Emilia Fox, David Caves and the Lyell Centre team discuss series 27 as the BBC Studios produced crime drama returns for five more two-part mysteries on BBC One and Player.

What is happening with Gabriel at the beginning of series 27?

At the start of the season, the intention is to get to know Gabriel a bit more. Rather than the work side, we learn more about his personal story, where he came from, what's going on in his life and what he's been dealing with. It just makes him a bit more personable with the rest of his work colleagues. So he’s letting his guard down, but he ends up literally putting his guard up in a number of episodes.

That sounds intriguing. Can you expand on that?

Gabriel decides to take up boxing and is trained by Jack. I want to be really honest with you – it was probably the toughest thing I've ever filmed. It was really, really hard. When you watch boxing movies, and someone's getting hit, as a viewer you don’t realise that the actors have to do it about 25 times, pretending to be hit and making it look realistic. The actors also have to hit the canvas 25 times, and they are doing that eight hours a day. But it's a great couple of episodes. They were probably my favourites to be honest with you because they were about Gabriel and Jack getting to know each other and bonding and Gabriel learning a new skill. The audience finds out a bit more of his personal life. So I learned a lot in those scenes, but they were really hard to shoot.

Why do you think Gabriel takes up boxing?

Because he wants to connect with his inner self and feel something. I guess Gabriel has been living in his head for too long and maybe has neglected his feelings. For him, it’s always been about work. There is another storyline where you get to know a bit about his personal life. That shows that after what he's been through with his ex, he has cut himself off from his emotions and all that visceral stuff. He’s been set in his ways and doesn’t like to wander too far from that. Maybe that’s driven by fear or just becoming accustomed to living is life in a certain way. And so this new skill really takes Gabriel outside of his box and allows him to experience feelings again. Also, his new colleagues are pulling something out of him, which he wants to explore more.

So the boxing helps Gabriel develop as a character?

Absolutely. It really helps him to grow. It shows his grit and allows him to feel that life again which he once had before he became a professional pathologist. It helps him to reconnect with that side of himself. Jack coaxes this determination out of Gabriel, and he’s really quite surprised by it because he didn't know Gabriel had that in him. So Jack and Gabriel become closer throughout the rest of the season.

Audiences will discover a lot more about Gabriel, too, won’t they?

Yes. I'm really hoping they do learn a lot more about him. It shows you don't always have to be the loudest in the room. I think that's what the viewers will learn about Gabriel here. He can come across a certain way. But there's a depth to him. And there's a grit to him. And there's a determination to him. And there's a whole other world to him that they haven't seen yet.