Scandinavian TV detective Fred Blomqvist is in no way downcast after falling victim to the latest in a series of personal and work-related traumas, it has emerged.
Having your six-year-old daughter chopped into pieces and fed to piranha by Sweden’s self-styled ‘Aquarium killer’ would be enough to make even the most battle-hardened detectives consider their future, but Blomqvist insisted he is rolling with the punches.
‘Yeah, I’ll hold my hands up - the daughter thing was a setback,’ admitted the 53-year-old divorcee from his converted Uppsala farmhouse, which overlooks acres of bleak agricultural landscape. ‘But I’m refusing to react to it. I won’t take the bait,’ he added, with a cheeky wink and a playful nudge to the ribs.
Blomqvist is legendary for his almost supernatural ability to take everything in his stride and is credited with the introduction of a ‘You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it helps’ poster in the foyer of the police HQ.
The interview was interrupted by Blomqvist’s distinctive ringtone. When the call was over, Blomqvist’s voice cracked momentarily. ‘That was the son from my first-marriage with Linda, who was killed when a tractor reversed over her in a one-way street in broad daylight,’ he said.
‘Well, it’s not such great news about his leukaemia, but on the plus side it’s looking like the jackdaw he found by the roadside with a broken wing is going to pull through. Isn’t that just fantastic? Aww heck, pass me a tissue will you - I’ve got something in my eye.’