Blue Lights season 3 is scary and dangerous – with “really heavy” storylines

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The third season of the award-winning BBC drama Blue Lights is back, continuing to follow police officers working at Blackthorn Station in Belfast as they deal with the challenges of their jobs.

The cast of Blue Lights recently spoke with TopMob on set in Belfast, hinting at the challenges their characters will face in the new season. This time, the team will be investigating a different type of crime – white-collar offenses.

You can watch complete interviews in our “Behind the Screens” video series above. We visited both Blackthorn Station and the private members’ club, The Deanery, for these interviews.

As the characters grow within the police force and understand themselves better, the central crime becomes increasingly complicated, according to Siân Brooke, the actress who plays Grace Ellis, a social worker who becomes a police officer.

Martin McCann, who plays Grace’s romantic partner Stevie Neill, describes the show as “a bit scary and definitely dangerous.”

The show returns to a plotline from the first season, focusing on Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin) and a death threat she received. This forced Annie and her mother to leave their home to stay safe.

Devlin explains that the constant threat of death is always present. Additionally, Annie is struggling with whether the demands of her job are worth the personal sacrifices she’s making and the challenges she’s facing back home.

This season deals with some very difficult and emotional subjects, especially for my character, Annie. Despite the challenging material, it’s been my favorite season so far because the cast and crew have been incredibly supportive. We’ve all grown more comfortable with our roles, and it’s wonderful revisiting these characters.

Devlin also commends the writing team, which includes Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, both experienced journalists who previously worked on the investigative programs Panorama and Spotlight at BBC Northern Ireland.

As a critic, I’ve always said the script is where a movie truly lives or dies, and it’s definitely the hardest part of the whole process. It demands constant work – you have to really pick it apart, experiment with different approaches, and keep asking ‘what if?’ to make sure it feels new and that everything makes sense. It’s a puzzle you’re constantly re-solving, and that’s as it should be.

Annie first moved in with Grace during the second season of the show. Now, she lives with her coworkers Tommy Foster, played by Nathan Braniff, and his girlfriend Aisling, played by Dearbháile McKinney.

According to Braniff, the show heavily features the dynamic between Tommy and Annie. The three main characters navigate the challenges of working in the Northern Ireland police force together, and the story explores how that pressure impacts their relationships – both at work and in their personal lives.

Michael Smiley will play Paul “Colly” Collins, an intelligence officer and former colleague of Gerry Cliff (Richard Dormer), who was killed last season. Cathy Tyson joins the cast as Dana Morgan, a powerful figure who controls the city’s drug trade and owns the exclusive club, The Deanery.

A fourth run of Blue Lights has already been confirmed by the BBC.

You can now watch season 3 of Blue Lights on BBC iPlayer, and it also airs on BBC One every Monday at 9pm. If you missed it, seasons 1 and 2 are both available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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2025-09-29 13:34