Blue Lights stars recall feeling like 'targets' while filming around Belfast in police uniforms

Virgin Radio

3 Apr 2023, 11:14

The cast of Blue Lights have revealed how intense the filming could be while working in Belfast.

The six-part series, created by local writers Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn, will look into the lives of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, otherwise known as the PSNI. 

Blue Lights follows three rookie police officers as they experience all that life in the force brings during their first three months on probation. 

Not only do the officers have to battle against everyday pressures, but the NI police force also have to deal with the ongoing political and historical tensions still felt within the borders between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.  

Those tensions are still very much felt within Belfast, and so there had to be plans in place to keep the cast safe while wearing the realistic PSNI uniforms around the local area. 

Hannah McClean, who plays Jen Robinson in the series, told virginradio.co.uk: “We were briefed…on how to move through the city.”

Castmate Katherine Devlin, who stars as fellow rookie Annie Conlon added: “There were protocols involved in terms of safety.

“It looks real, so if we were walking around, someone could try and get that weapon if they don’t know we’re actors. But I felt safe because the protocols were such that we were looked after.”

It’s something Stevie Neil actor, Martin McCann, certainly felt on set while walking around in full police uniform. 

He continued: “Once you put on that uniform, there can be a sense that I feel I’m a bit of a target here. So there was a bit of a feeling, like ‘okay, we’re in a bit of a rough area here. We’re dressed as police officers, do they know we’re filming? Have they been vetted? You feel that there’s a lot of eyeballs when you're wearing that uniform, and not necessarily always for good reasons.”

Viewers are still reeling following the events of the debut episode, which aired on Monday (27th March), when probation officer Grace Ellis (Sian Brooke) does everything in her power to protect Angela, who’s son has fallen in with a notorious gang, during a psychotic episode.

The scene takes place in a cul-de-sac, with Grace and her police colleagues on site, with a number of locals closing in on the area. 

With the tension turned up to high, actress Sian said the scene was as intense to film as it was to watch. 

She explained: “The way they wanted to capture it was very much like…it wasn’t clean. They let it be organic and let it happen like guerilla filming. I love that because then you get to go and play, without any interruptions. 

“I think something like that, as it is so heightened, if you rehearse it too many times, or break it down, it loses a quality that’s really unachievable again.”

Blue Lights continues tonight (Monday 3rd April) at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer. The entire box set is available to watch on iPlayer straight away.