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THANKS to his distinctive name and features, not to mention the hugely successful films to his credit, Pete Postlethwaite is one of Britain's most recognisable actors. Warrington-born Pete has appeared in a diverse range of movies and there are few people who haven't watched him in at least one.

Whether you saw his turn as Friar Lawrence in Baz Luhrmann's modern-day retelling of Romeo + Juliet, as mysterious lawyer Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects, or as Giuseppe Conlon from In The Name Of The Father, the role that won him an Oscar nomination in 1994, Pete Postlethwaite is unforgettable.

His latest part is not destined for the silver screen, but is undoubtedly another star turn in his 30-year career.

Criminal Justice, which begins on Monday on BBC1, and continues for the following four nights, is an in-depth examination of the British justice system. It follows the case of Ben Coulter, played by Ben Whishaw (star of Perfume, Layer Cake and I'm Not There), from alleged crime to jury's verdict in crown court.

The story begins as Ben embarks on a hedonistic night after a chance meeting with a free-spirited young girl. When the girl is later found dead in bed, Ben is the one and only suspect, but he can't remember what happened.

With all the evidence pointing towards a drink and drug-fuelled murder, there's little hope for Ben. He's refused bail and gets sent to prison on remand awaiting trial. The naive 21-year-old thinks the jury will believe him if he gets the chance to tell the truth, but his legal team think otherwise and demand he stay silent.

In prison Ben meets Pete's character Hooch, a one-time violent criminal who now mentors his fellow inmates. When the two become cellmates Hooch becomes Ben's only confidante, offering the newcomer valuable pieces of advice that will ultimately keep him alive.

Hooch is a complicated character and Pete says this was what drew him to the role.

What's fantastic about Hooch is that he's unpredictable. What you see is not what you get, eventually, and I found that fascinating,'' he says, hinting that the character's placid nature could be hiding something darker.

That moral dilemma was unbelievable to play. In a way, it doesn't matter to Hooch whether Ben did the crime or not. Ben becomes a catalyst for Hooch, Ben is like the final straw on the camel's back. Eventually Hooch realises he has to stand up and be counted, because he's hated what he's been doing for the past 20 years.'' The 63-year-old took little time to accept the role, despite the fact that the final two parts TOUGH CALL: Pete Postlethwaite plays hardened criminal Hooch in Criminal Justice of the piece were still being written.

Peter Moffat wrote it, and I'd seen some of his work before,'' Pete says. I only read parts one, two and three but I just thought Blimey, that's good'.

I said yes straightaway. It was a lot like when Mark Herman sent me the script for (1996 British comedy) Brassed Off. He said he'd leave it with me for a few hours, then ring me to talk about it.

I suppose he was expecting all sorts of questions, but all I said was When do we start?' It's instinctive when something comes in that's so good.

I think there are going to be a lot of questions raised after this,'' he adds.

People will be asking whether Ben did or didn't do it, of course, but there'll also be questions about the criminal justice system.

Do people behave like that? Do barristers and lawyers behave like that? Is that what prisoners are like? Who's actually running the justice system?

*Criminal Justice will be shown on five consecutive nights on BBC1 from Monday.

8:45am Thursday 26th June 2008

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