Responder writer 'buzzing' for Liverpool's TV scene

Tony Schumacher, writer and creator of The Responder, talks of his Liverpudlian pride

The creator of TV drama The Responder has said it was an "exciting time" for the city in which the award-winning series is set.

The BBC One show is filmed in Liverpool and follows PC Chris Carson, played by Martin Freeman, as a Merseyside Police officer who struggles with his mental health.

Writer Tony Schumacher, who the BAFTA-nominated show is based upon, said it was a big boost for Liverpool's film and TV industry.

The 56-year-old said the city was "buzzing".

The show's writer, Merseyside-born Tony Schumacher, was a police officer in Liverpool for a decade

He said: "It feels like it is a time for Liverpool at the moment, when it comes to filming and television.

"And you know, that's exciting, to be part of that."

After quitting the police Mr Schumacher, from Huyton, became a taxi driver and even spent a period being homeless before turning to writing.

The second series of The Responder, filmed and set around the Merseyside area, picks up six months after the first.

Martin Freeman's character, PC Chris Carson, is based on writer Tony Schumacher's own experiences

"It's buzzing, when I'm driving around, I'm seeing location signs on lampposts, it's exciting," Mr Schumacher continued.

"But then I always get dead jealous - oh, who's making something that I'm not in? Or who's making something that I'm not writing?"

He said Liverpool hosting the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in May 2023 had also helped to create that buzz.

"We had Eurovision a year ago you know and the number of people in the industry who came to that, who came to Liverpool and talked about how amazed they were by the city," he said.

"I just love that, I love that it's kickstarting that."

The second series of The Responder continues to be inspired by Mr Schumacher's experiences of mental health problems, love and family.

Watch The Responder on BBC One and on the BBC iPlayer.