BBC Granite Harbour star Michelle Jeram's life-changing injury that ended former career

Granite Harbour star Michelle Jeram has opened up about the harrowing injury that abruptly ended her former career as a police officer. The actress, who plays Simone 'Monty' Montrose in the BBC police drama, joined the police at the age of 21 and only left 23 years later after she was forced to retire following surgery after she was assaulted during an arrest.

Michelle was in pursuit of a car thief who had flipped the stolen vehicle and fled on foot. "We ended up in a bit of a fight and he came out of it better than I did," she told The Sunday Post.

"I ended up requiring five operations on my leg including a full knee replacement it ended my career, sadly." Despite trying to stay on in an office capacity, Michelle faced the hard truth that her days on active duty were over.

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"I stayed in for a while and did some office duties, but there comes a point when you're a police officer and you can't do your full duties," she added. "I didn't want to leave but it was forced on me even my surgeon said. I can't kneel and don't have full movement of my right knee, and when you arrest people, you sometimes end up on the floor. Even when giving first aid, sometimes you have to kneel over the person and I couldn't do that.

"The surgeon said I was young to have a knee replacement, and that I might only be able to have one more in my lifetime and then who knows what happens with my mobility. I understood where he was coming from but I was really disappointed and felt lost for a while."

Michelle explained that she had originall auditioned for the role of Cora MacMillan, which went to Dawn Steele. Her character Simone 'Monty' Montrose was originally written as a man. She added: "I think it did pique their interest when they learned I had been a copper for 23 years. It's my unique selling point."

The inaugural series of Granite Harbour proved a hit on BBC iPlayer, racking up 7.6 million streams upon its 2022 debut. The plot revolves around Royal Military Police Sergeant Davis Lindo, who lands in Aberdeen as a fresh recruit for Police Scotland, working alongside DS Lara 'Bart' Bartlett.

Michelle's character Monty is part of the major investigations team that collaborates with Lindo and Bart, along with DCI Cora MacMillan and DI Jay Mallick. In the second series, the squad delves deep into the city's criminal underbelly when the fixer for a drug lord is found dead. The officers are then tasked with tracing the origin of a new cocaine and ketamine mix that's inundating the streets.