3 15 MINUTES WITH MARK STANLEY

Mark Stanley, who plays DCI Thom Youngblood in Trigger Point, streaming now on BritBox, tells us what we can expect from the new season of Jed Mercurio’s gripping series about bomb-disposal experts investigating a deadly terror campaign.

MORE, MORE, MORE! “In season two, everything has escalated. Audiences wanted more and the writers, producers and cast jumped in with that and made sure that every nail-biting, bloodthirsty moment could be quenched, and audiences can walk away satisfied.

“The storyline is intricate and intense, and viewers can expect quite a rollercoaster ride.”

GETTING READY “Because my character is thrown into the action a lot, this season needed much more of an emotional preparation. The dynamic of the preparation changed

from quite heavy line learning for season one into more of an emotional preparation period in season two. For two of my major scenes, my co-star and I improvised and let things flow according to our emotions.”

MESSY PROFESSIONAL “Although Thom is massively flawed, like everyone else, he’s extremely good at being clinical in his professional life. In his love life, he’s a totally different beast, which lands him in disheartening situations. But overall, I like how he can compartmentalise his professional life and his messy personal life.”

BIG HEARTS

“It was lovely being back on set with the old cast and seeing new faces. Morale is high on Trigger Point, but there are times when scripts need to change, technical things need to change, and we’re stretching reality a little bit, and we have to buy into that as a team. We all do it with a big heart.

“Vicky McClure, who plays Lana, leads everyone and she always has your back.”

THOM’S TWIN? “Thom takes things on with a ferocity, so in his work he’s the same as me. He takes it on at a level that’s probably obsessive. “In the first series he had quite an inflated ego. I think he’s from a privileged way of thinking and he’s trying to fill some big boots in his family life, whereas I don’t need to worry about that.

“As an actor, you’ve always got your eye on your ego, so I watch mine a little bit more than he watches his. I worry about coming across badly, but he doesn’t care as long as he gets the job done. He also has a very complicated love life, and I just keep it simple.”