28 January 2024 , 09:00
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Trigger Point is back for a brand new series, which promises to be even more explosive than before.
Vicky McClure is returning to her role as bomb disposal expert Lana Washington for another series of the high octane drama, where things really are down to the wire. Lana finds herself immediately thrusted into her day job when she spots a fireball over London.
Knowing something terrifying has happened, she gets a call from her team and rushes to the scene to try and sort things out, immediately being faced with a big problem and she's running out of time.
Here's what happened in the first series of Trigger Point ahead of the new series this evening
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Trigger Point follows the story of Lana Washington, played by Vicky McClure (ITV)What happened in series one?
As expected, things started out quite tense in the first series of Trigger Point. The team were called to a bomb factory, and whilst they initially thought it could just be a one man or woman band, it turned out there was a lot more at stake for them. Lana - played by Vicky - was left reeling when her colleague and best friend Joel Nutkins - played by Adrian Lester - died within the first few minutes.
Far right extremists were quick to blame Islamists for the bombings, but when a new threat was discovered, the truth was revealed who was really behind it. A bomb had been attached to the door of a mosque and there was an innocent person behind it, with Lana desperately trying to save the person but it was too late and she was unable to diffuse the bomb.
It was later revealed that the far right extremist group seemingly leading the bombings are called The Crusaders, and soon Lana discovers a worrying family link to the group. Her brother Billy has been befriended by the terrorists - was he in danger too?
The Crusaders are seemingly at it again when another bomb is found in an LGTBQ+ bar but they manage to stop it from detonating so no one is injured. However, the bomber escapes custody and Lana begins to suspect someone on her team might have something to do with it when she discovers a map in the locker of one of her colleagues, which has all the bomb sites so far highlighted.
Billy has no idea what his new 'friends' are up to, but in a harrowing scene, it's revealed that there's a bomb put in the glove box of his car. Lana desperately tries to help him diffuse the bomb, but he panics and opens his car door, leading to the bomb going off.
Understandably reeling from the death of her brother, Lana - who is finding it increasingly difficult with her boyfriend DCI Thom Youngblood (Mark Stanley) - ends up falling into the arms of old friend and ex military colleague Karl Maguire.
Karl Maguire was the bomber in series one (ITV)However, she faces dangerous consequences for her liaison when, in the series one finale, a bomb is found in the University of South London. It's soon revealed that Lana’s friend and ex military colleague Karl Maguire is actually the bomber and is targeting a by-election happening in the university. He has a bomb attached to his chest and threatens to detonate it.
He explains his reason for the bombings - that an ambush attack took place in Afghanistan and was covered up, so in revenge, he wanted to fight back against the system and those who he believes helped to cover it up. However, at the very last moment, he is killed before he can detonate the device, but what trouble will Lana find herself in this series?
What’s happened since the last series?
Vicky McClure has revealed more about her character's back story and what she's been up to between the end of the first series and the start of the new one. She revealed: "She has been to Estonia to train bomb disposal units that are fighting over in Ukraine... It felt right for her to have got away and to spend time away from her family, and away from the job."
She is soon reunited with Thom but there's trouble ahead of the pair of them as he has moved on with new girlfriend Helen. She added: "They are pleased to see each other and you see there’s a genuine fondness there, but Lana very quickly discovers that he does have a new girlfriend, Helen and she just so happens to be a beautiful, intelligent police officer.
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"Thom is such a gent, he’s a good guy and it was a shame that Lana’s troubles got in the way of her being open enough to have that relationship with him, but there’s only so long that he could wait and he didn’t know if she would be back in six months, six years or never, so Thom is just getting on with his life. Lana’s intentions are quite unclear."
Where is Lana when we see her at the start of the series?
Lana is back in London at the start of the new series, and is heading to give a presentation about explosives when something completely unexpected happens right in front of their eyes, leading her to spring back into action.
"The first time we see her she’s jumping off a flight with a huge bag, she’s been away for six months and she’s heading off to give a presentation to the Met about explosives. She doesn’t expect to see what she spots overhead – it’s a fireball that springs out across London and very quickly she has to go to work to deal with that," she said.
"She’s cautious and anxious about getting into it straight away, it’s not what she was expecting, but her location means she’s the first at the scene and she ends up taking it on despite the fact that she’s not officially back until the next day. That ruffles some feathers with Hass, because he took over while she was away, and that puts a strain on their relationship. She also very quickly discovers that John is still working for the expo team, and she’s not happy about that."