DCI Banks actress Caroline Catz is loving life at the detective drama

Caroline Catz is savouring telly success at the double.

More than seven million viewers were hooked by the relationship woes of her character Louisa in the recent series of Doc Martin.

Now she’s a permanent addition to one of ITV’s hottest detective dramas, DCI Banks.

She initially stepped in as buttoned-up detective Helen Morton when Andrea Lowe, who was the sidekick to Stephen Tompkinson’s copper, left to have a baby.

“I think we all thought it was just for one series while Andrea was away,” Caroline told The Sunday Post. “So when I was asked to come back alongside Andrea that really wasn’t in the plan. But it was amazing to be invited and it was really nice to go back.”

While Andrea’s Annie is a real team player, liked by everyone, Helen was a lot more of an awkward outsider.

“She always seemed rude and abrasive, and had to work hard to fit in,” explains mum-of-two Caroline, who is married to actor Michael Higgs. “But by the end she’s found a way through and Banks was starting to realise she’d been very useful.

“The last thing Annie expected was to find her still there when she came back. They’re both strong characters with very different personalities and rub each other up the wrong way a lot which is great drama.”

Caroline says she’s been welcomed with open arms and there’s a light touch on set despite the gritty material.

“We have a lot of fun too much sometimes,” laughs Caroline. “We have to remind ourselves there have been murders and we have to find the killers!”

Caroline has been with Doc Martin from the very start. Viewers were delighted to see teacher Louisa and the grumpy medic finally get hitched but then watched as they struggled to settle down together.

“It was quite challenging as we filmed in Cornwall from March to the end of July and I literally had just a few days off before going to Leeds to put my DI Morton suit on,” explains Caroline. “But it’s wonderful to have the chance to play two brilliant characters who are very different.”

Filming up north Caroline says they’re pretty much left alone, which is a world away from shooting Doc Martin in the tiny fishing village of Port Isaac.

“The crowds for Doc Martin are ridiculous at times,” she adds. “There’s a real problem trying to manage the traffic and we can have literally hundreds of people gathering to watch us filming.”

DCI Banks is on ITV, Monday, 9pm.