Robert Carlyle's Prime Minister Faces A National Emergency

Robert Carlyle plays an underpressure Prime Minister dealing with a devastating national crisis

With the storm approaching, millions of lives are put in danger as planes in flight, public transport and hospitals are all placed at risk. Differing views are shared about how to deal with the crisis, leaving Sutherland in turmoil as how best to safeguard the country.

Robert Carlyle has played a staggeringly varied range of characters in his time — from psychopath Begbie in Trainspotting and steelworker-turned-stripper Gaz in The Full Monty to villainous Rumpelstiltskin in US fantasy drama Once Upon a Time.

However, his latest role as Conservative Prime Minister Robert Sutherland in Sky One’s taut political thriller COBRA was one that shocked even him.

‘It’s not something T ever thought I'd do, laughs Carlyle as TV&Satellite Week catches up with him on location in Manchester. ‘It’s brave casting. There’s never been a Scottish Conservative Prime Minister, so it’s great. But it means I'll never be allowed back into Scotland — the gates are shut to me!’