The acclaimed actor, 50, said he held discussions with director and writer Philip Barantini and quickly came around to reprising the part of troubled chef Andy Jones for the four part series, albeit with a slightly lesser role. The film version of Boiling Point ended with Jones on the floor suffering a heart attack which looked like it could be fatal.

Graham, who also makes the show with his production company said: “We had a kind of moment when he(Barantini) said in the car ‘we’ve been asked to do it again, they’ve asked us to do a series’. And I said ‘how we gonna do that?’.

“I said ‘I think it sounds great, but I’m dead’. And then he said ‘or are you?’. So then we went into long discussions and he said ‘I’ve told the BBC you’re not dead’.”

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Graham, known for powerful roles in series like This Is England, Line Of Duty and Little Boy Blue, also admitted in real life he was perhaps better off being an actor than working in the food industry as he was sacked in his job waiting tables as a youngster.

His wife Hannah Walters also stars in Boiling Point and she said: “I’ve worked in a kitchen as a commis chef. I would cope with the basics but I would struggle with the intensity of it.”

Addressing her husband she added: “You left after a day at TGI Fridays didn’t you?”

Graham replied: “I didn’t leave, I was sacked! I wouldn’t clean up sick in someone else’s section. I refused. If it was in mine of course I would have cleaned it. That’s my section.”

The pair, who were speaking at a media screening for the series in London, hope this is the first of several series of Boiling Point, so they are able to expand and screen storylines about the private lives of each member of the kitchen and waiting staff, showing the pressures they are under at work and in their home lives.

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“The stuff that made me want to be an actor, was stuff that was about real people, living real lives, you know what I mean? That I could identify with, because I could hear my own accent.

“You want to find out more about every single person and hopefully, if the BBC gives us a second series you will find out a lot more about the other characters. There is a pathway. This is the microcosm we have created, the restaurant itself.”

The original one shot film made in 2019 received four Bafta nominations and was met with critical acclaim. The film and TV series also stars Vinette Robinson in a lead role as chef Carly.

* The four part series of Boiling point will air on BBC One from Sunday October 1 at 9pm

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