Returned with as much, if not more, swagger and some of the least predictable dialogue you will find in a cop show. Its trump card is never the plot (drugs, guns, hard-faced dealers — meh) but the characters and its darkly comical vignettes.

Series two is also superb, thanks to a combination of Martin Freeman in the best role of his career, and the writing of Tony Schumacher, whose previous life as a Liverpool response officer delivers a crucial sense of authenticity. The supporting cast is also uniformly excellent.

It’s another matchless piece, in other words. A triumph for all involved.

The Responder continues to be a compelling watch, mainly because Martin Freeman is so good at barely containing Chris Carson’s rage.

It is relentless and grim and that is arguably the point of such brutally honest storytelling.

If you can stomach the darkness without falling victim to sympathetic dejection, then The Responder has plenty of qualities.