Behind the scenes on Bloodlands, the thrilling new BBC drama staring Jimmy Nesbitt set in NI

GRAEME COUSINS has the lowdown on the new BBC One drama set and filmed in NI
Jimmy Nesbitt plays Tom Brannick in Bloodlands. (C) HTM Television  - Photographer: Steffan HillJimmy Nesbitt plays Tom Brannick in Bloodlands. (C) HTM Television  - Photographer: Steffan Hill
Jimmy Nesbitt plays Tom Brannick in Bloodlands. (C) HTM Television - Photographer: Steffan Hill

When it comes to creating a gripping TV drama, timing is everything.

In that respect Bloodlands delivers on two fronts.

Firstly, its plot leaves the viewer salivating with anticipation.

Strangford was a key location for Bloodlands. (C) HTM Television /iStock - Photographer: Steffan HillStrangford was a key location for Bloodlands. (C) HTM Television /iStock - Photographer: Steffan Hill
Strangford was a key location for Bloodlands. (C) HTM Television /iStock - Photographer: Steffan Hill
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Secondly, and most importantly, filming was wrapped up just days before the first lockdown was imposed.

The story is set in Northern Ireland and filming took the cast and crew to locations such as Strangford Lough and the Mourne Mountains.

Last March, I was invited along for a set visit to a Masonic hall on Rosemary Street, Belfast which doubled as a police station for the new drama.

There I met some of the cast and crew including our very own Jimmy Nesbitt, who plays DCI Tom Brannick.

Lisa Dwan as Tori Matthews. (C) HTM Television  - Photographer: Steffan HillLisa Dwan as Tori Matthews. (C) HTM Television  - Photographer: Steffan Hill
Lisa Dwan as Tori Matthews. (C) HTM Television - Photographer: Steffan Hill
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Brannick’s present-day hunt for a suspect opens up the cold case of a legendary serial killer – codenamed Goliath – who evaded capture during the Troubles.

Of the story Jimmy said: “This is a thriller set in Northern Ireland, which at its backdrop has the history of the Troubles, but it’s important to remember that this isn’t a Troubles-based thriller at all.

“At the time of achieving peace there were a lot of people who were more interested in the politics of it, just making sure it happened. It’s about what people are prepared to do for what they believe in.

“At its heart it’s an exploration of a man, how he deals with loss, and love, and work. Tom’s relationship with his daughter sustains him.

Charlene McKenna as Niamh McGovern. (C) HTM Television  - Photographer: Steffan HillCharlene McKenna as Niamh McGovern. (C) HTM Television  - Photographer: Steffan Hill
Charlene McKenna as Niamh McGovern. (C) HTM Television - Photographer: Steffan Hill
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“Towards the tail end of the Troubles he was involved in certain cases. When the notion of Goliath turns up again at the end of his career it’s a sudden jolt, bringing back the memory of a wife disappearing, a child without a mother.”

Jimmy, who works with the WAVE trauma group in the Province, said: “The ICLVR (Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains) which plays a part in this story has played an enormous part in the last number of years in helping to located the Disappeared.

“In my 15 years with WAVE there’s only three of the Disappeared left, that’s from about 18. It’s something I’m familiar with, unquestionably, that plays a big part in this story.

“With the Disappeared there’s always that uncertainty, even though part of you tells you they must be dead.”

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Of his acting methods he said: “I read the script so many times but I don’t really learn my lines until the night before or maybe the morning so that it’s not set in its way, I haven’t planned the performance. I know the character, but I want to be saying the lines like it’s the first time. You have to be in the moment. It’s kind of instinctive in a way.”

Back in March Jimmy said he was loving being back filming in Northern Ireland: “I haven’t been here since The Secret. That in itself was one of the big attractions for me to do this.

“And for Northern Ireland to be shown in a different context. Yes, the Troubles are part of it, but I think we’re showing the good things about a post-agreement Northern Ireland.

“Ultimately, even though this is very noir I think it will show Northern Ireland in a different context. There’s a lot of optimism and hope in this piece.

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“It’s about a new Northern Ireland, but a Northern Ireland that can’t quite say goodbye to its past.

“If you look at anything to do with Northern Ireland, not just drama, it’s important to understand the notion of legacy.

“The only way that you can really move on from that is to look at these things and see how we change direction. That’s what I think Northern Ireland is doing in terms of the last election, what it’s doing in terms of sport, and now in terms of culture.”

He added: “I didn’t grow up in Belfast but the shipyards were something we always used to boast about... ‘The Titanic was fine when it left Belfast’.

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“You had George Best, Samson and Goliath and for a time you had the motorway going into Belfast – it was five lanes on each side, that was the biggest motorway in Europe.”

You can’t help but think George Best and the cranes at Harland and Wolff mean more to Jimmy than the motorway.

He commented: “I know I’m from up the country, but like so many people I’ve been desperate to crow about Belfast. For so many years we were disallowed because it was taken out of our hands. Here we our in a position where we can celebrate and be proud of Belfast.”

