Vicky McClure has hinted she is ready to walk away from Trigger Point, which will come as a shock to fans of the crime drama. The 43-year-old TV star plays police bomb disposal expert Lana Washington in the ITV series, which begins its fourth season tonight.
Fans may now be fearing that Lana won't disarm an explosive device in time in the upcoming string of episodes, as the star herself has hinted she is quitting the show. Created by screenwriter Daniel Brierley, Trigger Point follows Vicky's character Lana as she helps the Metropolitan Police thwart a number of terrorist threats with her bomb dismantling skills.
Cast and Episode Count
The series co-stars ex-EastEnders actor Nabil Elouahabi, After Life star Kerry Godliman, and previously included Game of Thrones actor Mark Stanley in the cast. A full 24 episodes will have broadcast when the fourth season finishes airing by mid-September, but fans should perhaps brace themselves for this being the end of the road for the show.
In an interview with Hello! magazine, Vicky said she wants to appear in TV projects that are not crime focused, indicating that she may also be ready to quit the BBC's Line of Duty.
Desire for Lighter Roles
She explained: "I love the fact that people think I'm capable of defusing bombs and carrying machine guns, but it would be nice to step into a lighter space."
She continued: "It's a bit difficult now, because 'crime thriller' is all that's on offer... That's the nature of what most people are getting commissioned."
And hinting at the type of TV show she wants to focus on, she said: "If it's not a crime thriller or a comedy, but it's drama-ish and quite funny, a bit like This Is England… are we not allowed to make that any more?"
Career Highlights
Vicky got her big break in 2006 when she appeared in the gritty Brit-flick This Is England, where she played Frances Lorraine 'Lol' Jenkins. She reprised the role in the spin-off TV shows This Is England '86 in 2010 and This Is England '90 in 2015.
The spin-off mini series aired on Channel 4, and Vicky received the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her role. She built upon her success and drew even more fan attention in 2012, however, when she was cast as DC Kate Fleming in the smash hit BBC crime drama Line of Duty.
Line of Duty Season Seven
The BBC show follows a crack team of police officers who smoke out moles within the crime fighting forces. The long-running show recently completed filming a seventh season, with Vicky re-joining co-stars Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston, with fans positively anticipating the high-adrenaline show's return.
Comedy actress Laura Aikman has joined the cast for the upcoming seventh season, and appeared to hint when fans can expect to see the new batch of episodes. Appearing on the Walking The Dog podcast, Laura let slip: "Yes, I'm in Line of Duty. It's coming out in January." However, she later appeared to backtrack, saying: "I think January. I think January."
While it is known that Laura will play a new character called DC Paula Beckman in the show, her storyline and character details are being kept firmly under wraps. She previously told The One Show: "I'm so terrified to talk about it because I'm not allowed to say anything."
A 2027 release will mean it is six years since the previous season of Line of Duty hit screens. Vicky previously explained that it was "surreal" to get back into character alongside her co-stars Martin and Adrian. She told The One Show: "It was a bit surreal, to be honest. Six years feels like a long time. Me, Martin and Adi stay in touch all the time, so it wasn't weird to be together. But it was weird to act together because it had been such a big gap."
