TELEVISION / Inside Eye

Ian Stephen, forensic clinical psychologist, on advising on Cracker (ITV 9pm): 'My advice was to Robbie (Coltrane) himself. Robbie couldn't get into my skin because I'm a wee bit thinner than him, but I was giving a reality base for him to develop his fictional personality and on screen I can feel a bit of myself integrated into the role.

'Compared to real life, I work at a much slower pace. Theirs is a much higher-key operation - people would turn over and watch the news if they saw me at work. And there are occasions - such as his particularly heavy and interrogative interview with an amnesiac last week - which reflect what I'd like to do myself but am constrained from doing because of the codes of practice.

'However, there are situations that I can identify with. For instance, people jumping to conclusions about who is the offender and then trying to prove it. And you certainly would be working with people like those you see in the programme.'