That’s the mantra of the police officers in Blue Lights, although the words sound a good deal more urgent when said in a throaty Belfast accent. The city, dealing with past and present problems, is the turbulent setting for the hit drama. Having starred in the BBC series for the past four years, Siân Brooke has taken its lessons about vigilance to heart.
I told my husband that the last time I went past, I slowed down and did a drive-by, so they’d know their untoward behaviour had been rumbled. My husband said: ‘You can’t do that, Siân. You’re not a real cop!’” She laughs.
What was I going to do, make a citizen’s arrest?” Brooke was Bafta-nominated this year for her leading role as Constable Grace Ellis: a social worker and single mother who switches career in her 40s to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). As the acclaimed drama returns – for a fourth series taglined “their toughest shift yet” – viewers are flung straight into the action as protests outside a migrant centre erupt into a full-blown riot. I injured my elbow but didn’t notice until I had to pull my gun and couldn’t do it.
I needed steroid injections.” Could such fearless dedication to stunt work make Brooke the new Tom Cruise? Weeks after filming them in spring, anti-immigration riots broke out on the streets of Belfast for real. That’s partly why their scripts are so good.
They’re urgent, authentic, almost documentary-style.” This could also be because Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, the show’s writers and co-creators, are former Panorama journalists. Police advisers ensure that Blue Lights gets the finer details right. That day, we had people who worked in public order policing.
They explained the protocols and how to manage disturbances. After four years, our experts have become a key part of the team. They’re very open about their experiences and how they affected them.
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