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Hocking as the ‘sassy’ Bella

Joss Barratt/UKTV

Making Hit Point took actor Saffron Hocking back to her teens. “I’ve been a Howard Overman fan since Misfits. I watched it when I was still dreaming of being an actress. So when that script fell in my lap, I wanted to do it,” she recalls.

Landing the role of Bella fulfilled another ambition: working with Nick Blood, whom she first met a decade ago. “It was such a lovely opportunity for us to finally get to work with one another.”

This is Hocking’s second detective role; the first, DS Sam Boyd in Prime Video drama The Devil’s Hour, involved some unorthodox research. “I walked into a police station and said, ‘Hi, there’s no crime. I haven’t done anything. I’m not reporting anything. But – and this is going to sound weird – I’m an actress and I’m playing a detective. Can I speak to somebody?’

“I think they were assessing me: ‘Is she mental?’ But they sat me down and had a chat for 30 minutes. It was so helpful.”

Since graduating from drama school, London-born Hocking has picked up a Bafta nomination for her portrayal of Lauryn in Top Boy, but Hit Point is her first lead role. Bella, she says, is “confident, witty and good at her job. She’s a moral person but sassy; she takes no prisoners. She has a good heart and trusts people she perhaps shouldn’t.”

She also has to run about, chasing villains – for which a little training would have come in handy. “I should have thought about the action side of things. It’s a high-energy show. I was not prepared for the amount of running I had to do. But let me tell you something – I’m a young athlete now!”