Copyright smh
Police officers in Northern Ireland aren’t used to seeing themselves portrayed in a sympathetic light. For decades, dramas set in Belfast have mostly focused on bombs, politics and blame. So when Blue Lights first aired, some serving officers quietly reached out to its cast with something unexpected: gratitude. Martin McCann, who plays the kind but world-worn officer Stevie Neil in the series, says: “There’s been some charming and touching moments. I’ve been in a restaurant or walking down the street, and we’ll have a guy or a girl, sometimes a couple, come up to us and say … ‘I just want to let you know that we think you’re doing a lot of good for the Police Service Northern Ireland [PSNI]’. Before, it was a profession that was very misunderstood and everyone had their judgments and preconceived notions on what and who they were. “They’re very proud of the show because for the first time their actual job is being represented and shown in a fair and understanding light. Prior, it was seen as this villainous sort of profession that had not very nice motives, but ultimately, they’re just normal people trying to police society.” Blue Light’s power lies in its unvarnished portrayal of ordinary people, making it one of the BBC’s most acclaimed dramas. It’s a police series with no glamour and little glory: just officers navigating the fragile calm of post-Troubles Belfast.
