WITH 14.5m viewers glued to the early day of TV's Heartbeat in the 1990s, it was a fairly safe bet that this region's beloved fictional village of Aidensfield was a prime target for a stage adaptation. The only surprise is that there isn't a single Yorkshire theatre performance.

"The slightly sad thing is that we're not playing any Yorkshire venues, which is ironic. It was a matter of scheduling and everything else and I think York Theatre Royal was shut at the time when bookings were arranged. But it would be nice for this to appear in the county in which it's set," says Steven Blakeley, who returns to the role of PC Geoff Younger six years after filming stopped on the iconic TV show.

Blakeley reveals that he's wearing exactly the same uniform as when he finished filming six years ago. "We went to The Angels costumiers (in Garrick Road, London) and walked into the fitting room and there was a uniform and I knew it was mine. It hadn't been worn by anyone since I took it off on TV. It was a bit odd because it still had my PC 525 on it and all the badges. It still fits like a glove and I feel like I'm wearing a very comfortable pair of slippers," he says.

Initially Blakeley says he was curious when the idea of him starring in a stage version was proposed. "It was obviously such a strong brand on television, when the idea was kicked about it sounded absolutely fascinating. The worse thing about it is that this show has such a huge fan base – it's repeated daily even now – to consider it for a different format was quite a good idea. There was talk of it for quite some time, and actors don't like to commit too early in case Stephen Spielberg phones," he jokes.

"When the script arrived I realised that it was great and it was a good play in itself. I think the author of the books on which Heartbeat is based – former policeman Peter Walker wrote the series of books under the pen-name Nicholas Rhea – was consulted but didn't have any input. This is a completely original script. You get references to a few backstories here or there, but nothing that the audience wouldn't recognise. But in terms of the narrative of the play, it's entirely original."

Blakeley, from Chesterfield, and now living on the Yorkshire border, was the virtually the last bobby standing when ITV final halted production of Heartbeat, after 18 series, in 2010. Nick Berry and Niamh Cusack, as PC Nick Rowan and GP wife Kate, put the North Yorks on the TV tourism map with Berry even chipping in the chirpy theme song. The stream of first rate actors who turned up in the 1960s-set series were a uniform delight. Just the fact that a decade could be crammed into 18 years remains the only unsolved "crime" in terms of plot. Blakeley arrived on-set for the last four series.

"By the time we finished I was the longest-serving copper in uniform, but a lot of people came and went in those year. But the show was a phenomenon and rightly so. The amount of people turning out to see this play is incredible and the response has been fantastic," he says.

Transferring the rural life, the multitude of historic vehicles and trains, plus the odd chase scene onto the stage seems quite a challenge. "That's the most significant question. It's sort of all there. The vehicles would have been difficult to put on stage, but everything you'd expect from an episode, including the landscape, is there on stage. But it's in a theatrical language. The production uses clever video projection, so really you're getting everything you'd expect from an hour on the telly," says Blakeley.

His introduction to the TV show was as a rather hapless copper who provided Heartbeat's comedy moments, a little like David Lonsdale, who is also in the stageplay, became the unwitting stooge for Claude Greengrass (Bill Maynard) and later for further lovable rogues like Vernon Scripps (Geoffrey Hughes) and Peggy Armstrong (Gwen Taylor).

"Running parallel to the crime element on stage there is a comedy side involving myself and David Lonsdale. My character has wise up after four years on the beat, but not fully. I think because I'm in uniform that I can have a foot in both worlds of serious crime and comedy sub-plot. I have been fortunate as an actor to do that. David told me that he made an appearance as a similar character earlier in Heartbeat, but when the producers needed to fill the role of David Stockwell they decided to reintroduce him rather than find someone new," he says.

Blakeley points out that many of the Yorkshire villagers created on screen and stage were there not to ridicule that way of life, but to recognise that some people are rooted to the land.

"I'm a Northerner and these villages do produce strong characters who are very humourous and very canny. My grandad was a farmer and a very wily old boy. He not only knew how the land worked, but had tricks to get around things in a way that a lot of urban people don't. I think these characters were partly why Heartbeat was so popular," he says.

* Heartbeat, Newcastle Theatre Royal. Monday to Saturday. Box Office: 08448-112121 or theatreroyal.co.uk