Vicky McClure is one of the most recognisable faces on the TV, from her breakout role as Lol in Shane Meadow’s This Is England, to Line Of Duty’s Kate Fleming, and her heartwarming mission to get the nation singing in Our Dementia Choir – she has impressive range. Now, she’s returning to our screens as bomb disposal expert Lana Washington for series 4 of ITV’s hit Trigger Point. During a press screening for the new series, Vicky opened up about her character’s deteriorating mental health, and the scary reality behind this series – that promises to be even bigger than its predecessors.
‘It’s terrifying,’ she said about Lana’s emotional wellbeing. ‘There’s a numbness to her because of the amount of tragedy that she’s faced and, whether it be close family, or a stranger in you know a situation, she doesn’t feel – and that must be such a disconcerting and scary place to be,’ she added.
The series kicks off with her back in the therapy chair, where she’s routinely found herself across the series. The no-nonsense straight-talker struggles with opening up to professional counsellors, despite the intense trauma of her job. The actor revealed that before getting the call about the job, she wasn’t fully privy to the line of work, and she spoke to the show’s EXPO advisor Joel, to learn about how people working in such high-pressure lines of work can become emotionally repressed.
‘I have spoken to people in different realms, whether it be the police and through Joel, and it’s a real thing. I think it's terrifying. And how do we unpick it? And it’s so personal to each person?’
Lana Washington first appeared on our screens in 2022, and the show has achieved huge success, amassing more than 91 million times. Series one saw Lana and her team uncover a military linked revenge plot, disguised as a far-right terror plot. Series two followed her return from a secondment abroad with an anarchist group wreaking havoc across London. Series three revolved around one man’s deadly vendetta sparked by a construction scandal.
So, how could series 4 possibly get any more tense? Vicky spoke about her role as executive producer, and how they planned to make this series even bigger. ‘I don’t worry about the budget. I was never good at Maths at school, so I leave that to the actual grown-ups,’ Vicky joked. She then explained that she has one simple guiding principle – fun.
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‘The more fun you have, the more you enjoy your job and the more you want to turn up and do a great job, the better the results are,’ she said. ‘That’s how I’ve always found it. That’s how it began for me. And, if I look back at things like This Is England and Line Of Duty, those close-knit relationships actually made the shows what they are. I want everyone to feel like they’ve got space to play,’ she added.
Series 4 will see the return of familiar faces, with Lana’s fellow EXPOS Danny (Eric Shango) and Hass (Nabil Elouahabi) joining her for another nail-biting mission, alongside DS Helen Morgan (Natalie Simpson) and DCI Batra (Maanuv Thiara) on the police force. Shetland’s and This City Is Ours star Julie Graham will also be joining the cast as Commander Nia Quentin.
A trailer for the upcoming series gives a sneak peek into all the exciting action that’s to come. London’s postcard skyline is alight with flames, and smoke shrouds the Shard, while Commander Nia Quentin warns that ‘the biggest terror attack this country’s seen’ is imminent. The explosive drama intersects with Lana’s therapy session, where she confronts the fact that each job could be her last.
‘I think it’s a really great start and it was the right place to begin with Lana’s personal situation. But you know, you just cannot keep going, especially with what’s to come,’ Vicky said during the Q&A.
The series writer Chris Brandon also shared what fans can expect for what promises to be a nail-biting chapter. ‘No one’s safe, literally no one. Every episode is about tightening the screw until it has to break at some point so, yeah, it’s great fun,’ he said.
Trigger Point series 4 is coming to ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 30th August at 9pm. You can catch up on series 1, 2 and 3 on ITVX now.
