Of all the six mates in Sorted, Dex appears to be the nicest. Dean Lennox Kelly wouldn't disagree.

"Dex is the man you can trust – he's solid and reliable," says Dean, adding in typical deadpan fashion, "...like a van."

"He's quite consistent, he's a nice guy who wants everything to be just so."

He continues: "Of all the boys he'll be the one who'll always make a point of saying, 'If you need anything give me a ring.' He's quite consistent, he's a nice guy who wants everything to be just so."

That leads him to go a little bit too far in trying to incorporate Jack into the group – but it's sincerely meant.

"This show is so about the gang, about the friendship, and whatever happens in each episode it always boils down to that – we're all there for each other. With Jack, Dex just doesn't want him to be an outsider, he wants to bring him in because he doesn't want any splits in the gang. He thinks he's doing a good thing."

Where Dex falls down is probably in his inability to understand that Jack actually wants to remain an outsider. For Dex, close relationships are important – especially his own with his girlfriend.

"He's in love with Amy, who's older than him," explains Dean. "He's 30, she's 40 with a marriage behind her and two kids. Dex treats the kids like his own and they love him too, so I think that speaks a lot about the kind of man he is. It says something about him that he's 10 years younger and takes on two fairly grown-up children – that's quite a big deal, I think about that sometimes, I don't know if I could do that.

"It says something about him that he's 10 years younger and takes on two fairly grown-up children."

"But then, I think he's more gentle than me. There is a real consistency about him in that his temperament is on the level – I'm a bit more up and down. My girlfriend calls me stormy... that about sums me up."

Dean's a big fan of Danny Brocklehurst, the Sorted writer, who also penned episodes of Shameless*. "His situations and characters are all very believable. Danny's dialogue is both funny and dramatic, one minute you're laughing, the next minute your heart's sinking."

"It's been great to make, it's nice to be a postman for a change. Although I'm becoming a professional northerner," he laughs.

Dean see similarities between the postmen and his team-mates in the June 2006 Soccer Aid charity match between England and the Rest of the World.

"We were a team and we stuck together," he says, adding with a droll twinkle in his eyes: "They were both very male environments – lots of hugging, back-slapping and bum-patting!"

Dean Lennox Kelly

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