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The Body Farm research facility has been set up by partners Eve and Mike. Can you tell us a bit about Mike?

Well when I first read the script the stage direction said: "A man enters, wearing a cardigan holding a cup of tea. His name is Mike" and I thought, there we go! He is like a counterpoint to Tara's character Eve, someone who is very much on at the front. Mike is also a centre point of calm for the group, someone who has to anchor it, but also someone who still has his demons.

So what challenges does Mike face in managing the team alongside Eve?

Mike is forced more and more to come to the forefront because of the contention that happens with Hale commandeering the group to work for the police – the team would prefer to stay as just a research facility. Mike tries to be a guiding force to the other members of the team, while also supporting Eve, who he has set up The Body Farm with as a business partner. He also wants to be a scientist in his own right, and I think he's a very clever man – he's a forensic anthropologist. He's an efficient worker and he looks for the good in people. I think with Mike it's a case of "still waters run deep" – there's a lot going on underneath that he wouldn't ever care to divulge, but he keeps himself to himself, he's not a particularly effusive person. He's really the father of the group, someone who is concerned with other people's welfare, sometimes at the expense of his own.

What did you know about real-life "Body Farms" before joining the series?

I did know a little bit about it. I'd caught a programme that was a late-night documentary about the Body Farm in Tennessee. Also I think Stephen Fry went there when he was going around America in his taxi – I mean, they're fascinating places.

Is being in The Body Farm like anything you've done before?

It's really not, actually. It's quite different to things that I've been doing – there's goodness at the heart of Mike, and I've been playing a lot of villains, destructive characters. He's not like that, and he's interesting for that … though it's a challenge to play a character that's ostensibly a good person.

How is The Body Farm different from other forensic crime dramas?

All I can say is that with police crime dramas it is a bit like re-inventing the wheel, but our approach is that we haven't gone for something slick and stylish – we've gone for something a bit more agricultural, feminine as well with Eve at the forefront. It definitely has a different feel to things, especially because we're not the police, we're actually scientists. There's nowhere else like it in Britain – we're working on things that other people can't – and I think people will be intrigued by the idea of it at first, and then hopefully by the characters.

How have you found working with the prosthetics and live insects?

I love it, actually. I was brought up around farms so I'm very much used to all that stuff. If I wasn't an actor I could very easily see myself getting into the world of science and forensic exploration. It's fascinating. I also used to be a fisherman and put maggots in my mouth to warm them up before putting them on the hook, so that didn't bother me in the slightest.

Was there any research that you did in preparation for the role?

We had our resident forensic anthropologist Andy Hart, so I spoke to him and made sure that the script was watertight – that what we're saying is true, what it means, why you'll be saying it – all so that you can say it with the conviction, of someone who knows what they're talking about.