Episode One of The Level is something of a curate’s egg. It is really very good in parts with a strong cast headlined by Karla Crome and Philip Glenister, although with his screen time being about one minute before (spoiler alert!) becoming brown bread, I’m assuming he will be making further appearances retrospectively – or perhaps spectrally - during the next five episodes of this six-part thriller.

Brighton also makes only the most fleeting of cameos in this episode, and is dated by the appearance of the Brighton Wheel, but where the city does appear there is good use of the vivid backdrops. Less good is the confusing setting at the start. Detective Sergeant Nancy Devlin (Crome), working in homicide in an unspecified urban police station, is receiving an award, testimony to her exemplary career. But we soon see that in reality she is a dodgy cop, leading a secret double life, helping big-time drugs trafficker Frank Le Saux (Glenister), father of her childhood best friend Hayley, (Laura Haddock) stay off the police radar.

The core plot is strong and gripping, with Devlin having to lick her wounds, literally, and race to cover her tracks as Le Saux’s murky world starts to rapidly unbundle after his gruesome death in woodland off the M23, and she is both helped and hindered by being made part of the homicide investigation team.

There is a chillingly good performance by Rupert Procter, as the man in charge of Le Saux’s finances – who clearly has his own agenda – and appears to be the axis around whom this plot will twist.

There is strong confident directing, with the violence and action scenes particularly well handled and it is sharply lit and shot, with a welcome absence of any gimmicky camerawork, and the narrative is strong. But what irritated me and lets this episode down is typical of what I call first episode syndrome. That is the need by the writers to try to cram far too much background about the lead character, Devlin, into what is, after the commercial breaks, a less than 50-minute long show. We find out her parents are long-separated and her mother is in hospital with mental problems and she goes to see her. We find out her father is also in hospital, with his diabetes and temper out of control. She goes to see him. She seems to be having an as yet unconsummated affair with one colleague, whilst another, in a rather confusing way, appears to fancy her – but we are left in the dark about this.

The one thing that really lets the authenticity of the police aspects down for me, as I suspect it will for many police officers who watch, is the bolshy, shouty behaviour of the senior investigating officer (SIO) on the case. It doesn’t happen that way. Good homicide SIOs are calm, focused people who work on getting the best out of their teams, not by bullying them.

I will watch the next episode with interest. Despite its flaws, there is the making of a good story here, with a less confusing narrative than many recent offerings from broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic that I’ve seen. I’m intrigued, if not completely gripped – yet.

Star rating out of five - Four.

The Level is on ITV at 9pm on Fridays.