Ben Miles plays Patrick Maitland

Ben Miles plays Patrick. Very right wing, he is Susan's 'sort of ex'.

He's not the most intellectual of men, but he has a number of talents which make him very popular with the opposite sex. Not to mention the fact that he is a tripod.

Because of a recent encounter with the 'Melty Man', Patrick realises that he actually has feelings for his good friend Sally, but his past actions may come back to haunt him…

Steven Moffat comments: "Patrick lacks complexity at any level. He's straightforward and doesn't understand why other people don't view the world the way he does.

"He's wrongly thought of as a bastard, yet he's actually fairly honest with the others.

"He's a fan of cars and women and enjoys living well - just like most men do - yet he's completely unapologetic about it.

"Nevertheless, being the kind of guy he is, he manages to simply fall in love. Unlike Steve, he doesn't make a big fuss about it - for example, he'll realise Sally's the girl for him and then that's that.

"Patrick's fun because he's always that little bit simpler than the others and he just doesn't worry about things."

Ben comments: "Patrick is still a complete himbo, but there are some big developments in his life - central to which is his relationship with Sally which is becoming very serious.

"He's still got a fantastic job in the City, his sports car, his long list of conquests - which is always a joy to play - and is still far from bashful when it come to sex.

"But Patrick is now in a one-on-one, monogamous relationship with Sally which is complete alien territory to him. You might as well put him into a rocket and point him into the sky.

"This monogamy business does get him into scrapes. He trips up along the way. He doesn't know the language or how to behave. His brain can't really compute it.

"It's a joy to play someone so very different from myself - and to see how he's evolved!"

One of the highlights of the new series for Ben was donning a splendid suit of armour, "which made a most satisfying noise when I walked!"