MyAnna Buring finds light relief in the dark​

HAVING to deal with the worst of humanity is no laughing matter.

But former Downton Abbey and Ripper Street star MyAnna Buring says she found that’s just how cops get through the toughest of days.

The BBC’s In The Dark is the latest crime show to hit our screens, with MyAnna playing cop DI Helen Weeks who’s thrown into a case that starts with the abduction of two girls.

“I found it interesting that a sort of gallows humour exists within the police force,” says MyAnna.

“It seems characteristic of working in a job that isn’t always pleasant or easy.

“In order to deal with the horror, humour and sarcasm can be useful tools. I think this comes through in the script, too.

“Helen has a wry sense of humour.”

While TV crime series are hardly rare on TV – The Loch and Fearless are just two from ITV that have been seeing us through summer – In The Dark certainly comes with an impressive track record behind it.

The four-part drama is based on the books by multi-million-selling author Mark Billingham and has been adapted for the screen by BAFTA-winning writer Danny Brocklehurst.

He’s the man who wrote the compelling Ordinary Lies and, like those series, the theme is very much that no one really knows anyone.

“I feel that all the characters are real human beings – they are flawed,” explains Swedish-born MyAnna who also starred in the smash hit Twilight movie series.

“They’re not perfect and that is what makes them interesting not only to play but also to watch.

“Helen is doggedly dedicated to unearthing the truth for a living, yet like all good heroines she has her own dark secret buried deep in her past.”

In The Dark, BBC1, Tuesday, 9pm.