The Anti Gene Hunt

I was watching Ashes to Ashes last night in the multiple commercial breaks reading Susan Hill's new one and it occurred to me that Susan Hill's Serrallier is as far from Hunt as you can get. They are both dedicated policemen but that's where the similarity ends and that's why both of them are so interesting. Hunt is this chauvanist dinosaur the roughest of rough diamonds who wouldn't think twice about resorting to rough stuff but there's a heart lurking under all that bluster. Serrallier is an artist, cultured, a little tortured and I doubt if Hill will ever marry him off because he wouldn't suit marriage. But both are utterly compelling - and the reason? They're written that way.