Philip Glenister returns as hot-headed DCI Gene Hunt in the hotly anticipated sequel to the hit time-travel drama Life On Mars.

It's 1981... the year of shoulder pads and Bucks Fizz. And Gene Hunt, the self-styled sheriff of Manchester from Life On Mars, has left the north behind in 1973 for London's Met Police, as he attempts to rid the streets of 'southern nancy' scum.

Gene may have swapped his Ford Cortina for an Audi Quattro, but he's still as bigoted and sexist as ever. But, oh, how times have changed! Like his former partner Sam Tyler, Gene's new cohort is from the present day (as in 2008). Only this time it's a woman... Spooks star Keeley Hawes plays Gene's sexy new sidekick, DI Alex Drake, a tough psychological profiler who's spent months reading Sam's case notes, and knows all about his time in 1973 - and Gene.

Single mother to daughter Molly, Alex puts both their lives in jeopardy when she confronts a crazed gunman and is kidnapped. As Alex tries to escape, she gets shot and blacks out, waking up in 1981 dressed as a prostitute and sporting a dodgy perm. When Gene Hunt and his faithful aides, DS Ray Carling (Dean Andrews) and DC Chris Skelton (Marshall Lancaster), come to her rescue, Alex recognises him from Sam's descriptions and realises she's stuck in the past... and stuck with Gene.

But how will Gene himself cope with working with a woman? 'Alex is tougher than any woman he's ever met,' says Philip Glenister, who plays him. 'He's drawn to her and doesn't really know why; they're a great match!'

But will Alex be able to work with Gene? And will she be able to get back to the future to be with her daughter?

Find out by logging onto whatsontv.co.uk for news and previews...