Ashes To Ashes: the Life on Mars sequel starts casting

Another day, another oh-so-obvious casting descision from BBC Wales.

This time, news has hit that Gene Hunt's new time-trapped colleague in the 'eagerly-anticipated' psuedo-clever but actually a massive excuse for a characters-drawn-in-crayon retro-fest', Ashes To Ashes is going to be (shock! horror!) a fancy pants girl (called, in the words of the BBC press release, 'Alex 'posh knickers' Drake').

What's the world coming to eh?

Specifically it's going to be Keeley Hawes; best known for being part of BBC's Spooks - that other bastion of realism, designed to expose us to the inner workings of the men and women who work so hard to keep us safe... Erm...

Whatever, she'll play the part of DI Alex Drake - a psychological profiler. Of course, this will tee up untold numbers Hunt-isms for Philip Glenister to get Happy Gilmore on; and having created the most iconic performance to grace the BBC for a couple of years - yes, David Tennant, I'm aware of your work - he'll no-doubt step up to the plate and do his job in the wonderful manner to which we've become acustomed .

That - as the producers will want you to believe - he may have met his match, is surely too much to ask.  Even John Simm, a man whose opinion of himself has visably and quantifiably grown over the last 18 months couldn't come close to equalling his performance. That Simm went on camp-it-up Doctor Who, whilst the man who acted him off-screen is still trapped in a time-warped, type-casting ghetto, should be proof enough that you should never trust anyone in the BBC's Cardiff offices. Ever.

We'll see how his new verbal punchbag works out, but I don't think Crystal Carrigton's shoulder pads would help her now.