OK, let’s address the elephant in the room: yes, at first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s a new Line Of Duty on the horizon, what with Trigger Point’s stony-faced coppers, bulletproof vests and Vicky McClure being a legend. However, as showrunner Jed Mercurio told Radio Times, the two shows are “very different”.

For one thing, we’re swapping anti-corruption for bomb disposal. For another, the action ante is significantly upped, with gunfights, nerve-shreddingly intense scenes and lots of big, big “bangs”, naturally. Finally, we’ve yet to see a waistcoat to rival the snazzy numbers modelled by AC-12’s DI Steve Arnott. Which is clearly the biggest differentiator.

Speaking at a recent Q&A event, Mercurio, McClure and co-star Adrian Lester (Life) lifted the lid on the explosive six-part series. Here’s everything you need to know.

It’s set in present-day London

Lana Washington (McClure) and Joel Nutkins (Lester) are bomb disposal operatives working in the Metropolitan Police Bomb Disposal Squad. Specifically, they’re the officers that walk towards (and hopefully defuse) devices or objects identified as potential explosives.

We find the pair confronted with a calculated terrorist bombing campaign, where several improvised explosive devices threaten the safety of the city.

It’s got some familiar faces...

Aiding (and hopefully not abetting) Lana and Joel is a cast of familiar faces from other TV dramas, including Mark Stanley (Honour) as DI Thom Youngblood, Warren Brown (Luther) as Karl Maguire, Kerry Godliman (After Life) as Sonya Reeves, Cal MacAninch (Des) as Lee Robins, Manjinder Virk (Midsomer Murders) as Samira Desai and Ralph Ineson (The Capture) as Commander Bregman.

Whether the pair can stay on task also hinges on their ability to manage Lana’s growing recklessness. Partner Joel knows this only too well, with the duo having previously served together in Afghanistan.

At least Lana will be free of a couple of distractions, with Mercurio saying working with Vicky again was “fantastic”, especially “without fellow [Line Of Duty stars] Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston getting in the way.” Charming!

There are twists and turns aplenty

Befitting a show with Mr Mercurio at the helm, nothing is ever quite as it seems in Trigger Point. Shaky alliances are formed and new threats come to the fore as the questions pile up like explosive debris. Are the terrorists deliberately targeting Lana’s team? Can she trust those closest to her? Will we finally know whether to cut the red wire or the blue one?

“One of the fun things is that people don’t know what will happen next,” Lester explained. “The script keeps the audience on their toes, drip feeds them information – as all good thrillers should – and stays one step ahead of them.

“You definitely have that in Jed’s shows. You don't know what’s going on. It’s a world we’re not used to seeing. You have the feeling that something bad could happen to someone at any point.”

McClure was a stickler for authenticity

Trigger Point was filmed during a London heatwave, but that wasn’t going to deter McClure from getting into character, with the star insisting on wearing an authentic bomb disposal officer’s uniform.

“I wanted to do it because it felt right and more authentic. It’s an incredible piece of kit. These tubes run through it, pumping in air conditioning because no matter where you are, it’s going to be hot. 

“The helmet is also absolutely huge. It weighs the same as I do! Wearing an actual uniform was no big deal, but I wanted to do it for real.”

One episode will be released each week

Like Line Of Duty, one episode of Trigger Point will air each week, to better serve “the experience”, Mercurio told MailOnline.   

“Some people still love scheduled TV, they love the mystery and it adds to the show’s shared experience, you can avoid spoilers and everyone talks about it together afterwards,” he explained.

With Line Of Duty being one of the ultimate watercooler TV topics, we reckon history will happily repeat in the case of Trigger Point. All that’s left is to commence countdown and tune into episode 1.

When is Trigger Point on TV?

Trigger Point starts on Sunday 23 January at 9pm on ITV HD (CH 103/113).

If you miss any episode, it will also be available in Apps & Games > ITV Hub.