“So he’ll play to our strong points. So eventually we become an amalgamation,” he explained.
He revealed just how immersed he became in his character: “One weekend I was flying home to see my parents and I remember landing at the airport – I felt like a detective, walking around, looking at everybody suspiciously. That was a bit weird…”
Talking about how the show is different to its original, Chris said: “Obviously it’s more contemporary but also we wanted to avoid the stereotypes of the city that have developed since the original aired.
“The Amsterdam of today is so much more varied and interesting and we wanted to bring an audience up to date with that. Also, I think we have more humour,” he concluded.
Van Der Valk airs tonight at 8pm on ITV