Sam’s delight at his Bogey moment

WHAT if the Germans had succeeded in invading Britain and we’d found ourselves living under the Nazi jackboot?

That’s the premise of intriguing new BBC1 drama SS-GB which is adapted from Len Deighton’s 1978 alternate history novel and stars Sam Riley and Kate Bosworth.

The complex thriller focuses on British detective Douglas Archer, played by Sam, who is forced to work under the brutal SS in occupied London.

“Loads of things appealed to me about this.

“I’d never played a detective before, especially one in a trilby and smoking cigarettes,” laughs West Yorkshire-born Sam.

“I was also attracted by the fact that Archer speaks German – and I’ve been living in Berlin for the last eight years.

“And as my dad said, ‘People might actually watch this’.”

It’s set in 1941, with the majority of England and Wales under Nazi occupation.

Pockets of resistance continue to defy the occupying forces, but after a German pilot is murdered by a Resistance fighter, tensions in London could not be higher. This is a telly first for Sam. “In the past, TV always scared me,” he admits

“I was frightened off by the idea of being in a longrunning format and having to play the same person over many years.

“But this is very different. It’s great. You have five hours of material to really get your teeth into it.

“Also, my ego saw that I was in almost every scene – although my body is regretting that now!”

The look of a very different wartime Britain is authentically captured in the drama.

“I love film noir movies,” adds Sam. “So to be able to wear these wonderful film noir costumes and have my Humphrey Bogart moment is amazing.” SS-GB, BBC1, tonight, 9pm.