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ALL IN THE GENES
Life on Mars icons reunite for tear-jerking new TV show with a personal twist
John and Philip spotted filming on Maldon High Street in Essex
THE actors behind cop duo Sam Tyler and DCI Gene Hunt from Life On Mars are being reunited for a time-travel case with a difference.
I has been 17 years since we were delighted by the detectives.
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Now the stars who brought the roles to life so brilliantly are joining forces once more, though sadly not with another instalment of the BBC One hit drama.
John Simm, who played Sam, and Philip Glenister, who portrayed Gene, are getting together to do an episode of ITV1’s DNA Journey.
A TV insider said: “It’s not quite the reunion fans of Life On Mars would have wanted, but it’s probably the closest thing they’ll get.
“There will still be some of the old dynamic obvious between John and Philip, and the fact that they’ll be journeying back in time to investigate their ancestors on the show seems rather apt.”
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Life On Mars was a huge hit when it aired on BBC1 in 2006.
It featured a Manchester cop (Sam) who has a strange car accident that results in him being transported back to 1973.
He comes under the command of old- school copper Gene, whose methods are both shocking and hilarious.
The drama was so popular it spawned a sequel with another David Bowie song for its title, Ashes To Ashes.
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This time the Eighties- based show, that aired from 2008 to 2010, saw Sam’s role swapped for a female detective — Alex Drake — played by Keeley Hawes.
There were plans for another instalment of the drama, called Lazarus, but the creators last year confirmed they have been scrapped due to “financial issues”.
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So for now fans will have to make do with John and Philip on the ITV genealogy show, which saw them get spotted filming on Maldon High Street in Essex.
Given it’s a town dating back to 913 AD, they could be in for a long DNA journey.
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