Hans Rosendfelt, the show’s creator, adds: “Marcella is not a detective anymore. Not really.

“When we parted with Marcella, in the last episode of series two, she was at the very bottom. Earlier suppressed memories had come back to her and she’d realised that she had killed her daughter, Juliet.

“She was alone, homeless and presumed dead, doing everything in her powers to try to erase and forget her past, her name, her memories, even her face. She just couldn’t cope with being Marcella anymore.”

He continues: “We knew right away that it would be hard, impossible even, to bring her back as a police officer after what she’d done and been through… so we decided to let Marcella go undercover. Gave her a new identity and a new mission: to infiltrate a crime family in Belfast.

“We loved the idea of the very troubled and vulnerable Marcella – as always so magnificently portrayed by Anna Friel – getting a fresh start, a new life, an opportunity to become a completely different person and to see how far she is willing to go, what she’s willing to do, not to be reminded about her past.”

Marcella season 3: missing Anna Friel’s drama? The ITV series will be back very soon indeed...