Rest easy, all fans of police drama – Blue Lights is back on our screens once more.
The Belfast-set series, which first aired in 2023, followed the lives of three newbie officers at Blackthorn Station, as they dealt with unrest around the Northern Irish capital.
It quickly won praise for its nail-biting action, exploration of politics and its lovable characters – in particular one Sergeant Gerry Cliff, a veteran of the force who takes Jen Robinson (Hannah McClean) under his wing.
Played by Richard Dormer, Gerry’s witty one-liners won the hearts of fans. But what happened to him, and is he set to return? We explain all.
What happened to Gerry?
Will Gerry be returning? Sadly, no. In episode five of the first season, Gerry takes Jen out for a routine patrol.
After the pair receive a tip-off about cars with Dublin registration plates being spotted in the area, the pair decide to check it out. They come across local gangster Sully, whom Gerry observes moving guns illegally with the McIntyre gang.
Gerry is then tragically shot by Sully – who in turn is shot by Jen. A few moments later, Gerry dies in Jen’s arms.
What was the fan response like?
In a word, shocked: Twitter was soon flooded by devastated fans petitioning the showrunners, Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn, to bring him back for the second season.
“Everywhere we go, when people find out who we are, they are like: ‘Oh my God, why did you kill Gerry?!’,” Patterson joked to the Irish News.
“When we started to write season one, we knew exactly what Gerry’s fate was going to be,” Lawn added. “It wasn’t some kind of a whimsical screenwriting idea. And the reason will become quite apparent in season two.”
He added that “all great teams are kind of forged in some tragedy.”
“Series one was kind of about how they find themselves as a team in the immediate wake of that tragedy. In series two, basically that’s now the thing that they all share, that makes them a section. So we don’t shy away from that”
And Gerry does make an appearance of sorts in season two. In the entrance to the PSNI station, there’s now a plaque on the wall, reading: “In memory of Constable Gerry Cliff, 1969-2023, Police Service of Northern Ireland. Who dedicated his life to protect us.”
