Danny Dyer 'privileged' to play cop

Danny Dyer has said that he feels privileged to play an upstanding member of the community in his new TV show.

The actor has made his name as disreputable characters such as a football hooligan in Football Factory and a drug dealer in The Business.

However, he said he enjoyed the opportunity to play a policeman in new BBC drama pilot Kiss Of Death.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "Obviously I'm quite well known for being a free-loading gangster. Being on the other side of the law. So I felt privileged to play a cop."

Talking about his reluctance to take small screen roles in the past, he said: "I like making movies. I don't like the restriction of TV, the watershed, that there are only certain subjects you can tackle.

"I like to swear a lot in my films. I like to get reaction, so that was my worry about going into television and playing it safe. But Kiss Of Death is quite dark and disgusting in points, that was what did it for me."

Dyer, who said he was concerned that the BBC would "dig out familiar faces like Claire Goose" for the show, stars alongside Lyndsey Marshall and Shaun Parkes.

Kiss Of Death airs on BBC One on May 26.