Detective Constable Chris Skelton is a fictional character in the BBC One sci-fi police drama Life on Mars, and its spin-off, Ashes to Ashes. Like Ray Carling, his character's naivety and ignorance frequently provides comic relief. He is played by Marshall Lancaster.Chris became a Detective Constable at Manchester and Salford CID under DCI Gene Hunt. He sees the arrival of Sam Tyler. Chris becomes closer to Sam than Ray, and when Sam asks him if he believes in him he says, Yes .Sam often gives Chris jobs that don't involve a lot of action, due to Chris's clumsiness. Chris obliterates the fingerprints on a piece of evidence and gets caught in a football net when trying to arrest someone. He also covers for Ray when he forcefeeds cocaine to a suspect, resulting in the suspect's death. Despite this Chris becomes a good officer.Chris asks Sam for advice when he meets a girl he likes whom he has vomited on. He thanks Sam for the advice when the date goes well. When he discovers Sam's collaboration with Morgan he is furious and says he had respected Sam. Later in the same episode, he apologises for his outburst and tries to make up with him.Chris moved to London, and is now in the Metropolitan Police Service. He seems to have feelings for his fellow officer WPC Sharon Granger but their relationship deteriorated somewhat after he told Ray that some of her friends were weird.As the youngest and most naive of the Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) team, Chris usually gets the jobs that nobody else wants, and is often the butt of his colleagues' jokes.When the new Detective Inspector (DI) Sam Tyler arrives, Chris looks up to him as Sam's by-the-book modern policing methods quickly appeal to Chris, but he is often torn between Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Gene Hunt brutal corrupt methods of policing and Sam's softer approach. For example, when Sam introduces tape recording a suspects interview (something that is done in modern times but not 1973), Chris immediately tape records every interview with a tape just as his mentor taught him to do. Chris once said to Sam I don't underestimate you Boss, I just don't understand you , a sentence most of the team can relate to.Though Chris is committed to his job and enjoys it, he sometimes uses the slightest of excuses just to skive off his share of the work-load. For instance, he would rather be at the pub than staking out a criminal's house. But his affection for and acceptance of Sam helps Sam warm to his new and alien surroundings.By the time in which Ashes to Ashes is set Chris' confidence has grown tremendously. He describes himself as cautious rather than nervous, has an on-off relationship with his colleague Shaz, and visits the Blitz Club with her, although he is embarrassed to be thought of as the kind of man who wears make-up.Chris has an on-off relationship with Sharon Granger. He seems to respect Sam. Show less «