It's Blue Lights, camera, action in Belfast for BBC’s Made of Here campaign
Nathan Braniff, Siân Brooke and Katherine Devlin (Image: BBC/ Press Eye)
Blue Lights stars Siân Brooke, Nathan Braniff and Katherine Devlin ‘took a beat’ from filming the fourth series of the hit police drama in Belfast to check out the latest stage of the BBC’s Made Of Here campaign in Northern Ireland.
The specially-designed billboard, situated on Great Victoria Street in the City Centre, uses neon blue lights and the phonetic alphabet used by the police to read ‘Mike, Alpha, Delta, Echo, Oscar, Foxtrot, Bravo, Echo, Lima, Foxtrot, Alpha, Sierra, Tango' which translates as Made Of Belfast. The billboard will be in place for passersby to see until Sunday 10 May.
Siân Brooke who plays Constable Grace Ellis says: “I've grown so fond of this place and all the people. Filming here has given me a much deeper understanding of this beautiful city and I think it's probably the people who are open-hearted, straightforward, funny and gritty, that bring me back.
“I think Blue Lights resonates with audiences because it is human. It deals with topics that affect everybody, but it travels because it's got heart and it deals very much with issues that are very current at the moment. Also, I think there has been an appetite to sort of understand where Belfast is now. That's why the BBC is so important in today's television landscape because it is very much about being able to shine a light on the regions."
Nathan Braniff, who plays Constable Tommy Foster says: "For me, it's great to be filming in Belfast because I'm from here. I moved away when I was 18 and Blue Lights was the show that brought me home.
(Image: BBC/ Press Eye)
“The series is a really positive thing for Belfast, because the city has become the character of the show and in a lot of ways it shows how much we've progressed over time. Blue lights has picked up the baton from other shows that have been filmed here, creating opportunities for the local creative sector. It's great to see because it maybe encourages some people who might not jump into the creative sector, to get involved in it."
Katherine Devlin, who plays Constable Annie Devlin says: "It's genuinely really good to be back filming Blue Lights. It brings so much work into the country and has created incredible opportunities for local talent, both on screen and behind-the-scenes from makeup artists to drivers, which is important.
“I think the series really retains the authenticity and originality that Belfast encapsulates as a city and doesn't dilute the culture by any means, especially for a wider audience."
Blue Lights is produced by Two Cities Television and co-produced by Gallagher Films for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The award-winning series, set in and filmed in Belfast, is co-created, written and executive produced by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, co-created and produced by Stephen Wright, Two Cities Television and co-created and co-produced by Louise Gallagher, Gallagher Films with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
The third series of Blue Lights was the best performing BBC series in Northern Ireland in 2025/26 so far, with an audience of 453k. UK-wide the series achieved an audience of 5.44m.
Earlier this month, as part of the Made of Here campaign, there was a ‘recreation’ of the RMS Titanic in Belfast harbour, staged through the use of around 1,000 drones. This marked the arrival of the campaign in Northern Ireland. The display was inspired by the four-part BBC factual series Titanic Sinks Tonight, which was filmed and produced in Northern Ireland by Belfast-based independent production company Stellify Media with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
Titanic Sinks Tonight, which originally aired in December 2025, has become the BBC’s biggest history documentary of 2025/26 so far, with an audience of more than two million viewers across the UK and almost half of viewers watching on BBC iPlayer.
Read more about Made Of Here in Northern Ireland.
The RMS Titanic recreated using drones to mark the start of the BBC’s Made Of Here marketing campaign in Northern Ireland.
Throughout the month of April, further BBC programmes made in Northern Ireland have also featured in the extensive multi-media campaign, on billboards, in press and cinema across Northern Ireland and if you’ve been passing through Belfast Grand Central Station you may have seen some promotional material of the BBC’s locally made programmes including Funboys, Blue Lights and a host of other recognisable faces at the heart of storytelling from Northern Ireland
The BBC’s Made Of Here campaign is a tribute to the hometowns and cities across the UK which have inspired some of the BBC’s most iconic TV shows and characters. At the campaign’s heart is a short film that highlights the BBC’s unique ability to connect with people across the UK through outstanding homegrown storytelling, whether that’s in landmark dramas, laugh-out-loud comedies or memorable factual programmes.
Northern Ireland is the latest location to be spotlit by the campaign, following activity in Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow. The campaign highlights that homegrown creativity, from Cardiff to Belfast and Manchester to the Home Counties, sits at the very core of what the BBC does.
Watch Blue Lights on BBC iPlayer
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