{"id":306690,"date":"2026-02-23T22:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/306690\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T22:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:48:11","slug":"as-return-of-excellent-police-drama-blue-lights-approaches-show-creators-land-brand-new-bbc-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/306690\/","title":{"rendered":"As return of excellent police drama Blue Lights approaches, show creators land brand-new BBC drama"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">With season four of Blue Lights expected to return to BBC One and iPlayer in September 2026, fans of the excellent BBC police drama are in luck, as its creators have landed a brand-new drama. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Titled D-Notice, the BBC has commissioned a new drama series from Blue Light&#8217;s creators and writers, Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/d-notice-bbc-confirmed-newsupdate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/d-notice-bbc-confirmed-newsupdate\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Radio Times\" data-node-id=\"13.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\">Radio Times<\/a>, the new show will consist of six episodes, with filming set to take place in Belfast and London. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Described as &#8220;a surprising drama that looks at how truth and power speak to one another&#8221;, the series will see Patterson and Lawn draw inspiration from their past careers in the world of investigative journalism.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The drama will focus on the titular D-Notice, a voluntary request issued by the UK government advising journalists to withhold information deemed a threat to national security.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Following The Salisbury Poisonings and Blue Lights, D-Notice marks Patterson and Lawn&#8217;s third project with the BBC. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"sian brooke, blue lights season 3\" title=\"Sian Brooke, Blue Lights season 3\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sian-brooke-blue-lights-season-3-68b801e716f85.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>BBC<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services UK\" data-node-id=\"31.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Best streaming services UK<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Speaking recently about D-Notice, BBC drama boss Lindsay Salt told <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/02\/bbc-drama-d-notice-blue-lights-creators-1536-shy-lola-1236730592\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/02\/bbc-drama-d-notice-blue-lights-creators-1536-shy-lola-1236730592\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Deadline\" data-node-id=\"35.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\">Deadline<\/a>: &#8220;I wanted to make sure we were keeping them in the BBC because they are some of the best writers out there. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"39\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;We were talking to them about a few ideas and felt we hadn\u2019t done a really juicy conspiracy thriller recently. They came back with D-Notice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"43\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Led by Si\u00e2n Brooke and also starring Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff and Richard Dormer, Blue Lights follows a group of recruits to Belfast&#8217;s police force as they deal with the pressures of the job. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"sian brooke, martin mccann, blue lights season 3\" title=\"Sian Brooke, Martin McCann, Blue Lights season 3\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2333\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sian-brooke-martin-mccann-blue-lights-season-3-68b801e7791ab.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>BBC<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70365616\/blue-lights-police-drama-streaming-uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70365616\/blue-lights-police-drama-streaming-uk\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Belfast-set procedural branded &quot;police drama as it should be&quot; lands new UK home\" data-node-id=\"48.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Belfast-set procedural branded &#8220;police drama as it should be&#8221; lands new UK home<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"52\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Filming has already begun on the highly anticipated fourth series, with the BBC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70153187\/blue-lights-bbc-richard-dormer\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70153187\/blue-lights-bbc-richard-dormer\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"releasing a synopsis\" data-node-id=\"52.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">releasing a synopsis<\/a> for the new season.  <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"56\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">It reads: &#8220;Three years into their jobs as response officers, Constables Grace Ellis (Brooke), Tommy Foster (Braniff), and Annie Conlon (Devlin) are operating at their limit, facing a new threat on the streets that the police can barely control.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"60\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;Meanwhile, the murder trial of Gerry Cliff exposes a dangerous and long-buried secret that leads to chaos both inside the police, and across the criminal underworld.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"64\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The synopsis concludes: &#8220;As they grapple with big decisions about their future, Grace, Tommy and Annie must find the courage to face the greatest threat they have ever encountered: the truth.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"68\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Last year, Digital Spy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a68101033\/blue-lights-season-3-villain-episode-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a68101033\/blue-lights-season-3-villain-episode-1\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"praised Blue Lights season 3&#039;s &quot;deliciously evil new villain&quot; as the show&#039;s &quot;best yet&quot;\" data-node-id=\"68.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">praised Blue Lights season 3&#8217;s &#8220;deliciously evil new villain&#8221; as the show&#8217;s &#8220;best yet&#8221;<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"73\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The new edition of Living Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Taylor Swift, is here! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livilgtaylorswift\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livilgtaylorswift\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Taylor in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"73.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Taylor in newsagents or online<\/a>, priced at just \u00a38.99.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-dynamic-svg=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/images\/logos\/lettermark.05d81be.svg?primary=%2523000\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"dynamic-svg-base\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" alt=\"Lettermark\" class=\"css-7mevzh ev8dhu50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Reporter, Digital Spy<\/p>\n<p>Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TV<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">movies<\/a> at Digital Spy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With season four of Blue Lights expected to return to BBC One and iPlayer in September 2026, fans&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[137241,635,154202,637,146,85,46,636,154200,154201,411],"class_list":["post-306690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-84c15d98-36a9-4aba-b9f0-3bd705fc0ee2","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-with-blue-lights-returning","tag-show-creators-land-new-bbc-drama","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}