You might have thought that Lana Washington, the bomb-disposal expert in ITV1’s action-packed procedural Trigger Point, would have opted for a quieter life by now. Having seen her lover pushed down a lift shaft, her brother blown to smithereens, and her parents kidnapped by terrorists, a career change (or at least a desk job) is surely long overdue.
No chance. The first shot of Vicky McClure’s explosives officer in the new third series is a close-up of Lana giving a thousand-yard stare. We’re to assume she has PTSD from her previous traumas, but as the camera pans out, we realise she’s in a squad car about to attend yet another suspected bomb.
The device is attached to an abandoned black cab with a desperate-looking man locked inside. The man, Ned, seems cagey about his kidnapping and altogether unhelpful when a nearby note is discovered that reads “confess or die”. “Confess to what?” Lana asks not unreasonably. Ned isn’t telling.
Lana’s superiors in counter-intelligence are, as usual, sceptical when she theorises that this looks like the start of a terror campaign. And, as usual, Lana proves them wrong as she embarks on another round of disobeying orders and throwing herself into the midst of investigations that, in reality, would be beyond the remit of an “expo”.
The second victim is a harmless-looking university lecturer, Dr Agnes Raffner (Lucy Elizabeth Allen), who finds herself chained in some sort of pit in the bowels of the university library. The same note – “confess or die” – is taped nearby. When newbie expo Rich Manning (Mark Rowley) comes to her rescue, and the confined space fills with water from a detonated pipe, Agnes is slightly more forthcoming about this cryptic message.
“We all knew,” she tells Rich. “This is because of Coldmarsh.” Unfortunately, a seemingly guilt-ridden Agnes drowns before she can enlighten Rich further, leaving him trapped beneath the rising water.
The bombing campaign in the first series of Trigger Point was instigated by Far-Right villains, while, seemingly for balance, series two saw a group of laughably cartoonish lefties planting the explosives. The new terror campaign appears to be orchestrated by a lone wolf with a grudge. We’re only given oblique glimpses of him – the back of a head here, an elbow there – rather like the old “guess the sportsman” round in A Question of Sport.
As to whether Lana is fit for duty, data analyst Sonya (Kerry Godliman) discovers enough co-codamol in her kitbag to sedate an elephant. All this seems like padding, however, before Lana gets out her trusty torch and wire cutters and the bomb-defusing can begin again. But then even these scenes can feel repetitive.
Luckily, McClure is an absolute natural in the role, and it’s good that her character is not too saintly. “Just shut the f**k up,” a hungover Lana tells one terrified victim so that she can concentrate on saving his life.
Newbie Rich appears to be lined up as Lana’s new love interest; they certainly enjoy a good banter. Her boyfriends can have a short lifespan, however, as Thom Youngblood discovered in that lift shaft. Trigger Point is, after all, produced by Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio and shares that show’s taste for bumping off main characters.
But Lana herself is never in any real danger, which somewhat dampens any sense of jeopardy. Her continued survival is necessitated not only because Trigger Point has already been commissioned for a fourth series, but mainly because, ultimately, it’s a one-woman show.
‘Trigger Point’ continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1