Jimmy said the role of DCI Tom Brannick was one of the toughest he’s played: “It’s been hard work, properly brutal. It’s not brutal in the same way that going down a mine is or doing heart surgery, but for my job, if you give yourself completely to something like that as you have to, it’s brutal.

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“I’ve a good work ethic instilled in me. My mother used to say, ‘the sun rises James and so must you’.

“I get up in the morning and can’t wait to come to work. I’m learning all the time, I challenge myself. You have to be grateful for the work and take it as seriously as it requires you.

“As Neeson always says, ‘I’m still getting away with it’. But working hard to still get away with it”.

Jimmy plays the lead character while his daughter is played by newcomer Lola Petticrew. Tom’s partner Niamh McGovern is played by Charlene McKenna while Chris Walley of Young Offenders fame is cast as police officer Billy Bird.

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Lorcan Cranitch takes on the role of senior policeman Jackie Twomey while Lisa Dwan, best known for her part in Top Boy, plays doctor Tori Matthews who has returned to NI to take up a role at Queen’s University. Veteran actor Ian McElhinney also appears.

Jimmy said: “The cast is fantastic. Lola who plays my daughter is so instinctive. It does help having daughters myself. Lola and I clicked immediately.

“Chris (the writer) is astonishing – where the hell did he come from?”

As filming took place alongside Line of Duty it meant Jimmy could catch up with an old friend of his – Adrian Dunbar. The actors were both in 1991 film Hear My Song.

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Jimmy said: “He was one of my big inspirations, he looks a lot older than me but he’s not. It was great to catch up with him in the flesh.”

Last March, Jimmy, who is now 56, said: “I turned 55 recently. It’s an age where you start to think is there anything else to write on the bit of paper. I think Tom feels like that about his own life.

“I love this character, I love Northern Ireland, I love acting. I’d like to be remembered as a Northern Irish actor who loved where he came from and loved his job.

“I always imagined I’d come home. I’ve lived in England since I was 19. I still consider this place home.

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“It’s so brilliant to go away and come back and see it the way it is, particularly the filming opportunities here.”

Jimmy was first introduced to a wider audience through ITV comedy drama Cold Feet. He said: “Cold Feet give us so many opportunities. In many ways it will be one of the most important things I’ve ever done.

“Whenever Cold Feet came out I got, ‘My wife loves you’, then I got ‘My mum loves you’, now I get ‘My nan loves you’.”

Bloodlands is Chris Brandon’s first original drama series commission and the first drama from Jed Mercurio’s new production company HTM Television.

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Strangford Lough is the main exterior location while many famous Belfast landmarks like the H&W cranes and Kingspan stadium grace the screen. Some scenes were also shot in the Mourne Mountains.

Jed, the man behind Line of Duty and Bodyguard, said: “The series can be a showcase for Northern Ireland. In Line of Duty we disguise where we are. We make our actors go into a smelly subway under a road because if you go above the road you realise you’re in a different city. With [Bloodlands] we can show off places like Strangford. It’s a really spectacular location – very eerie, very beautiful.”

Writer Chris, who grew up in Strangford, said: “I grew up here until I was 13 before moving to England. I thought this is a prime location for some really exciting drama.”

Jed said: “The script was fantastic. Having been over here a lot filming Line of Duty, it’s about a region I’ve come to have a lot of affection for and respect for.”

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A lot of the filming in Northern Ireland took place at the same time as Line of Duty was being shot.

Jed said: “It was part of a plan. With it being HTM’s first production I wanted to be closely involved. It’s worked out brilliantly. It’s great being able to go between the two sets. [One night] I was driving to the Line of Duty set and pulled up at traffic lights and looked across and Charlene McKenna (who plays Niamh McGovern in Bloodlands) was in the car next to me being driven to another location.

“Many of the crew on this have worked on Line of Duty. That was one of the reasons why I was so confident I could bring the production here.

“Northern Ireland has grown massively as a film destination. Local talent has had an opportunity to develop. If you go back a few years there wasn’t the strength in depth to have an all Northern Irish crew. There is now.”

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Asked what makes James Nesbitt perfect for the lead role, Chris said: “He has this Tom Hanks quality for Northern Ireland. He’s a great ambassador for the area.”

Chris said Bloodlands came to him when he was back home in 2013: “The idea occurred to me to tell the story of someone whose journey is inextricably linked to that of the land – a kind of allegory about the moment Northern Ireland finds itself in now. It is 23 years since the Good Friday Agreement which signalled the end of the Troubles.

“The Northern Ireland we know now is a country that is mostly at peace and one that looks forward with hope. But the foundations of peace are delicate. The legacy of violence has left indelible scars. How Northern Ireland moves forward, depends very much on how it deals with its past. Many feel there may be peace but there is still injustice. Many question how there can be reconciliation without truth.

“These struggles exist in Tom Brannick. As a veteran detective, he has a foot in both the past and the present. He has hope for the future in the potential of his daughter but he is stopped from moving forward by the resurrection of an assassin myth; a symbol of police collusion in past violence that holds deeply personal significance.”

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• Bloodlands starts on Sunday, February 21 on BBC One at 9pm

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