EVERY crime fiction fan will be familiar with the good cop-bad cop routine. One officer is friendly with a suspect to secure their cooperation, the other plays hard ball; one cop is a stickler for the rules, the other is a maverick.

Think Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon, or Philip Glenister and John Simm in Life on Mars. Even Cagney and Lacey could blow hot and cold, with tough talking Christine threatening interviewees with all kinds of stick and Mary Beth virtually making them carrot soup.

Odd pairings every one, but none more so than the new combo on the good cop-bad cop block: Windsor and Hancock, better known to viewers as the Queen and the UK Health Secretary.

Both had a job to do yesterday: make people stay at home. As trailed in the Sunday papers, the Queen was going to appeal to the public’s higher nature. “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” she said. “And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country.”

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That was the good-cop approach. Earlier in the day it fell to Mr Hancock to tour the Sunday shows and read the riot act, or the Coronavirus Act 2020 as it is more formally known, to all those who thought sunbathing counted as essential exercise.

The Health Secretary was responding to the pictures and footage of crowded parks in England on Saturday. (In Scotland it had been the weather for soup, not sunbathing.) “Quite unbelievable, frankly,” said Mr Hancock on Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday.

Does that mean, asked Ridge, that sunbathing is against the law? “Sunbathing is against the rules that have been set out for important public health reasons,” said the Minister. “I wish I did not have to say this but I do,” he added in a tone that was more in anger than sorrow.

By the time Mr Hancock appeared on The Andrew Marr show he was in a mood to talk even tougher. Marr, like Ridge, was concerned about the social divide between people who had gardens and those stuck in flats.

The Minister was not for budging, however. Indeed, he was all for going further if necessary. “If you don’t want us to have to take the step to ban exercise of all forms outside of your own home, then you’ve got to follow the rules.”

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Marr’s next guest, Sir Keir Starmer, newly elected Labour leader, said he would back the government on further curbs.

Sir Keir was setting out his plans to “engage constructively” with Boris Johnson and his Ministers. That meant asking difficult questions, he explained, but only for the purpose of pointing out mistakes so they could be put right. Among those errors was being too slow on testing and not having equipment where and when it was needed.

Time will tell how much this constructive engagement differs from the norm, or whether it is just politics as usual but without the shouting. In a parting question to Sir K, Marr said his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn felt vindicated by the crisis. Did he agree?

“I don’t think that this is about vindicating Labour Party policies. The country wants to see politicians and political parties pulling together to face coronavirus, not claiming victory over arguments or otherwise.” That sounded like a good old fashioned telling off.

Like Sir K, Scottish Labour’s new deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, appeared keen on constructive engagement when she appeared on Sunday Politics Scotland. In her case this included bringing up the row over Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, visiting her second home in Earlsferry.

“I have enormous respect for her and the job that she does,” said the MSP, “but clearly what she did by travelling to her second home was ill-judged. We cannot say to the public follow the guidance and then fail to do so ourselves.”

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The new deputy leader of UK Labour, Angela Rayner, Skyped into Ridge on Sunday.

Like Matt Hancock, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne is just back at work after being ill. Though she was not hospitalised and therefore tested for the virus, all the symptoms were there.

Labour had planned ceremonies to announce its new leader and deputies. Since those had to be cancelled due to the virus, Ms Rayner learned of her victory while sitting on her sofa, self-isolating. It was a strange and surreal experience she said, like being in a movie.

Earlier in the show, Ridge had asked the Health Secretary how the Prime Minister, who has the virus, was getting on. He’s okay, said Mr Hancock, but he still has a temperature so will be staying at home. Later that evening the PM was hospitalised for tests. 

When Boris Johnson will be out of isolation is unclear. We do know the Sunday politics shows will be back next week. The Easter holiday, like sunbathing, is the stuff of memory for now.