“We’ve upped the ante! "
Dawn Steele, Romario Simpson and Hannah Donaldson are back in Aberdeen as this crime drama returns – and it’s all systems go…
Rejoin Aberdeen’s Major Investigations Team: police officers Lindo (Romario Simpson), Bart (Hannah Donaldson), Mallick (Bhav Joshi) and Monty (Michelle Jeram) – led by boss DCI Cora MacMillan (Dawn Steele) – as this crime drama returns for a new three-part series.
Lindo and Bart are investigating a case involving a pregnant stowaway on a recently docked Norwegian cargo ship, when the team is called upon after the machinations of a local crime family spark shocking consequences for one of their own. Meanwhile, rebellious Lindo refuses to ignore his hunch concerning sinister activities at the port – but are his suspicions well-founded?
Inside TV joined Dawn, Romario and Hannah for a chat over Zoom to find out more…
Hello, all! How does it feel to be back for the series’ second run? Dawn There was definitely a different feeling, after finding our feet in the first series. We know each other better now, and there’s a flow. The scripts are really good, and there’s a great story!
Romario There are also more cast members, so a lot of different energies to collaborate with on set, which was nice.
Hannah The show is bigger in scale this time – and the landscape plays a big role. We see more of Aberdeen, its brutal architecture, and there are stunning shots – like the crashing waves of the North Sea…
What can you tell us about the team’s investigation this time round? Hannah The story follows a young, pregnant Iranian refugee who unfortunately ends up embroiled in a case with a notorious Aberdeen crime family. The stories run in tandem with one another and then kind of cross over…
Dawn The head of the crime family, Grace McFadden, is an old pal of Cora’s from school – although I don’t think they were actually friends, but it’s a nice aspect of the story to play out! And I know Lesley Hart, who plays Grace, quite
The show is bigger in scale – and the landscape plays a big role Hannah
well, so it was really nice to have her there.
Lindo wasn’t exactly a ‘by the book’ police officer last series, how about this one? Romario He’s still impulsive, though more embedded with his colleagues now. He still has these impulses where he dismisses authority and does what he needs to do in the moment, which is a huge risk, but he does have a bit more support from the team.
And what about his partnership with Bart?
Hannah There’s a kind of shorthand between the two of them now, but Bart is gunning for a promotion, she’s kind of fixated on climbing the ladder – which I think makes her quite difficult to work alongside.
And Lindo’s unorthodox tactics also rile Bart up… Romario There’s friction between them, but trust is being built well. Their arguments create a common ground of understanding
– and they
have each other’s backs. How would you say Granite Harbour differs from other crime dramas? Romario It caters to a wide audience – not everyone wants swear words, or blood, or violence; they want something they can watch with the kids. Dawn It’s a family show, it’s quite gentle, but there’s still an element of suspense – and we’ve upped the ante this season!
There are still plenty of action sequences, do you enjoy filming those? Dawn I had a fight scene – you see a feistier Cora when her Aberdeen side comes
out! The only problem was that I was wearing Cora’s white coat at the time, which we were attempting to not get dirty for later scenes. Although I didn’t end up with any bruises, at least!