Mean streets are meaner than ever for Luther as TV gets off to a grisly start in 2019

THE most famous detective’s coat since Columbo’s shabby mac is off the hanger again – as New Year’s TV gets off to to a grisly start.

Luther is back after a three-year gap, with Idris Elba hunching his shoulders and slipping his hands into the deep pockets of his trademark tweed overcoat.

The mean streets of London have never been meaner than in Detective Inspector John Luther’s world.

There were just two episodes in the last outing in 2015, with Luther tempted away from his reclusive life on the coast to try to find out what happened to the apparently murdered Alice Morgan.

Now there are four hour-long episodes to be enjoyed on successive evenings, starting on New Year’s Day, as the BBC looks to start its 2019 year of drama in style.

“We are upping the stakes,” said Idris, who first played the cop who gets the grisliest serial killer cases in 2010. “Alice is back and there’s unfinished business.”

The previous series have been bloody, brutal affairs and there will be even more gore to come as Alice is by his side as he hunts the murderer.

“The crimes in this series are particularly gruesome,” said Idris.

“And because we concentrate on one character, one crime, throughout the four episodes, we get into detail. But there are other storylines that start to show up. I definitely feel that this season is dark.

“It gives the writer, Neil Cross, an opportunity to zero in on what makes Luther good.”

Cross, who now lives in New Zealand, stayed in Edinburgh from the age of seven until he was a teenager.

The city fired his passion for writing and he says he saw violence as part of his life as he grew up. Although Elba is now a major Hollywood star, his passion for playing John Luther is as strong as ever.

“Every time we finish, we assume that’s the last. Then, within weeks, Idris and I start missing it,” said Neil.

“We start texting and emailing each other and I begin ferreting away ideas.

“Idris is booked up years in advance and we have to find a gap in his schedule.”

The character has developed over the series and Elba insists it’s as fresh as ever. “I had always wanted to play a detective and it felt like an opportunity to make something really interesting as a character. In season five it was no different – it felt great to come back.

“To get into character, it’s about putting on the coat. Once I put it on, I feel very John Luther-y!”

Fans will relish the return of Alice, played with menace and amusement by Ruth Wilson.

“Even though she does dark things, she does it playfully and I think the audience enjoy it,” said Ruth.

“Alice is back with a vengeance. She’s funnier than ever; she’s more lethal than ever and she and Luther get up to some dastardly things.

“Usually there’s a new psychopath or killer each episode but this this season we have one story over four episodes.

“It’s violent, funny and fast-paced.”

Luther, BBC1, Tue-Fri, 9pm