A thrilling new drama, co-produced by Nelson’s Jed Mercurio, is coming to ITV this Sunday (23 January).

Trigger Point is a high-octane six-part thriller series which focuses on the counter terrorism policing team and the extraordinary work of the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad.

Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, I Am Nicola) plays front line officer Lana Washington, who is an experienced bomb disposal operative, known as an ‘Expo’, and Adrian Lester (Life, Trauma) plays Joel Nutkins who works alongside her.

Both ex-military, the pair are close, having served together in Afghanistan.

When a terrorist campaign threatens the capital over the summer, the Expos are at the forefront of urgent efforts to find out who is behind the bombings before fatalities escalate.

Further cast includes Mark Stanley (Honour) as DI Thom Youngblood, Warren Brown (Luther)
as Karl Maguire, Kerry Godliman (After Life) as Sonya Reeves, Cal MacAninch (Des) as Lee Robins SCO19, Manjinder Virk (Midsomer Murders) as Samira Desai SO15 and Ralph Ineson (The Capture) as Commander Bregman.

 

 

Mercurio said it was important to shine the spotlight on a female character in such a male dominated world.

He said: “In terms of the gender balance within the world of explosives officers, it is absolutely a very male-dominated environment.

“But we all know professions should be more gender balanced and there should be a much more level playing field for entry to these roles.

“So it feels like a good statement to have a female lead - there are women who do occupy these roles and as we go forward there will be more.

“If we showed the world as male-dominated it might be sending the wrong message to people who might be considering that career.”

One of Jed’s previous television projects Line Of Duty, was the UK’s most-watched series of 2021 and the finale brought in 15.2million viewers.

Jed said he hopes fans of the show can see the distinctions between the two shows instead of trying to compare them.

Lancashire Telegraph: Jed Mercurio (Photo: Ian West/PA)Jed Mercurio (Photo: Ian West/PA)

He said: “We went into the series with our eyes open, because both me and Vicky are involved and we take that on board. It’s obviously clear that I haven't written it, and Vicky is playing Lana Washington an explosives officer, not DI Kate Fleming.

“It's much more of an explosives drama than a police series, so I think there are plenty of distinctions. I just hope that fans of Line of Duty give Trigger Point the opportunity to see if it’s their kind of thing”.

While the new show is still yet to air, Jed hopes Trigger Point will become a returning drama.

He said: “We would love the opportunity to do more because we just feel it’s one of those areas that hasn't really been explored, particularly in terms of the world we live in now, it feels topical.

“If we're fortunate enough to be successful, and the audience likes it in sufficient numbers, then we'd relish the opportunity for another series.

“You just never know what the audience is going to say, but I hope people appreciate the quality of the storytelling, connect to the characters and want to know what happens next.

“If you can give them an hour of entertainment and they want more at the end, then that's the absolute high point of your job.”

Trigger Point starts Sunday 23 January at 9pm. Watch on ITV or ITV Player.