TV PICK OF THE WEEK

Vicky McClure returns as Metropolitan Police bomb disposal officer Lana Washington for another series of the pacy, high-stakes drama.

Lana has just returned to London following a six-month secondment working in Estonia training Ukrainian soldiers and explosives officers. She is obviously still dealing with the traumatic events of the first series which included the death of her troubled younger brother. Before she has even had time to unpack her suitcase – and in the middle of a lecture she is delivering on security – she is thrown back into the fray when a power plant explodes in the city.

She is immediately back on the front line, suited up and straight in to disable another device found at the plant with only seconds to spare. Many lives have been saved and a disaster averted. However, it transpires that this is only the beginning of a sustained campaign of terror from a mysterious extremist anti-capitalist group that appears to have gone under the radar of the security services. They seem to be targeting a range of people and organisations and have access to a whole arsenal of explosive devices.

In addition to the race against time to locate and disable the bombs, Lana also has to deal with an arrogant new boss, her grieving parents and her own PTSD. There is unfinished business with her ex, detective Thom Youngblood (Mark Stanley) too. He is now in a new relationship with another officer on the team and Lana is regretting their breakup. And they still have to work together – in the most difficult of circumstances. There is a scene in a derelict car park riddled with bombs hidden under sheets of cardboard that is both incredibly tense and surprisingly tender. As the tension ramps up in Lana’s personal and professional life, cracks in her composure begin to appear.

There are plot holes, and some of the twists and turns in the narrative are pretty unbelievable but it remains compelling viewing. A lot of that is down to the skill of McClure who makes everything she does totally authentic even when she is delivering some fairly clunky dialogue. Overall, this is an exhilarating, nail-biting rollercoaster ride of a series with plenty of intrigue and wellexecuted action set pieces.