Ashes to Ashes actor, Philip Glenister has revealed that he has no idea why his character, Gene Hunt has proved so popular with the public.

Hunt started off in BBC hit drama Life On Mars then appeared in his own spinoff show Ashes To Ashes last year.

“Hunt was originally meant to be this nasty dinosaur of an old cop,” Glenister told the Daily Mail. “But, as soon as we shot the scene where he walked in and said, ‘Don’t ever walk into my kingdom, acting king of the jungle, cos you’re wasting my time’, the film crew all just fell about laughing.

“After that I started throwing in extra touches, such as Hunt’s leather gloves – my homage to Tony Curtis in the 1970s TV series The Persuaders, and suddenly Hunt took on a life of his own.”

He added: “I also think the fact that women find him so attractive says more about them than about me. After playing him for four years, I still haven’t pinned down what his appeal really is. Hunt has a shelf-life, though – even he can’t go on forever. I want him to go out on a roll.”