From Teletext.

Ructions are about to be stirred at Sun Hill by newcomer DI Peter Cavanaugh, a hunky, no-nonsense Aussie copper.

Cavanaugh will not only uncover major corruption at the station with dramatic consequences, but also share a passionate clinch or three with one of its female members.

Playing the incendiary role is Australian actor Peter O'Brien, 44, already a familiar face with credits such as The Knock.

"There's a character that I've followed from Australia who we think is planning a big theft," explains the actor, who debuts on May 5.

"He has been a known associate of Don Beech [the Sun Hill cop jailed for corruption].

"We believe Beech is in on this big operation, but also a Sun Hill officer. It ends up being a major show-stopper."

DI Cavanaugh will receive a mixed reception when he arrives. "He's very much the maverick who operates outside the system," says O'Brien. "He's not threatened by protocol or authority, and sees everyone as his equal. He's going to stand on a few toes as he brings everything to a head.

"There will also be some romance with Samantha Nixon [Lisa Maxwell]."

O'Brien was struck by the pace of work at The Bill, despite having once been in Neighbours.

"I've never worked on anything quite as busy as this before — it's a bit like running the 400 metres," laughs the actor, who did a stint in Ramsay Street during the mid '80s. "Neighbours was such a long time ago and only for nine months, so I have no recollection of it. But on The Bill, you really have to be on your toes. They do an incredible job."

The Bill newcomer was offered a part in the ITV1 cop soap some years ago, but declined.

"It's good to do The Bill because it's such an institution," says O'Brien. "And the part was for just six weeks, which appealed. I was asked years ago to do a regular role, but I wasn't available. This time it was just a case of being in the right place at the right time."

Though his name may not be instantly recognisable, O'Brien is a familiar face on British TV. The actor, originally from just outside Adelaide in southern Australia, has lived in the UK since the late '80s and has bagged many small screen credits.

The Knock, The Innocent (with Caroline Quentin) and Cardiac Arrest are among his claims to fame, along with Channel 4's controversial Queer As Folk. "As far as I was concerned, it was just a quality drama," he says.

The Aussie often finds himself cast as brooding hunks — a trend he's perfectly happy about.

"I tend to choose parts that have characters which unravel and then go off," explains O'Brien, married to actress Miranda Otto, who played Eowyn in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. "I want to play people who have some sort of edge. They are just so much more interesting. Romantic leads tend to be quite bland and I'd rather play the guy with a brooding edge to him."

Since filming The Bill, he has started work on a mini-series, Through Your Eyes, based on the real-life story of Lindy Chamberlain, who claimed a dingo had killed her child but was wrongly accused of murder.

Another role he is wrestling with is that of a house-buyer. "It's a nightmare," says the actor, who's had an offer accepted on a pad in West London. "The laws here are so anarchic and antiquated, it's ridiculous."