This year will see Casualty legend Derek Thompson, who has played Charlie Fairhead on the show for 37 years, depart from the series - however, fans will soon have another chance to see the star on screen, as he has officially joined the cast of Blue Lights.

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Thompson will be seen in a guest role in the second season of the Belfast-based police drama, playing retired officer Robin Graham.

Robin will first be introduced in the second episode of the season, and it has already been teased that his past and conscience catch up with him when trainee solicitor Jen Robinson investigates a decades old case, one that has dangerous implications for the present.

Thompson said: "I loved the first series of Blue Lights and thought, as did the majority of my friends and colleagues, that it was the best new TV series of last year. I was thrilled and excited {star jumps in the living room} when I got the invitation to take part in series two."

Stevie Neil (MARTIN MCCANN) and Grace Ellis (SIÂN BROOKE). They are in police uniform and are looking apprehensive at something.
Stevie and Grace in Blue Lights. BBC/Two Cities Television/Christopher Barr

He continued: "I was born in Belfast and was equally excited {more star jumps} to travel over to work on the show and pleased to report, having read the scripts, that I'm sure the fans will love the second series every bit as much as the first. Greatly looking forward to it myself as I'm one of them."

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Season 2 of Blue Lights will see Grace, Annie and Tommy growing up fast as police officers, and will be set a year since the fall of the McIntyre crime gang. With the vacuum being filled by rival gangs, Constable Shane Bradley is drafted in to help, but his motivations are unclear.

It will once again star Siân Brooke, Martin McCann, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Joanne Crawford, Andi Osho, and Hannah McClean, while Frank Blake joins the cast as Shane Bradley.

The first season of the show was a huge success for BBC One, so much so that the series has already been renewed for a third and fourth season before the second has even aired.

Blue Lights season 2 is set to premiere in spring 2024. Season 1 is available to watch in full on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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