in the future (once filming is allowed to take place again)?

"Yeah, I hope so," he says. "And to find some new things within it and relax more with it."

He admits the nerves he felt filming this first series never fully went away as the job went on.

"In my younger days, I suppose I felt almost fearless when I was at work," he muses.

"Being at work was a time when you could just escape from the normal fears that we have, and you'd have five minutes of fearlessness.

"But I didn't have that on this; I suppose I just felt more vulnerable."

And, actually, he thinks that vulnerability can be a good thing, as "you're not pretending".

"We're all wearing masks, so maybe I took a few masks off," he elaborates candidly. "But we just do our best, don't we?

"We're all great pretenders, hoping that nobody will work out that we haven't got a clue what we're doing. I think it's quite universal."

Van Der Valk, STV, Sunday, 8pm.

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