Blue Lights Series Four: Belfast's Favourite Police Drama Returns with New Threat and Richard Dormer
The BBC has released first-look images and a teaser trailer for the fourth series of Blue Lights, the BAFTA and RTS award-winning Belfast police drama, confirming the return of Richard Dormer as the enigmatic Gerry Cliff and promising a new, significant threat for the response officers of the fictional G District as the show prepares for an autumn 2026 premiere.
Background
Blue Lights arrived on BBC One in 2023 as something of a quiet revolution in British television drama. Created by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson — two journalists who had spent years covering policing and justice in Northern Ireland — the show brought an authenticity to its portrayal of the PSNI that had been largely absent from previous fictional treatments of policing in the region. Set in a Belfast that was recognisable to anyone who lives there, the show used the daily pressures of response policing as a lens through which to examine the city's complex social and political landscape.
The response was immediate and enthusiastic. The first series was a critical and commercial success, earning BAFTA nominations and establishing a loyal audience across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The second and third series built on that foundation, with the show sold in more than 160 territories worldwide. The third series was the best-performing BBC series in Northern Ireland for the 2025/26 period, attracting 453,000 viewers in the region and 5.44 million across the UK — figures that place it among the most-watched dramas on British television.
The show's success has been a significant boost for Northern Ireland Screen and the wider screen industry in the region, demonstrating that Belfast-set drama can attract global audiences. It has also contributed to a growing sense of pride in the city's creative sector, which has expanded rapidly over the past decade as productions including Game of Thrones, Line of Duty, and Derry Girls have established Northern Ireland as a world-class filming destination.
Key Developments
The fourth series picks up three years into the careers of the main response officers — Grace Ellis (Siân Brooke), Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff), and Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin) — who are operating at their limits as a new threat emerges on the streets of Belfast. The narrative centres on a murder trial involving Gerry Cliff, the character played by Richard Dormer, which exposes long-buried secrets that create chaos within both the police force and the criminal underworld.
Dormer's return is the most significant casting news for the new series. His portrayal of Cliff — a morally ambiguous figure whose loyalties and motivations have never been entirely clear — has been one of the most compelling elements of the show, and his absence from much of the third series was keenly felt by viewers. The first-look images released by the BBC suggest that his storyline in the fourth series will be central to the drama.
Directing duties for the six-part series are split between Angela Griffin, who handles episodes one to three, and Sam O'Mahony, who takes episodes four to six. The series is produced by Two Cities Television and co-produced by Gallagher Films, with support from Northern Ireland Screen. Filming has taken place in Belfast, with the city itself — as always — serving as a central character in the drama.
Why It Matters
Blue Lights matters to Northern Ireland for reasons that go beyond its impressive viewing figures. The show has done something genuinely rare: it has presented Belfast to a global audience not as a city defined by its troubled past, but as a living, breathing, complex place with its own humour, warmth, and contradictions. The response officers at the heart of the drama are recognisable human beings navigating impossible situations — not symbols or archetypes, but people. That authenticity, rooted in the creators' deep knowledge of the city and its police service, is what has made the show resonate so powerfully with audiences both in Northern Ireland and far beyond it. The fourth series will need to maintain that standard while raising the dramatic stakes — a challenge that the creative team has consistently risen to.
Local Impact
The production of Blue Lights generates significant economic activity in Belfast, with cast, crew, and production staff spending months in the city during filming. Northern Ireland Screen estimates that high-end television productions of this scale contribute tens of millions of pounds to the regional economy annually, supporting jobs in everything from catering and transport to construction and post-production. The show has also had a measurable impact on tourism, with visitors specifically seeking out filming locations in Belfast — a phenomenon that the city's tourism authorities have been quick to capitalise on. The Belfast Film Office has reported a significant increase in location enquiries since Blue Lights first aired, with the show cited as a key factor in raising the city's profile as a filming destination.
What's Next
Blue Lights series four is scheduled to premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in autumn 2026, with a specific transmission date yet to be confirmed. The BBC has indicated that the series will be available simultaneously on BBC iPlayer from the date of broadcast, allowing viewers to watch all six episodes at their own pace. International distribution rights have already been sold in multiple territories, with the show expected to reach its global audience through streaming platforms in the months following the UK premiere.
