'Blue Lights' star Siân Brooke on Belfast, breaking records and a highly anticipated new season

As the popular police drama picks up a year on, there are challenges aplenty for new and familiar faces.

Siân Brooke as Grace Ellis in Blue Lights. Credit: Todd Antony / BBC / Two Cities

— The following contains some minor spoilers about the events of season 1. If you haven't watched that yet, we'd suggest heading to SBS On Demand, where it is

streaming now

—

When British actress Siân Brooke (House Of The Dragon, Sherlock) read the script for police drama Blue Lights, she knew it was something special. What she, and the team behind the series, could never have anticipated, however, was the record-breaking response the first season would receive, cementing it as one of the world’s top new drama series in 2023.

“I think it’s been quite overwhelming in a really wonderful way,” she says, chatting over Zoom from her home in the UK. “You make something, a show, a piece of theatre, or whatever it might be, and you might have a good feeling about it, but you send it off into the ether and then a few months later it airs.”

"We were quite overwhelmed at how fantastic the response was.”

Siân Brooke in season 1 of Blue Lights. Source: BBC / BBC/Two Cities/Steffan Hill

The first season saw three of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s newest recruits, Grace Ellis (played by Brooke), Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin), and Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) faced with the confronting reality of life on the beat in Belfast. Each was determined to prove they deserved their place on the force, but doing so demanded more of these rookie police officers than they ever expected.

Now, Blue Lights is back for a second season, and the trio return one year on, still coming to terms with the experiences of their probationary period. Brooke says she relished the opportunity to revisit the character of mother and former social worker Grace.

"The first time round, when you’re stepping into a new character, you’re trying to put all the building blocks there and make sure that every little jigsaw piece is in the right place so that it lands,” Brooke explains. “Then the second time around you feel that the building is there, and you just need to open the door and walk in. It’s less alien. You can colour in the painting that little bit more.”

“I do love playing her. I think if I met her, I’d enjoy hanging out with her.”

The second season brings significant change for Grace who, with her son no longer at living at home, has moved in with fellow officer Annie. Then, there’s her ‘will they, won’t they’ relationship with fellow officer Stephen ‘Stevie’ Neil (Martin McMann), not to mention the ongoing danger and personal sacrifice that come with her growing responsibility.

Grace Ellis (Siân Brooke) and Stevie Neil (Martin McMann) in season 2 of Blue Lights. Credit: Christopher Barr/BBC/Two Cities. Photographer: Ch

“Grace’s foundations of a home life aren’t so stable and I think the job knocks her about a bit more in this season,” Brooke says.

“I think in the first season, she was very intent on trying to make things better and was slightly unrealistic in her ambitions. This time round, she’s a little bit more realistic, and maybe a little bit more hardened by the job.”

Putting together the various parts of Grace’s character was a case of getting the balance right for Brooke. The second season sees her character working alongside faces new and familiar to tackle everything from the tension of a loyalist housing estate, a drug-fuelled crime wave, and internal politics within the PSNI itself.

“We did a lot of research,” Brooke tells SBS. “I have friends who are social workers, and also I was able to speak with people from Northern Ireland who were social workers and police officers, and I was incredibly blessed to spend time hearing their stories and the experiences they have had.”

An understanding of the city of Belfast, its people, and its history was also central to Brooke’s research, and it led to a deep affection for Northern Ireland’s capital and those who call it home.

“I’d not worked in Belfast before, and I feel so lucky that I’ve now spent lengthy periods of time in Belfast and indeed in Northern Ireland,” Brooke says. “It’s such an amazing city, such a fantastic city, and all of the history and stories that it has in its heart make it so unique and special today.”

“I think, more than anything though, it’s the people for me. They are the most welcoming, generous, wonderful, funny people. I love going back there for that reason.”

Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) and Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin). Credit: Christopher Barr / BBC / Two Cities

Though the city is the same, and many of the characters return, the arrival of season two of Blue Lights begs the question: what does the future hold for Grace, Annie, and Tommy?

“I think that’s quite unique that relationship you have as police officers when you start off together,” Brooke says of the friendship between the three. “I know this because my Dad was a police officer and he is still friends with people that he started out with.”

“I think it’s because you are in these unique situations, and there are very few people that share that experience with you. Whatever happens, there will always be that thread that follows them through.”

Catch the second season of Blue Lights Thursdays 9.30 pm from 18 April on SBS. Episode 1 of the new season is streaming now at SBS On Demand, with episodes 2-6 available from 3pm 22 April. Season 1 is streaming now at SBS On Demand.