Vicky McClure has teased that her new ITV drama series Trigger Point, produced by Line of Duty‘s Jed Mercurio, will leave viewers “on the edge of [their] seat”.
McClure plays a bomb disposal officer named Lana Washington, who shares a close bond with colleague and fellow ‘Expo’ Joel Nutkins (played by Hustle star Adrian Lester), whom she befriended when both were serving in Afghanistan.
Speaking about how she came to be cast in the series, McClure revealed that Mercurio had sent her a text about Trigger Point.
“I got a text from Jed, who is obviously a good friend now after many years of working together. He also sent the script through the official channels and I was fascinated by it, because bomb disposal is an area that I don’t know very much about and something I don’t think we’ve seen an awful lot of on screen, apart from if people have seen The Hurt Locker, which is a great film,” she said.
“I’ll take any opportunity to work with Jed, not only because he’s a friend, but also because he’s incredible at what he does, and I love the fact that he’s supporting new writers like Daniel [Brierley]. So I didn’t need any convincing to say ‘yes’ – I knew it was going to be a really fun, interesting and intriguing job. It’s dynamic, it’s action-packed, it’s full of brilliant characters and it will put you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next explosive situation. I’m really excited for people to see it.”
Asked why he said ‘yes’ to playing Joel Nutkins, McClure’s co-star Adrian Lester said: “Mainly that I’d never seen anything like it in a drama series on television. I also really wanted to work with Vicky, plus Jed and I have been circling around each other for a while – whenever a role came up in one of his shows that I would be applicable for, I wasn’t available to film, but the stars aligned on Trigger Point.
“I really enjoyed acting out all the technical requirements needed to look like a member of a bomb disposal unit. We had a couple of sessions with a real expo, where they talked us through loop circuits, trigger points, charge and the detonator. Learning what all these terms meant was fascinating.”
Read more: Jed Mercurio reveals “mystery” hook behind new drama Trigger Point
Trigger Point will begin on ITV on Sunday 23rd January at 9pm. See what else is on with our TV Guide, or visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.