31 Facts About Gene Hunt

Gene Hunt believes that there is a "very fine line between a criminal and a copper".

Shortly after in February 1980, Gene Hunt transferred from the Greater Manchester Police to the London Metropolitan Police, along with Chris Skelton and Ray Carling.

The first series, set in 1981, reveals Gene Hunt to have divorced and replaced his Ford Cortina, as seen in Life on Mars, with an imported Audi Quattro.

Gene Hunt is displayed to be more professional, less aggressive and calmer than when last seen in Life on Mars, set in 1973.

Gene Hunt first meets Alex Drake, the protagonist, during a police drugs raid at a party.

Gene Hunt realises that she is in a comatose state in 1982, and that the 2008 world she has woken into is illusory.

In Episode 6, Gene Hunt leads a riot control unit into the HM Prison Fenchurch, to quell a major riot.

Gene Hunt later sends Ray and Chris in undercover as reporters, but they are exposed, and captured.

Gene Hunt's role has been described as an "angel", helping the souls in a place between "earth and heaven" to get where they wanted to be.

Gene Hunt's role is to take them "to the pub" - moving on to a "heaven" beyond.

The uniformed police officer haunting Drake is revealed to be Gene Hunt, killed as a young constable after a week in the police by an armed man on Coronation Day in 1953.

Gene Hunt's body is buried where Drake expects to find Tyler's body, but instead she finds Hunt's original warrant card.

Keats then convinces everyone else except Alex to accept a "transfer" to his own department, implied to be Hell with Keats being the Devil, but with Alex's help Gene Hunt persuades them to return.

Gene Hunt is able to persuade Alex to accept her death and enter the pub, but not before they share a kiss.

The character of Gene Hunt is politically incorrect, having been described as an old-school copper.

Gene Hunt can be intimidating and is often violent, while having a bullying streak.

Philip Glenister, the actor who plays Gene Hunt has described his character as "intuitive" and "instinctive".

When having just joined the police at the age of 19, Gene Hunt is shown to be a fresh-faced young man with a slim build, and wearing a blue police tunic, a three-quarter length police trench coat, with the epaulette identity number 6620.

Gene Hunt is practically fearless, as shown by his dangerous driving style and his willingness to get involved in fights.

Gene Hunt gives the impression that he wears his coat almost like a suit of armour or superhero cape.

Such as, Gene Hunt has been described as "not being scared of throwing a few punches to get a result", whereas both Tyler and Alex Drake are present day detectives who value forensic evidence and thorough investigative techniques rather than corruption and violence.

John Simm, the actor who plays Sam Tyler, has stated that both his character and Gene Hunt have a grudging respect for the other's approach to policing, as well as Gene Hunt seeing much of his younger self in Tyler.

Gene Hunt has been described as a "national hero" by The Independent newspaper and as a character "taken to the nation's hearts" by The Guardian.

Nancy Banks-Smith stated that Hunt had been a "roaring success" in Life on Mars, with it being said that it was because of Hunt that Life on Mars's spin-off, Ashes to Ashes, was commissioned, quoting executive producer Jane Featherstone as saying: "When Life on Mars came to end through natural causes, I think we all thought: 'Hang on, this character, Gene Hunt, is a fairly extraordinary man and we're not quite done with him yet".

Gene Hunt has been criticised for the prejudiced views he propagates.

Gene Hunt is on the brink of becoming a kind of icon of the sniggering, unreconstructed lad.

Gene Hunt is Seventies man writ large and we should be grateful that species is extinct.

Gene Hunt wears a vest and his hair looks like it was styled during a power cut.

Gene Hunt has no concept of innocent until proved guilty and thinks it's acceptable to turn up to a swingers' evening with a prostitute he's just busted.

Bantam Press have published two books written from the in-character perspective of Gene Hunt, being The Rules of Modern Policing in 2007 and The Future of Modern Policing in 2008.

The setting of the series was moved to New York City, and Gene Hunt was changed to a police lieutenant, the typical rank of a NYPD detective squad's commander.