BBC’s hit Co Down-filmed police drama Hope Street left audiences on quite a literal cliffhanger last season.
Series three concluded with Finn O’Hare (Ciarán McMenamin) wrestling with his newfound biological father Aidan Hunter (Ian Beattie) at the edge of a cliff before the latter fell over the edge.
Although the repercussions facing Finn were unclear, the scene did signal McMenamin’s exit from the show.
“You are told what happens to Ciarán’s character,” assures the show’s co-creator and producer Paul Marquess.
“We don’t pretend he never existed - but it is all change in Port Devine as we return for series four – with a new police inspector and a new police station.”
Derry Girls star Tara Lynne O’Neill is among the new names joining the cast this series, taking on the role of police inspector Eve Dunlop.
“It’s hilarious that anybody trusts me with an important job,” she laughs.
“Eve is from Port Devine originally, her mum lives there but she left when she was a teenager.
“And although she’s come back as the new inspector there’s another mysterious reason that’s also pulled her back.”
Eve’s return comes as a particular shock to Sergeant Marlene Pettigrew (Kerri Quinn) as the pair were childhood friends.
“Marlene always feels like this person who never gets her happy ending but is somehow always the glue that helps other people, so I think we see a very different side to her this season,” Kerri explains.
“Especially with the Eve character coming back – a blast from the past - and I think with her coming in as the new inspector, Marlene’s probably thinking it should’ve been her.
“The two of them obviously have history which is something we delve in to.”
However, Eve isn’t the only new cop on the block as detective constable Luke Jackson, played by Ted Lasso’s Marcus Onilude will also be joining the force - and it seems they could already be well acquainted...
“It’s a great relationship that the two of them have,” adds Tara Lynne.
“He’s like a proper detective and she’s very chilled – we’re perfectly cast in that regard.”
Although the new recruits aren’t the only thing shaking up the dynamic in Port Devine.
Last season saw constable Callum McCarthy (Niall Wright) preparing to move to Belfast with colleague and love interest detective constable Jo Lipton (Karen Hassan) oblivious to the fact he may be the father of Nicole Devine-Dunwoody’s (Niamh McGrady) unborn child.
“At the end of series three I think everything was pretty rosy for Callum,” Niall explains.
“He’d met Jo, they’ve fallen in love, and they were very much official, and they were looking to move up to Belfast and as this series begins, I think there’s few things that make that plan a bit tricky.
“But it’s lovely to see a bit of Callum’s personal life come into it because I think for the first three series we’ve seen his work side quite a lot, but I’ve always said it’d be nice to see what’s going on with him at home.”
However, Callum’s situation with both Jo and Nicole aren’t the only relationships he has to navigate as the new series sees Paddy Jenkins join the cast as Callum’s roguish father Seamie McCarthy.
“I think there is a bit of a raised eyebrow when Seamie rocks up,” laughs Paddy.
“I probably wasn’t the greatest father in the world to him but Callum’s a very forgiving soul thankfully.”
Having also starred in BBC’s police drama Blue Lights, Paddy says his time working on Hope Street has been “a completely different experience”.
“It’s all blue skies and sweeter stuff. When you’re reading stuff for Hope Street you’re thinking about how you can make it a wee bit more fun or upbeat and have the craic with it whereas Blue Lights is the complete opposite.
“Both of them are challenging in their own way but I love the game.”
At the Commodore, Nicole is keeping her pregnancy under wraps but secrets are hard to keep in Port Devine.
“We’ve been on such a journey with Nicole’s fertility issues and it’s just so bittersweet that there’s all of this complication involved with her finally having her motherhood moment,” says actress Niamh McGrady.
“But I think Nicole would make the best of any situation that she’s in and she’s so focused on being a mummy and creating a perfect environment – she’s the eternal optimist.
“So I think overall it’s still been an incredibly positive experience for her even with the interesting swerves involved.”
“Whereas Clint just does what he’s told,” chuckles Portadown actor Aaron McCusker who plays Clint Devine-Dunwoody.
“But because there are those question marks around who the father is, inside there is a bit of turmoil and battling with himself about whether or not he should be the doting husband.”
From finding out who the father of Nicole’s baby is to a tragic death and a hit and run there are plenty of challenges facing the residents of this seaside community.
Hope Street is a co-commission between BBC Northern Ireland, BBC Daytime and BritBox International, made with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
Now in its fourth season, the cast and crew are delighted that the show has returned for another series.
“The thing about a returning series is you clearly have to win some loyalty and affection from your audience,” explains Paul.
“But you also have to keep it fresh which can be hard so after three series - we wanted to shake things up.
“So, for me, series four has felt like the difficult second album, despite making 35 hours of it already.”
Also returning for this eight-part series are Finnian Garbutt (Ryan Power), Des McAleer (Barry Pettigrew), Rachel Tucker (Siobhan O’Hare), Karen Hassan (Jo Lipton), Brid Brennan (Concepta O’Hare), Ian Beattie (Aidan Hunter), Carrie Crowley (Assumpta Kozloswka) and Stephen Hagan (Al Quinn).
New additions include Katie Shortt, who plays feisty barmaid Brandi McClure, Eleanor Methven as Lois Dunlop (Eve’s disapproving mum), RhéAna Kamalu as Chloe Jackson, (Eve’s diplomatic step-daughter) and Jonny Grogan as Ross Dunlop, Eve’s troubled son.
Hope Street series four starts on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland, Monday October 28 at 7pm and on BBC Daytime Friday November 1 at 2pm. Series one, two and three are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer
