Blue Lights Season 4: Why Richard Dormer Is Returning as Gerry Cliff

Richard Dormer is returning to Blue Lights as Gerry Cliff — despite the character being killed off in the BBC crime drama’s first season.

The Belfast-set series brings Gerry back through flashbacks as his death becomes central to the story of Season 4. The new series will revisit the circumstances surrounding his murder while finally addressing the unanswered questions that have remained with viewers since his death.

Why Did Gerry Cliff Leave Blue Lights?

Gerry Cliff was killed during the opening season of Blue Lights, when he was fatally shot while carrying out a routine patrol.

His death became one of the drama’s most significant moments, but it also left viewers wanting more closure. According to co-creators Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, fans continued to question the decision to kill Gerry off even years later.

That reaction has ultimately become part of the reason for bringing the character back.

Season 4 will centre on the trial surrounding Gerry’s murder, giving the series an opportunity to revisit the character and explore the events that led to his death.

The storyline will also uncover “a dangerous and long-buried secret” that threatens to create chaos within the police and the criminal underworld.

Why Has Richard Dormer Returned?

Dormer’s return does not mean Gerry has been brought back to life. Instead, the character appears in flashback sequences as the investigation and murder trial revisit his past.

For Dormer, returning to the role was an unexpectedly familiar experience.

“It was a weird sense of déjà vu, but surprisingly easier than I expected,” he said. “I thought I was going to be nervous, but everyone was so welcoming as you would expect from this cast.”

The biggest challenge was recreating a version of Gerry that audiences had never really seen before.

“The biggest challenge was rediscovering who Gerry was before the audience met him in series one,” Dormer explained.

The Season 4 story allows viewers to see Gerry when he was younger and more troubled than the character they encountered in the first series. Dormer said that meant returning to details including Gerry’s voice and finding the right version of the character for the new storyline.

Season 4 Offers a Different Look at Gerry

According to Dormer, the fourth series effectively works as an origin story for Gerry, giving audiences a deeper understanding of the man behind the police officer.

The flashbacks are designed to show how Gerry developed into the character viewers came to know, while highlighting qualities that made him both an effective police officer and, in Dormer’s words, an example of “how to be a good human and a really efficient cop.”

This approach gives the drama a chance to explore Gerry beyond the circumstances of his death.

Why the Creators Decided to Bring Him Back

The decision also had a practical dramatic purpose.

Co-creator Adam Patterson explained that enough time had passed for Gerry’s criminal case to reach its conclusion, making the murder trial a natural point at which to revisit the character.

“It also made sense dramatically,” Patterson said. “Enough time has passed for the criminal case to reach its conclusion, and it felt important to give that story proper closure.”

He also joked that bringing Gerry back might finally put an end to the complaints the creators have received from fans since the character’s death.

The cast has similarly acknowledged just how popular Gerry remains.

Andi Osho, who plays Sandra Cliff, said the character continues to generate questions from viewers who have never fully accepted his death.

“I can’t overstate what a popular character Gerry was. He still is and even now people ask why the writers killed him off,” Osho said.

She added that viewers still felt the story was unresolved and hoped Gerry’s return would provide some closure.

Richard Dormer Was Surprised by the Reaction to Gerry’s Death

Dormer was also taken aback by how strongly audiences responded when Gerry was killed.

“I was surprised by just how big the reaction was,” he said.

He recalled that the death scene had already affected him emotionally while he was re-recording the dialogue before the sequence had even been completed.

“I knew the scene would be powerful because I was emotional watching it when re-recording lines, before it was even finished,” he said, adding that the reaction demonstrated the quality of the writing.

Now, more than three years after Gerry’s death, Blue Lights is returning to his story from a different perspective.

Rather than undoing what happened, Season 4 uses the murder trial and flashbacks to explore who Gerry was, what happened to him and why his death continues to matter to the people around him.

When Does Blue Lights Season 4 Return?

Blue Lights Season 4 returns to BBC One on Tuesday, September 29, at 9pm.

Richard Dormer’s return as Gerry Cliff will form part of a storyline that finally revisits the character’s murder while opening the door to secrets that could have consequences for both the police and Belfast’s criminal underworld.