Explosive drama returns for its most exciting series yet

TRIGGER POINT (ITV1, Sunday, 9pm and ITVX) – which has already been streamed a staggering 91 million times – again stars the brilliant Vicky McClure as Metropolitan Police explosives officer Lana Washington.

The latest series opens with Lana on the front line with Counter Terrorism Command as London is rocked by a wave of devastating bombings. The attackers are the most skilled and dangerous adversaries Lana has ever faced, and together with her team, they do all they can to track them down and prevent further casualties. But as the hunt for the bombers intensifies, unsettling cracks begin to appear in the investigation. Even those Lana works closely with are hiding dark secrets. Time is running out. The fate of the capital hangs in the balance, and Lana confronts her greatest challenge yet…

Vicky said: “A lot happened to Lana in Series Three – and indeed, before that – and she has gone through so much with her mental health, so of course there will be consequences and she needs to make changes in her life. We’ll see Lana trying her best to get a grip on things, she’s going to therapy and balancing that with her job. She’s very capable but she’s also not in great shape – she’s doubting herself, which is very dangerous in that job, you have to be certain when dealing with bombs because the stakes are as high as they can be. I’ve always loved how fearless Lana is, and even though we’ll see moments where she does feel fear, she will never show face. If she’s going down it will be with a battle. She doesn’t want people to see that she’s questioning her own ability.”

She went on: “What’s exciting with Series Four is that yes, Lana has the skills for the job, but the threat this time is way bigger than ever before… so, have the bombers outsmarted her? It’s really tricky for Lana to work out who these people are, and there’s a lot of conflict within the counter terrorism team, so it’s a very knotty show this year. Lots of things will surprise viewers, maybe very early on in the series as well, which will give everybody a bit of a shock. Lana faces encounters that she wasn’t expecting…”

So what is this latest threat?

“It’s the biggest threat we’ve ever encountered on the show. I can’t go into the details, but in terms of threat to life it’s huge,” continued Vicky. “In Episode One, there’s a race against time with a lorry going through the capital with a bomb in the back. Lana has to rip her way through the side of the lorry with a knife, and then she’s got a short amount of time to find the device and diffuse it while Hass is driving. It’s such an exciting scene, and it happens so early on – if that was the only stunt in the series you feel that would have been plenty, but it’s just the beginning. We’ve got a scene that takes us onto the water, which was a lot of fun, then we go to an airfield, it’s just epic. I can’t spoil the finale but it’s a big one. The race against time element that people love about Trigger Point is there in bucket loads this year. It’s what people are watching the show for, to be sitting on the edge of their seats, so why not give them that feeling in every single episode. This year’s threat is such an interesting subject to be tackling, especially with the way of the world at the moment. We’ve approached it with as much precision as we possibly can, with support from our real expos on set. As much as some of it is far-fetched, there’s a reality to all of it through the characters and their approach, particularly their gallows humour.”

And just how exhausting were all those action scenes?

“I was knackered!,” joked Vicky. “There’s a lot of running on Trigger Point – I’ve made it quite clear that I don’t go to the gym, but I do enjoy being active and I just knuckle down as much as I can to make the stunts look realistic. I still feel young-ish, but I never would have thought I’d be doing action stuff in my early 40s, and I’m quite proud that I am. I’ll always have a go because you’re never going to get those experiences again. But if my attempt looks rubbish then I will step away and get the stunt people to do it, because I would hate for the show to falter because of my inability to do something! I watch telly in such a different way now, because I know how it’s all pieced together, and the time it takes to do the smallest things – there are so many elements to it all. There are so many people making you look amazing, so as much as I do get nervous about stunts, I’m always excited, because I’m working with brilliant people. There are some wild explosions in this series, huge moments that have been so well executed, it’s really exciting.”

You could say, it’s back with a bang – ouch! And on that bad joke, that’s it for now! Catch you next week for some more TV chatter – stay safe!