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"Denis Lawson has joined the cast of BBC One crime drama New Tricks. The hit series follows Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman) and her team of retired ex-cops as they solve the Met&amp;#039;s unsolved crimes. Lawson will replace James Bolam, who announced his departure from the show in September. His character Steve McAllister is described as &amp;quot;a bundle of energetic optimism&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;the antithesis&amp;quot; of Alun Armstrong&amp;#039;s Brian Lane. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m delighted to be joining Amanda, Alun and Dennis [Waterman] on New Tricks,&amp;quot; said Lawson. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve long admired the show and love its ability to be warm, humorous and gritty simultaneously. I&amp;#039;m really looking forward to being part of it.&amp;quot; Executive Producer Richard Burrell added: &amp;quot;Casting a new member of the UCOS team was always going to be an exciting challenge and we are absolutely thrilled that the brilliant Denis Lawson is joining us.  &amp;quot;Denis brings warmth, wit and charm to the character Steve McAllister and is a very welcome addition to the New Tricks family.&amp;quot; Lawson&amp;#039;s recent television credits include Holby City, Criminal Justice and Marchlands. He is also known for playing Wedge in the original Star Wars film trilogy. The ninth 10-part series of New Tricks is currently filming at Pinewood Studios and on location in London. The series will return to BBC One later this year. &amp;gt; New Tricks renewed for two more series by BBC One "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a359611/denis-lawson-replaces-james-bolam-on-new-tricks/>