Sian Brooke has revealed how having a police officer as a father helped her see the “person behind the uniform” while playing the character of Constable Grace Ellis in the hit series Blue Lights.
speaking in woman’s hourThe Welsh actress, 44, explained that she was able to get to know “the police world” from a very young age.
“My job is to put myself in the shoes of the character I play and make sense of the decisions I make,” he told host Jess Creighton on Wednesday.
‘The thing is, with my dad and growing up in a house where he was a police officer, I could see the person behind the uniform.
“That he was a real human being, he was a father, and that gave me insight, I guess, into the world of law enforcement.”
In her intervention on Woman’s Hour, the Welsh actress, 44, explained that she was able to get to know “the police world” from a very young age.
She added that because of her childhood, there was also “some kind of barrier between her and the uniform.”
“I think very often when we see people in whatever service it is – the fire service pracademics – the first thing you see is the uniform,” Sian said.
The actress has spoken in the past about her father, who worked as a police officer in Staffordshire, and how his experience helped her for the role.
“It’s a different type of surveillance in very different circumstances [to those in Northern Ireland]but there is still an element of danger,” he said. The times.
‘I remember reading the script and it reminded me of my dad and the camaraderie he had with his co-workers.
“If they solved a case and came home for a cup of tea, you could hear the jokes and they were very distinctive.”
“Declan and Adam have researched blue lights thoroughly and I think it’s important to reflect reality, to hold a mirror to where we are, good or bad,” he said.
The actress has spoken in the past about her father, who worked as a police officer in Staffordshire, and how his experience helped her for the role.
She added that because of her upbringing, there was also “no kind of barrier between her and the uniform.”
‘With the recent negative developments in the police force, I don’t think people should stop making police dramas because of them.
—Because then that is some form of censorship, right? Blue Lights doesn’t glorify anything.’
speaking to Sunday’s mail Last year, Sian revealed that her father’s job in the police changed her approach to the character, explaining: “That’s why I felt such an affinity with the role and that world.”
‘It was nice to portray the human aspect of a job that involves such high levels of responsibility. It’s a real person – a mom, dad, husband or wife – trying to do the best they can.
‘I was able to talk to my father about this; I had talked to him about his career anyway, but this gave me another level of understanding and opened up new conversations.
“After watching it, he remembered other things that led to many more conversations.”
Written by the team behind Novichok drama The Salisbury Poisonings, Blue Lights stars Sian as Grace, a single mother and former social worker who decides to change careers in middle age.
In a separate interview with the Telegraph, Sian urged viewers to tune into Blue Lights no matter what their current attitude is about the state of policing.
Sian also told Woman’s Hour how enriching it has been to be able to reprise the role.
“The prospect of doing a show and staying with a character for so long is a great pleasure for an actor,” he said.
‘Because you can revisit it. The first time, you’re putting the paint on the canvas and you desperately want it to be the right color, the right image and this, so you can show this world in all its glory.
“And then when you revisit it, you can put a little more detail into that image and breathe a little more into that character…”
The Welsh actress has become a familiar face in recent years after appearing in dramas such as The Moorside, Doctor Foster and House Of The Dragon.
However, her latest role has the potential to take her from a recognizable face to a household name, as the star of the BBC’s gritty Belfast police drama Blue Lights.
It continues the long list of crime shows he has found himself in, with roles in A Touch of Frost, Midsomer Murders and New Tricks, among others.
Written by the team behind Novichok drama The Salisbury Poisonings, Blue Lights stars Sian as Grace, a single mother and former social worker who decides to change careers in middle age.
Now a probationary police officer, he frequently finds himself out of his depth and into unexpected dangers as he tries to maintain order in post-riot Belfast.
Last year, the BBC drama was an unexpected hit, with hordes of fans eagerly awaiting the premiere of the second season.
For Sian, it has been a rare opportunity to work on a long-term character study, as a third and fourth series have already been commissioned.
After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in 2002, he began his career, like many actors, with occasional appearances on television shows.
She gained prominence in 2017 when she starred in the fourth and final Sherlock series as Eurus Holmes, the psychotic younger sister of Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch).
The first season saw her character, Officer Grace Ellis, torn between her new police career and her previous shift as a social worker. Sian photographed last year
Sian was praised by viewers for her versatility in the role and her interactions with her co-star Benedict, no doubt refined by having worked with him two years earlier in the Barbican’s production of Hamlet.
In 2020, she reached an international audience with her role on Apple TV+’s Trying, which is currently in its fourth season.
The following year she took on another police role, playing Cressida Dick in Stephen, the miniseries based on the 1993 murder of black British teenager Stephen Lawrence.
While it was a small role, her role in the 2022 release of House of the Dragon was also memorable, as her character, Queen Aemma Targaryen, was the subject of a brutal medieval cesarean section.
As for Sian’s personal life, she is married to actor and director Bill Buckhurst (left) and they have sons Archie, nine, and Ben, 11.
However, it’s his latest role that has the potential to be his true breakout role, with millions of people expected to tune in to the season two premiere.
The first season saw her character, Officer Grace Ellis, torn between her new police career and her previous shift as a social worker.
Speaking about the role, Sian told the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine last year: “I found it intriguing why someone in their 40s would be crazy enough to change careers like that.
‘Grace is much braver than me and much more determined. “It’s very inspiring to see a woman like that on screen.”
As for Sian’s personal life, she is married to actor and director Bill Buckhurst and they have children, Archie, nine, and Ben, 11.
Fans may recognize Bill from his time as spy Ronson in the James Bond film Skyfall and his 2010 role as Walford High School headmaster Mr Allcock in EastEnders.
He also spends time behind the camera and on stage; he previously directed Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Saunders in Sister Act The Musical.