Blue Lights season 3 is scary and dangerous – with "really heavy" storylines
The cast of the Northern Irish police drama reveal what's coming up in the "emotionally-driven" new episodes.
As season 3 of the BBC’s BAFTA-winning drama Blue Lights returns, it continues to follow officers at the fictional Blackthorn Station in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as they navigate life on the front line in modern-day Belfast.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Times from the Blue Lights set in Belfast, the cast teased what’s in store for their characters as the team find themselves up against a new kind of threat – white collar crime.
Watch the full interviews in our Behind the Screens video series above, where we visited Blackthorn Station and private members' club The Deanery.
“They are developing in the police force and learning more about themselves as they progress in their professions. The crime story gets even more complex,” says Siân Brooke, who plays social worker turned police officer Grace Ellis.
Martin McCann, who stars as Stevie Neill, Grace’s love interest on the force, adds: “It’s kind of scary, kind of dangerous.”
We also revisit a storyline from season 1 involving Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin), who received an anonymous death threat, forcing her to leave her family home for her and her mother’s safety.
“The death threat is constantly in the background,” says Devlin. “There’s also a lot of stuff going on back home for Annie. She’s constantly juggling the idea of, is the job worth it? Is the sacrifice worth it?”
“There’s some really, really heavy topics this season and some really, really heavy scenes for Annie that are very emotionally-driven, but I’m well-supported, and it’s been my favourite season. We have become so much more comfortable in the roles, and it’s lovely to go back into these characters again.”
Devlin also praises the writing, led by Northern Irish screenwriters Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, former journalists for Panorama and BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight.
“I think the script will always be, and it should be, the most challenging thing about our job, because it’s always so important to dissect, to try things out, and to keep it fresh, and to constantly be asking questions and figuring things out.”
Annie moved in with Grace in season 2, but she now lives with her colleagues Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) and his girlfriend Aisling (Dearbháile McKinney).
Braniff explains: “The series focuses a lot on Tommy’s relationship with Annie. The three of them are going through this journey together, dealing with all the things the police force throws at them in Northern Ireland, and the strain that puts on the relationships, both inside and outside of the job.”
Michael Smiley joins the cast as Paul “Colly” Collins, an intelligence officer who worked with Gerry Cliff (Richard Dormer), who was murdered in the first season after being shot by criminal Sully. Cathy Tyson appears as Dana Morgan, who has all the drug dealers in her pocket and owns private members' club The Deanery.
A fourth run of Blue Lights has already been confirmed by the BBC.
Blue Lights season 3 is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer and airs Mondays at 9pm on BBC One. Seasons 1-2 are available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Laura Rutkowski is a Commissioning Editor at Radio Times magazine, where she looks after the View From My Sofa slot, and the "What it's like to…" column, which spotlights behind-the-scenes roles within the TV and film industry. She loves finding out how productions are made and enjoys covering a wide variety of genres. Laura is half-American and half-British and joined Radio Times in 2022. She has a degree in Psychology and a Master's in Magazine Journalism.
