Having a blast
Trigger Point star Nabil Elouahabi reflects on three seasons of making ITV’s tense bomb-disposal drama, hitting the show’s sweet spot and why he stands against ‘second screening.’
In the third season of ITV thriller Trigger Point, Vicky McClure returns as bomb-disposal officer Lana Washington to deal with a new threat: a bomber with a vendetta.
By Lana’s side, just as he has been for the two previous seasons, is Hassan Rahim, played by Nabil Elouahabi. “I do think the show has been elevated [in S3]. It’s a much clearer animal now and it’s exciting,” he tells DQ. “Everybody’s heart is a lot fuller. I’ve always got these annoying food analogies, but it feels like there’s a depth of flavour. That’s my take.”
Debuting on ITV in 2022, the tense drama introduced Lana, one of a team of EXPOs with the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad working to neutralise a terrorist campaign in London. S2 followed in 2024, becoming the second most watched drama on ITV1 that year. Then before S3 launched last month, a fourth season was already confirmed and is due to air in 2026.
For Elouahabi, getting to a third season – with a fourth already in the can – means Trigger Point has reached a sweet spot where cast and crew, and viewers, know what the show is and what to expect each season, just as events of previous years are starting to catch up with the characters.
“There’s an element of action and excitement, and there’s tension, which obviously drama needs. But in between all of that, there are strong characters that have emotional dimensions to them,” he says. “You start seeing some of the stuff that Vicky’s hiding as Lana, the same with Hass, so you’ve got the front face and you’ve got the back face. That’s why it’s wonderful at this point. We’re seeing behind the curtain of what they’re going through. That’s interesting drama, but then the added part of the entertainment value is, ‘Are they gonna make it? That didn’t just happen? No, not him!’ I’m really proud of it.”
Elouahabi believes the bomb-disposal aspect of the show offers “the sugar hit, the sweet rush, the dopamine hit” viewers crave, keeping them on the edge of their seats as Lana, Hass, Danny (Eric Shango) and Rich Manning (Mark Rowley) face up to the latest threat. Episode one of the third season opens as they tentatively approach a suspected IED (improvised explosive device) in the form of an abandoned black cab with a man trapped inside.
“Then you’ve got the other element of it, which is when things slow down. We need a breath, otherwise it’s too much,” he notes. “It’s a really clever way of doing it. It’s like anything; there needs to be a rise and a fall.
“The interesting thing I’ve been hearing a lot is how many people have been bingeing it. That surprised me. They just run through it. I’m glad I’m not doing that. I’m going back to that traditional way of having something to look forward to. You can’t eat all your sweets at the same time.”
In this latest season, the Blue Lights and Unforgotten actor has “no doubt” that directors Jamie Donoughue and Audrey Cooke have pushed the tension to new levels. “It’s given a little bit of an epic feel,” he says, “and I love that.” The filmed material is then taken further through editing and music. “But as a script, is there drama in the scene? There’s no point in just two people agreeing with something – boring, right? I’m always looking for, ‘What’s the scene for? Why are we making this thing? What is this and where’s the tension in it?’ That’s my job as an actor.”
Audiences will also get a better sense of Hass in S3, learning he’s divorced, has two daughters and is flirting with the dating scene again. He’s also seen as something of an ‘uncle’ in the team, a calming figure to support his colleagues, and Lana in particular.
“We see a lot of him caring for her and being curious about where she’s at,” Elouahabi says. “A great thing that I love is, ‘You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,’ and that’s what it is. He’s much more of the ‘are you alright?’ as opposed to ‘what’s going on?’
“Obviously it gives me, as Nabil, the opportunity to act with Vicky as Lana, and she’s such an instinctive actor. It’s like being on stage, just listening to one another, really being present for one another and being open to something different that might happen.”
That fluidity runs through every aspect of filming, as Elouahabi says rehearsals are kept to a minimum to allow the actors to surprise each other during a take. “I might stand, I might not stand. I’m not going to ask you, ‘Can you react like this to me?’ It’s never going to happen, because both of us love the acting craft and came up from a space of a lot of improvising,” he continues. “Some actors absolutely hate that and they’re scared of it. I am scared of it, but I love it. For me, it feels like sparring. You might get punched in the nose. It’s a lot safer than sparring, but there’s nowhere to go. It’s very exciting.”
With the central threat in S3 coming from someone with a sinister vendetta and revenge on their mind, Elouahabi says the villainy this time around comes from an “interesting” place, as “it’s a lot more nuanced and more ambivalent – and it’s personal. That makes it a lot more human. It’s not just some evil person,” he says. “The other part of it is [you] really start seeing the cost of the series on Lana, and the ripple effect that happens. It’s not isolated. You’re not just seeing season three [in isolation].”
For the actors in Trigger Point, it’s not just their lines that they have to worry about. It’s also their performances as an EXPO and everything that comes with playing a member of that highly skilled group – from wearing the suffocating kit to the delicate movements needed when trying to diffuse a suspected bomb.
“It’s a bit of a dance. It’s a choreography,” Elouahabi says, “because it’s very intentional and very specific. In my bag, I have to make sure, even if I’m not using it, I’ve got my torch on me, I’ve got my clips on me. I’ve got my sellotape, which has been prepped and cut because that’s what we seal the wires with. But actually, in a way, it’s a gift for an actor because it gives you activity, which is real.
“But in amongst that, once you’ve gone through that a few times, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m also saying these lines.’ You learn to do that and speak at the same time. But if you’re not used to it and you’ve never done it before, it’s like the first time you drive. You’re thinking, ‘OK, first gear,’ and, before you know it, you’re much more automated. You just know what you’re doing.”
That process is supported by former British Army bomb-disposal expert Joel Snarr, who works as an advisor on the series, which is produced by Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television and distributed by All3Media International.
“We’re lucky because we’ve got Joel, who’s an EXPO himself and served in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and is very much our eyes and ears. He’s just there watching, making sure everything’s fine,” Elouahabi says. “Luckily, all the actors have enough humility to know that they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I have no idea.”
Does he read future scripts dreading what may be in store for Hass? “Fortunately, we’ve got really good and open dialogues with the producers about anything dramatic or anything that affects our characters,” he says. “We’re always told about them, but so far, so good.”
As for the journey on S3, “Buckle up. It’s quite a journey,” he says. “It just keeps getting more and more intense. You’re on the Trigger train now, and there are no brakes.”
Elouahabi certainly believes there’s more than enough drama in the show to keep audiences engaged, without them turning to their phone or laptop mid-episode – a modern phenomenon known as ‘second screening.’
“Second screening is one of the most depressing things I’ve ever heard,” he says. “Pay attention! No second screen, no. It dilutes things. It makes you over-explain something. It robs us of the muscle that you build for being patient and attentive. In terms of drama and my artistic taste, it matters to me. It matters how we tell stories. It matters that you pay attention when we’re telling a story – for your sake, not for my sake. So, no to second-screening.”
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tagged in: All3Media International, HTM Television, ITV, Nabil Elouahabi, Trigger Point