Blue Lights season 3: Release date speculation and latest news

This new storyline could spell major trouble for Grace (Siân Brooke) and the rest of the PSNI team, as Brooke has teased that season 3 is "intense" and "surprising".

Brooke was speaking with RadioTimes.com alongside her co-star Nathan Braniff, who teased that the new run is "the best so far" - with promises like that, it really can't come soon enough.

But when can we expect to see season 3 and what can we expect? Read on for everything we know so far about Blue Lights season 3.

Blue Lights season 3 release date speculation

Blue Lights season 3 does not yet have a confirmed release date from the BBC, but the latest episodes are likely to premiere in late 2025 or early 2026.

Filming got under way on the next chapter in February 2025, with a significant delay to shooting caused partly by the show's double renewal for both a third and fourth season, which thus required additional planning and coordination.

"It's a bit later [than last series] actually, for the turnaround; for them to get all their ducks in a row," explained star Siân Brooke in an interview with Den of Geek.

Given the extended hiatus, there's little doubt that the BBC will want to get the series back on screens as soon as possible, with late this year or early next year being a plausible – albeit, speculative – timeframe.

Blue Lights season 3 cast: New and returning

Good news: most of the Blue Lights cast will be reprising their roles for season 3, with Siân Brooke and Martin McCann among the returnees as Grace Ellis and Stevie Neil respectively.

You can also expect to see more from Katherine Devlin as Annie Conlon, Nathan Braniff as Tommy Foster, Joanne Crawford as Helen McNally, Andi Osho as Sandra Cliff and Frank Blake as Shane Bradley.

Meanwhile, the wider supporting cast will once again feature Abigail McGibbon as Tina, Dearbháile McKinney as Aisling and Andrea Irvine as Nicola Robinson.

Joining the Blue Lights roster for its third season are Dune: Prophecy's Cathy Tyson and Bad Sisters star Michael Smiley, as confirmed by the BBC, although the specific details about their roles are yet to be revealed.

In summary, here's a list of the confirmed Blue Lights season 3 cast so far:

• Siân Brooke as Grace Ellis
• Martin McCann as Stevie Neil
• Katherine Devlin as Annie Conlon
• Nathan Braniff as Tommy Foster
• Joanne Crawford as Helen McNally
• Andi Osho as Sandra Cliff
• Frank Blake as Shane Bradley
• Abigail McGibbon as Tina
• Dearbháile McKinney as Aisling
• Andrea Irvine as Nicola Robinson
• Cathy Tyson as TBC
• Michael Smiley as TBC

Blue Lights season 3 plot speculation

The synopsis of Blue Lights season 3, courtesy of the BBC, reads: "Two years into their jobs as response officers, Grace, Annie and Tommy are accustomed to life under the blue lights.

"But their work will take them into a sinister world hidden behind the veneer of middle-class life, the world of the accountants and lawyers who facilitate organised crime.

"The old political and criminal order has gone and a new global gang rule Belfast, bringing danger closer to home for our officers than ever before."

Blue Lights co-creator Declan Lawn previously teased that the next phase of the drama series would unfold across a larger "canvas", owing to the show's simultaneous renewal for seasons 3 and 4.

"For us, as writers, it gives us a great deal of certainty, and it means we can plan the story arcs now over 12 episodes instead of six, which we're really excited about," he explained.

Word of warning, that could mean we're in for a cliffhanger ending to the third season that will have us biting our nails until such time as the fourth is ready to premiere.

In a joint statement, Lawn and co-creator Adam Patterson added: "For us, the joy of making Blue Lights is spending time with the characters and watching them grow, learn, and deal with the daily adversity of response policing in Belfast.

"At its heart, this is a show about personal, institutional and social change, and we want each series to reflect that in its own way."

Additionally, as filming got under way, the BBC's drama commissioning editor Nick Lambon promised that the third season of Blue Lights would "leave fans questioning everything they think they know about the response officers they have come to love".

Meanwhile, in May, Grace star Siân Brooke told RadioTimes.com that season 3 is "intense" and "surprising" and that it "blows it out the water" in comparison to previous seasons. "I don't know how these guys get better and better, but they do."

She added, when speaking about the show's characters: "There's a lot of care that's gone into making them and they're very individual and so people have related to them, they want to know what happens, where the story ends."

Meanwhile, Tommy star Nathan Braniff said: "It's the best so far this next one, I would say, so we're all super excited for everybody at home to see it."

Is there a trailer for Blue Lights season 3?

There's no footage from Blue Lights season 3 just yet, but we'll update this page once any trailers drop.

Blue Lights seasons 1-2 are available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer.

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