TV | Trigger Point
Vicky McClure and Adrian Lester star in new ITV drama Trigger Point which turns the spotlight on counter terrorism policing and the extraordinary work of the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad.
Written by Daniel Brierley and produced by HTM Television, Trigger Point, is a high-octane six-part thriller series which focuses on the officers who risk their lives daily on ‘the long walk’ towards danger. For them, death is always just a heartbeat away.
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 exmilitary, 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.
Trigger Point was commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama, Polly Hill, who oversaw production from the channel’s perspective.
Jed Mercurio executive produces the drama alongside Jimmy Mulville (Derry Girls, Bloodlands, Flack) Mark Redhead (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, Bodies, Bloodlands) and Jessica Sharkey (Derry Girls, Bloodlands) for HTM Television, with Julia Stannard (Vanity Fair, War and Peace, The Great Train Robbery) producing.
The series is directed by Gilles Bannier (Marcella, Tin Star, Spiral) and Jennie Darnell (Line of Duty, Holby City, Death in Paradise).
HTM Television is co-owned by Jed Mercurio and Hat Trick Productions. Jed is best known for creating and writing Line of Duty, Bodyguard, Critical, and Bodies.
Trigger Point is Daniel Brierley’s debut television drama commission. He is a screenwriter with several short films to his credit including My Face Is In Space, Checkpoint and Graceland.
Daniel began working with HTM Television following his involvement with a TV bursary scheme, funded by the industry body, ScreenSkills, which aimed to encourage top screenwriters to mentor and develop new writers of their choice. Jed Mercurio mentored Daniel Brierley and Trigger Point is a direct result of the scheme.
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Episode 1 (Sunday 23 January • ITV • 9pm)
In the middle of a summer heatwave, Explosives Officers (“EXPO”) Lana Washington and Joel Nutkins are called out to a Metropolitan Police counterterrorism operation at a London housing estate to investigate a potential bomb factory and a suspected bomb maker, Andy Phelan.
There is no sign of the bomb maker, but his wife and young daughter have been restrained and his wife forced to call in the bomb threat. She is now fearful for her husband’s safety.
The assailants broke in using Phelan’s keys, which are now missing, leading to a race against time to locate Phelan and his vehicle.
Washington and Nutkins successfully defuse an improvised explosive device, but its complexity suggests they’re dealing with sophisticated terrorists. Until the suspect is located and detained, EXPO remain on high alert.
As the police evacuate residents from the estate, EXPO find evidence of an even deadlier terrorist threat and must work against the clock to save as many lives as possible.
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Cast
Vicky McClure - Lana Washington
Adrian Lester - Joel Nutkins
Mark Stanley - DI Thom Youngblood
Warren Brown - Karl Maguire
Kerry Godliman - Sonya Reeves
Kris Hitchen - John Hudson
Ewan Mitchell - Billy Washington
Manjinder Virk - DI Samira Desai
Cal MacAninch - Inspector Lee Robins
Ralph Ineson - Commander Bregman
Nadine Marshall - Marianne Hamilton
Pippa Haywood - Dr MacAndrew
