Blue Lights' Martin McCann in profile: His on-screen romance with Grace, and his real life relationship with stunning singer
Helen Fear | 12:01am Mon 29 SepMartin McCann is back on the beat as copper Stevie Neil in Blue Lights series 3, and fans may well be hoping to see some romance for his popular character…
Viewers have totally got behind the sweet relationship between Stevie and his work partner Grace Ellis. And now they are working together again.
In the returning drama, Grace is two years into the job. The team are “taken into a sinister world hidden behind the veneer of middle-class life”. But will Grace and Stevie have time to investigate what’s in his lunchbox?
Here’s everything you need to know about Blue Lights actor Martin McCann, including his character’s relationship with Grace, his real life girlfriend, and what other TV shows he’s been in.
Who plays Stevie Neil in Blue Lights?
Actor Martin McCann portrays Stevie Neil in Blue Lights series 1 to 3 on BBC One.
He first played the role in series 1, which aired on BBC One in March 2023. The six-parter was a huge hit, and followed three new recruits to Belfast’s police force.
ED! nominated the series for Stand-Out Drama of 2o23, but it was pipped to the post by another brilliant crime drama! Happy Valley won Stand-Out Drama of 2023 by 60% of the votes.
In series 1, policeman Stevie was paired with probationer Grace, who had made a huge career change from social worker to police officer.
Series 2 saw Grace a year into the job. The team were then faced with a drug-fuelled crime wave that led them into a loyalist estate. In the upcoming series 3, Grace, Annie and Tommy are two years into their jobs as response officers.
We’re told: “Their work will take them into a sinister world hidden behind the veneer of middle-class life, the world of the accountants and lawyers who facilitate organised crime. The old political and criminal order has gone and a new global gang rule Belfast, bringing danger closer to home for our officers than ever before.”
Did Stevie and Grace get together in Blue Lights?
In series 2 “a violent clash put Stevie and Grace’s working relationship at risk”. But things ended on a much more romantic note for the pair…
Viewers will know that Stevie and Grace were getting closer in the first series, with Stevie nearly revealing his romantic feelings for her at the end of the series.
Grace learnt that “mystery man” Stevie was a widower whose wife of 10 years had died from cancer. Since Sarah’s death, Stevie had lived alone with his beloved dog, spending his time cooking gourmet dishes (hence the impressive lunchbox) and visiting his parents and siblings.
Talking about Stevie and Grace’s will-they-won’t-they relationship, actress Siân Brooke told Radio Times: “If I had a pound for every time someone said, ‘Are Stevie and Grace going to get together?’, I would be a millionaire!”
She added: “In series 2, they’ve decided to follow their heads not their hearts and concentrate on their job. But whether they’re successful in that, you’ll have to find out!”
Of course, at the end of Blue Lights series 2, they DID appear to get together. And there were some whoops of glee in TVGuide.co.uk headquarters, that’s for sure!
Martin McCann’s films and TV shows
Actor Martin McCann has been on our screen since 1998, when he played a young joyrider in the short film The Rules of Golf. He soon went on to appear in one episode of Pulling, before joining the sketch show Dry Your Eyes. He played various characters in series 1 and 2, which aired between 2006 and 2007.
In 2010, Martin played Cpl. R.V. Burgin in the brilliant Emmy-winning war series, The Pacific, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Two years later, he portrayed Conor McCann in the TV mini-series Titanic: Blood and Steel.
Other notable roles include Randolph Corbett in The Bastard Executioner, Alvarez in the Jamie Dornan thriller The Fall, and Jack Madden in a 2017 episode of Vera.
In 2017, Martin starred as Renquist in The Frankenstein Chronicles, alongside Sean Bean, and Anna Maxwell Martin. In fact, Martin starred opposite Frank Blake, who joined the cast of Blue Lights series 2 as Shane Bradley.
A year later, Martin played Frank Blessing in Death and Nightingales, before playing Cormac in Temple. Marcella fans may well recognise Martin as Bobby Barrett in the last series of the ITV Anna Friel thriller.
More recently, he played Keon in On the Edge, Wee Pat McClure in Say Nothing, and ‘villain’ John Shagan in Netflix’s Hostage.
What films has Blue Lights actor Martin been in?
Martin has been in a multitude of films, including Jack Lowden thriller Calibre, Last Sentinel, Wolf, Here Before, The Informer, and The Fight.
He is perhaps best known for his leading role in the 2015 movie The Survivalist. The film followed a survivalist in a time of starvation, who lived off a small plot of land hidden deep in forest. However, when two women seeking food and shelter discovered his farm, he found his existence threatened. It deservedly received a BAFTA nomination for
Other film roles include his role as Bono in comedy Killing Bono, and Occi Byrne in Swansong, for which he won the award for best lead actor in a feature film at the 8th Irish Film & Television Awards.
How old is Blue Lights actor Martin, and where is he from?
Martin McCann was born on 20 July 1983, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
At the time of writing, he was 42 years of age.
In 2020, Martin was listed as number 48 on The Irish Times list of Ireland’s greatest film actors.
Is Martin McCann married?
Martin was previously dating actress and electro-pop musician Nadia Milliken. The performer is also from Belfast.
Although neither of them discussed their relationship in public, they were spotted looking very much like a couple at the 2016 IFTA Film & Drama Awards (The Irish Film & Television Academy) at Mansion House in Dublin, Ireland.
They were seen with their arms around each other, and staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Nadia also shared photos of herself with Martin on her Facebook page, with one commenter calling them a “great looking couple”.
Professional singer Nadia has also worked as a actress. She played Raven in the short film The Summoning, and later Violet Coughlan in the 2023 film The Irish Mob.
Nadia welcomed a child in April 2025. It is unclear if the child is Martin’s or if she and Martin have split up, and she is now dating someone else. Martin is notoriously private about his personal life.
