Their characters are yet to be revealed, but the series will be checking back in with the much-loved response officers Grace, Annie and Tommy, two years into their life under blue lights.

Although they successfully de-escalated the loyalist gang violence we saw in series two, and “the old political and criminal order has gone,” a new global gang now rule Belfast.

Behind the respectable veneer of middle-class society lies a morally bankrupt world of accountants and lawyers facilitating organised crime, which brings danger closer to home for the officers than ever before.

Nick Lambon, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor for the UK  and Northern Ireland, has teased that: “The arrival of both [Tyson and Smiley] marks the start of the most ambitious Blue Lights series yet, which will leave fans questioning everything they think they know about the response officers they have come to love…”

But what about all the office romances that were blossoming? Both Tommy (Nathan Braniff) and Aisling (Dearbháile McKinney), and Annie (Katherine Devlin) and Shane (Frank Blane), were seen dancing together come the series finale. And viewers will be particularly looking forward to catching up with Grace (Siân Brooke) and Stevie (Martin McCann), after the series closed on the pair finally kissing and going home together.

The same goes for co-creators Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, for whom “the joy of making Blue Lights is spending time with the characters and watching them grow, learn, and deal with the daily adversity of response policing in Belfast.

“At its heart, this is a show about personal, institutional and social change, and we want each series to reflect that in its own way. We can’t imagine better custodians of our creative vision than our brilliant series three directors Jack Casey and Angela Griffin. It’s a privilege, as ever, to be back in Blackthorn.”

The first two series of Blue Lights are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.