New BBC female-led police drama, Blue Lights, was filmed in Belfast

The Beeb loves a female-led police drama.

Sally Wainwright probably has a lot to do with that – after all, she created the all-conquering Happy Valley which introduced the world to arguably the greatest fictional woman copper of all time (yes, even better than the lead in Juliet Bravo), the mighty Sgt Catherine Cawood, played so memorably by Sarah Lancashire across three ratings-busting seasons.

The series Better, starring Leila Farzad as DI Lou Slack, a corrupt officer trying to make amends for her misdemeanours, also recently ended its run on our screens – to be replaced by Blue Lights which, you guessed it, also has a female protagonist at its core.

You may also think the basic premise sounds familiar – especially if you’re a fan of US drama The Rookie, which can be seen over on Sky Witness. Nathan Fillion heads the cast of that show as John Nolan who, at the age of 45 and newly divorced, swapped Pennsylvania for a new life in LA where he joined the city’s police force, becoming its oldest trainee officer in the process.

The plot of Blue Lights is certainly reminiscent of it, although the action takes place in Belfast and is the brainchild of screenwriters Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, who also penned the hugely acclaimed three-parter The Salisbury Poisonings.

The pair met while working on the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme Panorama before switching to fiction, and have recently set up their own production company, Hot Sauce Pictures, in the city.

“Every writer wants to explore their own place and their own society as authentically and as honestly as they can,” say the duo. “We feel enormously grateful to BBC drama for letting us do that with Blue Lights. And to do it with a cast boasting so much new and established talent makes it even more exciting.”

Taking the lead role is Sian Brooke, who drew on her ex-policeman father’s own experiences while playing Grace, a single forty-something mother of a teenage son. She decides to give up her career as a social worker to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). It’s a huge gamble and one that seems unlikely to pay off after a series of mistakes look set to land her in trouble.

“I am so thrilled to be playing Grace,” claims Brooke, who may be familiar from her work in Sherlock, Doctor Foster and Good Omens. “There is something incredibly special that Declan and Adam have crafted in these scripts and I was hooked from the very first page. Belfast is the beating heart of this piece and it’s a city I’ve been wanting to work in for a long time.”

Joining her are Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff as fellow rookies Annie and Tommy, who both face trying times in their first few weeks in uniform. Richard Dormer and John Lynch are also set to appear.

“Blue Lights explores a fascinating area we haven’t often seen before on TV and in a way that feels truly authentic,” adds Tommy Bulfin, BBC Drama’s commissioning editor. “Declan and Adam have written it with such wit and heart that you instantly feel like you know our three rookies intimately.

“I’m excited to see our excellent cast portray such brilliant characters.”