Keeley: 'Gene and Alex should get together'

Ashes To Ashes star Keeley Hawes has revealed that she would like her character to hook up with Gene Hunt - so that fans stop asking her if it's going to happen.

The actress, who plays Alex Drake in the Life On Mars follow-up, said the sexual chemistry between the two characters was undeniable.

She said: "I'd like to see Gene and Alex get together just to shut people up so they stop asking me about it! But I don't know if that would be a good thing, just to get it out the way and move on or leave it hanging."

But Keeley remained tight-lipped about the plot - claiming she was always the last to know what was going to happen.

She said: "I know that it's moving to 1982, so Alex will have been there a bit and chilled out more. But that's all I know!"

The series pulled in viewing figures of around seven million when it as shown back in February.

Keeley admitted the mixed reception from the critics felt like a "punch in the face" but that she was delighted with the public's response. She said: "I've had such a good response from the public, it's made it all worth it."

She added that people initially shouted at her in the street. "They were saying things like, 'Stop being so horrible to Gene Hunt!' It was hilarious!

"Then people mellowed and they were writing letters saying, 'It's the first time in 10 years I've sat down to watch something with my family'. It appealed to so many people."