Cathy Tyson and Michael Smiley join Blue Lights cast as BBC announces start of principal photography on series three

Cathy Tyson (Boiling Point, Dune: Prophecy) and Michael Smiley (Bad Sisters, Censor) have joined the cast of the BBC’s Blue Lights as filming begins on the third series of the multi award-winning Belfast-based drama.

Produced by Two Cities Television and co-produced by Gallagher Films for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, the critically acclaimed show also stars returning cast Siân Brooke (Grace), Martin McCann (Stevie), Katherine Devlin (Annie), Nathan Braniff (Tommy), Joanne Crawford (Helen), Andi Osho (Sandra), Frank Blake (Shane), Abigail McGibbon, (Tina) Dearbháile McKinney (Aisling) and Andrea Irvine (Nicola).

The first three episodes will be directed by Jack Casey (Blue Lights 2) while actor/director Angela Griffin (Waterloo Road) will direct the last three episodes of the 6 x 60’ series.

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.

Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, co-creators and executive producers: “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. We can’t imagine better custodians of our creative vision than our brilliant series three directors Jack Casey and Angela Griffin. It’s a privilege, as ever, to be back in Blackthorn.”

Stephen Wright and Louise Gallagher, Co-creators and Executive Producers, said: “Declan and Adam continue to develop rich characters in a complex world with stories that will shock and move the audience. We are delighted to have Jack Casey back and are thrilled to welcome Angela Griffin to the Blue Lights family.”

Nick Lambon, Commissioning Editor, UK & Northern Ireland, adds: “It is a delight to watch Cathy and Michael seamlessly join our talented cast. The arrival of both characters marks the start of the most ambitious Blue Lights series yet, which will leave fans questioning everything they think they know about the response officers they have come to love…”

The 6 x 60’ series, for BBC iPlayer and BBC One is co-created, written and executive produced by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, co-created and produced by Stephen Wright of Two Cities Television and co-created and co-produced by Louise Gallagher of Gallagher Films with support from Northern Ireland Screen. The producer for series three is Amanda Black (World on Fire, Marcella, Blue Lights S2), Episodes 1-3 are directed by Jack Casey and episodes 4-6 will be directed by Angela Griffin. The series was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama and Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer. The executive producers are Stephen Wright (Two Cities Television), Louise Gallagher (Gallagher Films), Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson and the executive producer for the BBC is Nick Lambon.

Blue Lights series two averaged 5.6M viewers across the series, while episode one’s 7M made it the BBC’s fourth biggest drama launch last year. In Northern Ireland, it was the biggest drama across the whole market (broadcasters and streamers), across 2023 and 2024.

BBC Studios will distribute series three internationally in addition to series one and two. Series one and two of Blue Lights has sold to over 160 territories.

Two Cities Television is part of the STV Studios family of production labels.

ENDS

Press contact:

Una Maguire
Publicity Director, Milk Publicity
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Jessica Morris
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Notes to Editors:

Nominations & Awards

Blue Lights series 1 & 2 has received 15 awards nominations, including a National Television Awards (NTAs) nomination, two Broadcast award nominations and six Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for Richard Dormer. The series was also nominated in four categories at the RTS NI awards and won Best Drama, Two Cities Television and Gallagher Films and Best Writing for Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson.

BBC Studios

Series one and two of Blue Lights have sold and performed well in 2024, with series one being the number two new title to launch on BritBox in the US in 2024 and series two sitting in the top 10 in countries including Australia and Norway

About Two Cities Television

Two Cities Television

Two Cities Television was founded with the ambition to produce both returning, event and prestige dramas that are powerful, complex, and have intriguing stories at their heart.  With offices in London and Belfast, and a base in New York, Two Cities prides itself on developing a diverse slate of projects with international, UK, and Irish broadcasters, streamers, and distributors. In addition to the critically acclaimed Blue Lights for BBC One, Two Cities is producing Amadeus; a 5 x 60” adapted by Joe Barton for Sky. The company also produced the BAFTA-winning Patrick Melrose (5 x 60’) for Sky Atlantic and Showtime, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Additionally, the team has a strong development pipeline.

Two Cities is creatively led by Joint CEO, Michael Jackson and Joint CEO and Creative Director, Stephen Wright.  The company is proud to be part of the STV Studios group of production labels.

Gallagher Films

Founded by Louise Gallagher, Gallagher Films is an independent film and television production company in Belfast. Louise has been working in the media industry for 30 years, with 23 of those years spent at the BBC in Belfast in various production roles across Radio, TV and Online services. 

In 2011 she moved into the independent film and TV sector, working on independent shorts and features. Louise went on to found Gallagher Films in 2018. Major recent projects for Gallagher Films include Blue Lights, a BBC drama series set against the backdrop of policing in Northern Ireland, on which Louise is Co-Creator / Executive Producer.

Her first feature film, ‘A Bump Along The Way’, had a successful cinema release and won several awards at home and internationally. Written by Tess McGowan, directed by Shelly Love and produced by Louise, it starred Bronagh Gallagher and Lola Petticrew. ‘A Bump Along the Way’ was developed with the assistance of Northern Ireland Screen through their New Talent Writers and New Talent Focus programmes. It was further supported by Yellowmoon Post-Production and Roma Downey.

Louise recently received an IFTA for best short film ‘Rough’ written and directed by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson. In the period between working at BBC and running Gallagher Films, Louise was a freelance Production Manager, Line Producer and Producer on short films, feature films, children’s TV drama, commercials and live television for clients such as Nickelodeon, BBC, RTE, TG4, Netflix, Radio 4 and The Guardian. She joined Hat Trick Productions at the start of 2020 to run their most westerly outpost in Belfast seeking new and exciting projects from across Ireland.

About STV Studios

STV Studios is one of the UK’s leading producers of scripted and unscripted content and Scotland’s biggest production group. Led by David Mortimer, the group has an impressive track record of success across drama, entertainment and factual, working with the world’s biggest broadcasters and streamers including Apple TV+, BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery.  STV Studios was named Production Group of the Year at the prestigious Edinburgh TV Awards in 2023.

In July 2023, STV acquired Greenbird Media’s expansive network of independent production companies, significantly increasing the number of creative labels in the STV Studios family.

STV Studios’ in-house drama, entertainment and factual teams have produced hundreds of hours of critically-acclaimed, conversation-starting television, including Apple TV+ thriller Criminal Record (a co-production with Tod Productions); BAFTA and International Emmy award-winning TV film Elizabeth Is Missing (BBC One); nail-biting quiz format Bridge of Lies for the BBC in the UK and sold internationally; iconic Saturday night gameshow Catchphrase (ITV); and a number of much-loved auction-based series including The Yorkshire Auction House for Warner Bros. Discovery and long-running BBC daytime hit, Antiques Road Trip. 

Recent successes for labels within the STV Studios family include Two Cities TV’s gripping police drama Blue Lights for BBC One; headline-making Channel 4 comedy chat show Late Night Lycett (Rumpus Media); and hit international format LEGO Masters (Tuesday’s Child), which has aired in 20 territories across the globe. A number of exciting new productions are coming soon, including Tuesday’s Child entertainment event The Fortune Hotel for ITV and Primal Media reality series Alan Must Win for E4, which is also being adapted for US audiences as part of a development deal with NBCUniversal.  www.stvstudios.com