Trigger Point writer confirms “whole world of ideas” for season 2

The writer behind ITV drama Trigger Point has revealed that there are already plenty of ideas for what could happen in a second season, which has been confirmed by ITV – and be warned, there are spoilers for the season 1 finale ahead.

Vicky McClure leads the cast of the crime thriller, which follows Met Police explosives officer Lana Washington and her squad as they respond to a series of co-ordinated terror attacks unfolding across London.

Screenwriter Daniel Brierley penned the series with guidance from executive producer and Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, with the hope being that Trigger Point will have legs just as long as BBC One’s hit thriller.

“We have a whole world of ideas for where we could go with Lana [in season 2] and to keep making thrilling shows, hopefully,” Brierley told RadioTimes.com. “But yeah, we’ll see what ITV thinks. The ball is in their court, so to speak.”

As for season 2 storylines, he joked: “Maybe we pushed Lana too hard. Maybe she needs to retire and become a vet somewhere in the North Yorkshire moors. We could do a Trigger Point/All Creatures Great and Small crossover. ‘Is that cow pregnant or is it a bomb?’”

A countryside retreat is the least that Lana deserves after a harrowing first season that saw her lose her best friend Joel Nutkins (Adrian Lester), her brother Billy (Ewan Mitchell), and ultimately, her lover Karl Maguire (Warren Brown), who was revealed to have been the very terrorist she was hunting.

The emotional toll this takes would be enough to shatter even the strongest of minds, yet Lana remains remarkably serene in her final scene, as she cheerfully heads to the pub with friend and colleague Sonya Reeves (Kerry Godliman). But is that calm exterior masking trauma lurking underneath?

“I think she definitely is pushing down and holding back the trauma,” said Brierley. “The whole series obviously is a thriller, but I really wanted it to be a study of someone who keeps going and keeps finding this courage from within themself.”

The screenwriter explained that he was inspired by meeting with real explosives officers (or ‘expos’) and hearing how they view terrifying life-or-death situations as “just a job”, imbuing this quality in his lead protagonist – but that isn’t to say Lana isn’t struggling.

Brierley continued: “I think Lana is resilient and she’s tough as nails, and that’s part of her charm, but [the trauma] can’t help but have an effect and that was really interesting. If we get any future series, we want to really push into that character and see is it good to examine these things? Or is the best way around this to kind of keep living with them?

“It’s such an interesting subject to deal with because the instinct for Lana would be that she should get help and she should talk. But her worry would be that if she talks, if she kind of gives into the doubt and the fear inside of her, that she’s going to lose her effectiveness… That’s how she feels, but maybe there’s another way around.”

Trigger Point season 2 could also delve deeper into another surviving character from the first run of episodes: radicalised expo John Hudson (Kris Hitchen).

At first, it seemed that Lana’s squadmate was the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks gripping London, after she found incriminating materials in his locker, but it later emerged that he was being used as a pawn by true culprit Karl.

John escaped the climactic events of the finale with his life and Brierley expressed an interest in exploring the character further in a second season.

“I do think the arc for him is very solid as it is, but I’m very interested in people that have opinions and beliefs and then change them,” he teased. “I think we all love a story of redemption and I think John’s story could be very strong as a redemption arc – and the actor Kris Hitchen is a wonderful actor, as well.”

Brierley added: “So, I feel like John and Kris – the actor and the character – they’ve got so much more to give us. Potentially, he could come back in future things. I think there’s certainly stories to tell.”

Trigger Point is available to stream on BritBox. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now – subscribe now to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.