A BBC crime drama is coming back for a fourth season, and fans are rejoicing at the broadcaster’s decision to fix its ‘big mistake’.
Creating well-loved characters and gripping police shows can mean that sometimes fans get upset watching their favourite cops getting caught in the crossfire.
This is exactly what happened in season 1 of the Belfast-based series Blue Lights, but viewers are holding out hope after some promising details have been announced about what’s next.
Detective Constable Gerry Cliff, played by Game of Thrones actor Richard Dormer, was shot while on patrol by a local gangster in the fifth ever episode of the show.
It was devastating for those who had warmed to the DC, with Caroline Murdoch on Facebook calling it a ‘big mistake killing him off’.
However, it’s now been confirmed that Dormer will be returning to the Northern Irish series as Gerry.
In a social media post on Facebook, BBC One wrote: ‘Gerry!?
‘Do not adjust your screens.
‘Richard Dormer is back in Blue Lights series four!’
Some were left confused: ‘Wait… What.
‘I’m assuming flashbacks, and or, we will get a whole season of an older case with him that takes place before he died etc’, wrote Michael Keel.
Marie Langdon admitted: ‘I don’t know how it will be done, but if it’s true, it’s made my day!’
How exactly it will happen isn’t clear.
Users on the social media site, like Sarah-Louise McGrath, speculated: ‘As much as I love Gerry, it has to be a flashback as a fake death would cheapen the enormity and emotional impact of his character.’
Dormer isn’t the only familiar face returning.
Hannah McClean, who played Jen Robinson in seasons one and two, will also be back for the next instalment.
She left the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) after Gerry’s death and retrained as a solicitor.
Joining her in a comeback is Jonathan Harden as the disgraced Inspector Jonty.
He’d been having an affair with Jen in season one, forcing him to resign from his senior position in charge of the station.
In season two he was invited back for his expertise but acted in a more junior role.
The episode featuring the above two characters is said to ‘answer important questions from the past’, the BBC confirmed.
Co-creators and co-writers Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson said: ‘It reveals a lot of dark secrets, examines what justice looks like in Belfast today, and ties together the past, present, and futures of Grace, Annie and Tommy in an action-packed story.
‘We can’t wait to start filming it!’
The BBC has confirmed some plot details: ‘The murder trial of Gerry Cliff exposes a dangerous and long-buried secret that leads to chaos both inside the police, and across the criminal underworld.
‘As they grapple with big decisions about their future, Grace, Tommy and Annie must find the courage to face the greatest threat they have ever encountered: the truth.’
What did Metro think of Blue Lights season three?
Senior TV Reporter Asyia Iftikhar gave season three of Blue Lights four and a half stars…
This season embraces a shift in direction as we look into the middle and upper class echelons of society, funding the drug trade in and out of the city and getting off scot-free. Although it’s a different slice of society, we are plunged right into the conspiracies behind what could be going on, which all seem to centre on an as-yet untraceable app.
The beating heart of the series, however, comes alongside Grace’s former career as a social worker, which motivates her to take special care of the children caught up in the riotous back-and-forth between law enforcement and gangs – as showcased by Henry last season.
To read more, click here.
Season three may have ended with Stevie and Grace romantically stable, but crooks Tina McIntyre and Dana Morgan are still walking free, and encrypted technology continues to facilitate crime.
Blue Lights is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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