HEARTBEAT star Bill Maynard admitted last night that he had refused a request to plug a new video featuring co-star Nick Berry.

The rest of the cast of Britain's top-rated drama series agreed to appear in TV plugs for the video, set in Canada as a sequel to Nick's departure from Heartbeat after seven years.

Last night Bill, 69, said: "Other members of the cast agreed, but I said I couldn't endorse anything I'd not seen to persuade people to buy this video. My credibility is at stake.

"Nick Berry is no better or worse than any other actor on TV. There are some who say he is wooden and has quit acting at the right time, but I have always defended him as part of a fine team.

"But I'm sick of hearing that he'll be missed and we'll now slip down the ratings. Nonsense. There's talent enough in Heartbeat to boost the ratings, especially Jason Durr who has taken over from Nick, and Derek Fowlds - and everyone else, including me.

"Nick's a nice lad. For seven years he's said his lines without tripping over the furniture. Eastenders didn't fall apart when he left. He played the same nice character in Heartbeat but in police uniform.

"Niamh Cusack, who played Nick's first wife in the series, is a great actress, but after they killed her off the rating went up a couple of million."

Bill says the BBC is about to try to knock out Heartbeat, which with around 16.5 million viewers is dominating Sunday night viewing.

Last night BBC1 put Jurassic Park on against Heartbeat with the World Snooker Championship final on BBC2.

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