Blue Lights is back for a third season on BBC One and iPlayer.
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.
Two years into Tommy’s recruitment: where does the job take him this time round?
This time the script really goes under the microscope of his relationships with Annie and Aisling who is now his girlfriend. It also focuses on the job and the pressure it can put on your relationships.
What’s happening in Tommy’s personal life – Is he happy in his relationship with Aisling?
Tommy and Aisling are living together and sharing a flat with Annie. I don't know if it's the living together which puts the strain on their relationship but it's hard for them not to bring it home. Plus, when you've got three people working and living together, then it's like everybody's problems are combined.
What do we bring into series three from the previous series?
Between the first and second series, we talked a lot about how Gerry's legacy lived on and it's still very much there. A lot of the characters, especially Tommy, carry a lot of Gerry in them and the policing Tommy does and the decisions he makes are very influenced by what he was taught by Gerry. It's a good thing because it keeps Tommy right, it keeps him making the right decisions and staying on the straight and narrow.
What’s new for series three?
We get to see a side of Belfast that hasn't been explored yet. The people who you might not think, upon first meeting them, would be responsible for crimes, which makes it a little bit more interesting. It's a more affluent class of people in Belfast who are just as responsible, if not more responsible, for some of the crimes that go on in the city. It’s good to see a different side of organised crime.
Where do we pick up with Tommy and Shane’s partnership? What can we expect
Shane is a very different person to Tommy and they’re still butting heads but sometimes it works really well as they balance each other out. We get a sense that they will have each other’s backs in the job but they have to work hard for their partnership to keep it professional. Sometimes if you bend the rules, you get more done and faster, but Tommy tries to play it by the book as much as he can. We see him toying with that a little bit, what can he get away with without overstepping the mark?
How is Tommy balancing success at work with his relationships as they become more challenging?
In this series, you see how much of an effect the professional life has on Aisling and Tommy's personal life. Aisling goes through a terribly traumatic event which affects her in her personal life. She starts doing things that she might not normally do. She's super emotionally invested and can't quite leave the work problems in work. There comes a point where Tommy has to make a huge decision that will affect them both.
How does it feel to work on a show that addresses real societal issues, and how do you approach these themes in your performance?
You're dealing with very sensitive content, because it is based around a true world. It's not something that you want to get wrong. I think the most important thing is research and being on the ground, speaking to as many real police officers as you can and speaking to anybody who's been in those positions in real life. Finding the truth in it. If it's not, it wouldn't be very aligned with the first two series of Blue Lights and for the sake of paying respects to the real police officers that do this job. It has to be authentic. You can't just pluck stuff out of thin air and roll with it. It's not that kind of show.
Can you share your experience working with the cast and crew? Are there any memorable moments on set?
New York certainly was a highlight from going to Times Square and seeing our faces on the billboard. Plus, a moment that I'll never forget for the rest of my life was sitting in the auditorium at the BAFTAs, thinking we're probably the underdog here. We've only had two series and there's no big, household names in Blue Lights. Then when it finally came to our category, I was sat with my eyes closed thinking, please say Blue Lights and then you hear them say Blue Lights was just the craziest thing. The best feeling ever and quite possibly one of the best days of my life.
Watch Blue Lights series 3 on BBC One and iPlayer from 9pm Monday 29 September.