Hope Street: Karen Hassan promises 'all the drama' in new series

The BBC and Britbox police drama Hope Street will return on Monday for its third season.

The show is set in the fictional town of Port Devine and filmed in Donaghadee, in County Down.

Joining the show this season is Karen Hassan, who has previously appeared in Hollyoaks and The Fall.

She told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that this series promises to have "all the drama" and "all the nosy neighbours".

Hassan will play new character Jo Lipton, alongside another new addition to the programme PC Ryan Power, who will be played by Finnian Garbutt.

She said that while her experience of joining Hope Street was "one of the warmest shows that I ever walked on to", her character will initially cause "a little bit of ruckus" among the characters.

Niall Wright, who plays PC Callum McCarthy, said that the "crime rate is higher than ever in Port Devine".

As well as being shown on BBC Northern Ireland, Hope Street has viewers across the UK on iPlayer, and in the United States through the streaming service Britbox.

Wright said that it is great to see the show "really hitting a nerve" with both a local and international audience.

"Viewers are enjoying, I suppose, the local colloquialisms but also the universal themes and I think that's why it's stretching as far as it is.

"It's been great for the local industry."

New episodes of Hope Street will be available from Monday on BBC One Northern Ireland and on BBC iPlayer.