New kids on the BLOCK

DJANGO CHAN-REEVES and AZAN AHMED on reporting for duty in Amsterdam

- TESS LAMACRAFT

VAN DER VALK
SUNDAY, 8PM, ITV1 DRAMA

There’s a buzz of excitement in the air when TV Times joins Van Der Valk’s lovely new recruits Django Chan-Reeves and Azan Ahmed for an exclusive video interview.

The pair made their first appearances in the popular Amsterdam-set ITV1 crime drama, which stars Marc Warren and Maimie McCoy as brooding Commissaris Piet Van Der Valk and his cool colleague Inspector Lucienne Hassell, when it returned to our screens last week for a third outing. And for both actors, it marks their biggest job to date.

‘It was exciting but scary when I found out I’d got the role,’ smiles Azan, who plays intuitive but impulsive Sergeant Eddie Suleman. ‘I initially had a lot of imposter syndrome, but it soon felt like joining a family.’

Django, who portrays smart cookie Sergeant Citra Li, couldn’t agree more. ‘For me, the experience reflected that of Citra’s,’ she says. ‘You’re the new person coming into an established team, so there were a lot of parallels to draw on that helped with the role.’

Here, Django, 30, and Azan, 26, tell us why it’s proving a dream gig…

Did you have chance to meet the show’s returning cast members before you started filming? 

DJANGO Yes, we went out for a meal in London with everyone as well as the writer, Chris Murray. That’s where Azan and I met for the first time, too.