Created and written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, Blue Lights follows three rookie police officers working in Belfast, a uniquely dangerous place to be a police officer. It is made by Two Cities Television and produced with support from Northern Ireland Screen as part of their continued partnership with the BBC.
Siân Brooke (Sherlock, Good Omens), Martin McCann (Marcella, Sentinel), Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones, Fortitude), Katherine Devlin (The Dig, Vikings) and newcomer Nathan Braniff will lead the cast alongside John Lynch (Tin Star, The Fall), Jonathan Harden (Time, Unforgotten) and Valene Kane (The Fall, Gangs of London).
Directed by Gilles Bannier (Trigger Point, Tin Star, Spiral) and inspired by extensive research and interviews, Blue Lights is an authentic, gripping and darkly funny drama about ordinary people doing an extraordinary job in a society that could spiral out of control at any moment.
Siân Brooke says: “I am so thrilled to be playing Grace in Blue Lights. There is something incredibly special that Declan and Adam have crafted in these scripts and I was hooked from the very first page. Belfast is the beating heart of this piece and it’s a city I’ve been wanting to work in for a long time.”
Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson say: “Every writer wants to explore their own place, and their own society as authentically and as honestly as they can. We feel enormously grateful to BBC drama for letting us do that with Blue Lights. And to do it with a cast boasting so much new and established talent makes it even more exciting.”
Stephen Wright, Executive Producer for Two Cities Television, says: “It is wonderful to have Blue Lights up and running in Belfast. We feel incredibly lucky to have this amazing cast on board along with the peerless crew in Belfast. With such great scripts from Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson and Fran Harris, and Gilles Bannier directing with passion and joy, we really couldn’t ask for more.”
Filming is taking place in Belfast and the surrounding areas. It is produced by Carol Moorhead (The Fall, Doing Money). Fran Harris has written episode three and co-written episode four. Executive Producers are Stephen Wright for Two Cities Television, Louise Gallagher for Gallagher Films, Tommy Bulfin for the BBC and Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson. Two Cities is part of the STV Studios group of production labels. Blue Lights was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama and Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer. Blue Lights is distributed internationally by BBC Studios.
The successful partnership between the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen continues to support the screen industry in Northern Ireland and help ensure that content filmed and set in Northern Ireland is brought to audiences across the UK and internationally.
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Coopers Mill in Dundonald where filming has begun tonight of of Blue Lights, a six-part original drama for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, from the writers of The Salisbury Poisonings. Picture: Darryl Armitage
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Coopers Mill in Dundonald where filming has begun tonight of of Blue Lights, a six-part original drama for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, from the writers of The Salisbury Poisonings. Picture: Darryl Armitage
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Coopers Mill in Dundonald where filming has begun tonight of of Blue Lights, a six-part original drama for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, from the writers of The Salisbury Poisonings. Picture: Darryl Armitage