ITV’s hit drama Trigger Point, starring Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, Alex Rider), as Explosives Officer, or Expo, Lana Washington, an Afghan War veteran, is returning to U.K. screens for season 3 on Sunday. And it is set to be another explosive season.
Produced by Jed Mercurio’s (Line of Duty, Bodyguard) HTM Television, in association with All3Media International, which distributes the series internationally,Trigger Point follows a team of bomb disposal officers in London, dedicated to keeping the capital safe from dangerous devices and terrorist threats. Season two last year averaged 8.1 million viewers and was streamed 30 million times on streamer ITVX, making it ITV1’s second-most-watched drama of 2024 behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Returning cast members include Eric Shango (On the Edge) as Danny, Nabil Elouahabi (Blue Lights, Unforgotten) as Hassan “Hass” Rahim, Natalie Simpson (North Sea Connection) as DS Helen Morgan, and Maanuv Thiara (DI Ray, Landscapers) as DI Amar Batra. Jason Flemyng (Gemma Bovery, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) guest stars in season 3 as antagonist Steven Wyles.
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Executive producers are Mercurio, Daniel Walker (The Tourist), Jessica Sharkey (Breathtaking, Derry Girls), Chris Brandon and McClure. The lead writer for the third season is Chris Brandon (Bloodlands), with Jamie Donouhue (Doctor Who, A Discovery of Witches) and Audrey Cooke (Trigger Point, DI Ray) directing.
The third season, comprised of six episodes, sees Washington and her team investigate a bomb threat that soon reveals itself to be the start of a sinister vendetta. “Someone is targeting individuals and demanding revenue,” according to a season 3 plot description. “Working alongside the Police Counter Terrorism Unit, the Bomb Disposal Squad race against time to find the bomber before they claim their next victim.”
Season 3 will air on ITV1 and STV and will be available to stream on ITVX and STV Player with season 1 and 2 available to watch now on ITVX.
McClure talked to THR about what Trigger Point fans, or newbies, for that matter, can expect from season 3.
Lana overcame all sorts of drama and danger at the end of season 2. “Because of what she’s faced in [seasons] one and two, we needed to address how she’s dealing with that, how she’s living with the traumas that she’s faced and the people that she’s lost,” McClure told THR. “PTSD has always been a thing for Lana, but it was very much in the background before. Whereas we bring that to the forefront this time. There was talk of tinnitus, and so we explored that.”
Not that Lana needed any more hurdles to overcome. “The characters around her, such as [Kerry Godliman’s Bomb Data Center civilian specialist] Sonya [Reeves], Hassan, and Danny, know she’s facing certain things, but she doesn’t really talk. She’s not an open book.”
In that sense, the protagonist is not dissimilar from the bombs she defuses. “Yeah, the question is when is Lana going to explode?” says McClure. “When is she going to have her moment where actually she is either having an outburst or she’s going to accept help? And what does that lead to?”
After playing an Expo for several seasons, does the star feel she could ever defuse a bomb herself? “People have been asking me this a lot,” she highlights. “Can I defuse one? No, I cannot. I wouldn’t want to either. I’m not strong enough for that kind of work. But what’s been lovely is, once you’re on a third season, you pick up the lingo a lot quicker. You know what you’re talking about.”
Some behavior has become second nature, thanks also to the show’s explosives advisor, Joel Snarr. “Just going through a doorway without checking it first would be alien to me now,” McClure shares. “Even if it might not be in the script again, we need to check the door before we walk through it.”
How did she go about portraying the tinnitus? “It’s hard because you rely on sound to really emphasize it,” McClure emphasizes. “And it was tough for me personally, because my dad’s got tinnitus. He worked with power tools, which is what brought that on for him, but you can’t hear it – nobody else can hear. It needs to be really subtle. As an actor, I’ve always wanted to feel something as much as I can to make sure I can use it in acting. But in this case, there’s nothing you can really do apart from imagining it. If you have never experienced something that’s internal, it’s really tough.”
But the star was happy to be able to highlight Lana’s struggle with tinnitus in some scenes. “We had some really nice moments where we were able to establish that this is a moment where it’s really attacking her,” she notes.
The production shot seasons 3 and 4 this time, making for not only a long production cycle but also creating the challenge of scenes not being shot chronologically. “Once you’re a couple of weeks in, the names of places, all the technical things, and all the details of the plot very much are in your bones,” McClure tells THR. “But you must also actually rely on people like script supervisors. That is vital. You are spending a lot of time going, ‘Where have I been? Where am I heading?’”
How key is having lighter moments in Trigger Point between all the action and drama? “The audience needs it for a little light relief,” offers McClure. “But the characters also need it. Their friendship can’t just be based on trauma. They must sometimes have a laugh, and we’ve managed to find that, especially with Nabil, who plays Hass, a great character. And I feel his character is now really propelled and has that gallows humor that Expos have, that people who have been in the forces need.”
McClure also had a blast facing off with Flemyng’s season 3 baddie. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Jason,” she tells THR. “He’s an amazing actor and has done so many shows over the years that I’ve watched and thoroughly enjoyed. So it was great to have him on the show, a real coup for us. But he couldn’t be further from the baddie he plays. In real life, he’s just full of life, full of laughter.”
That said, “he played a blinder with this character who has a personal vendetta,” explains McClure. “So, there is not a big organization with a much bigger machine behind him. And Jason did what you want actors to do – bring more to it than what’s on the page.”
The star also highlights the importance of the Trigger Point crew and cast having grown together and collaborating like a family. “It is such a team effort,” she emphasizes. “It’s about all the little details. You just can’t do this without every single person turning up and giving it their everything.”
Once season 3 of Trigger Point is finished, fans don’t need to worry about Lana & Co. getting bored. Jumping straight from season 3 into season 4 was different and interesting for McClure. “We had new people to introduce and a whole new story,” she says. “So I had to quite quickly erase [season 3] from my mind, pretend it never happened, and start again.”
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