Blue Lights favourites star in first look at brand new BBC comedy

Blue Lights star Hannah McClean is trading the drama of Northern Ireland’s police force for the funny side of being a support worker in BBC’s brand new sitcom, Rewarding.

The new six-part comedy stars McClean as Sinead, alongside comedian Vittorio Angelone as Francis, two mismatched support workers who have opposing views on the world.

While Sinead is a newcomer who has an "unstoppable force of positivity and idealism", Francis is far more weathered as a care worker and is there to deliver a dose of reality.

In first-look photos of Rewarding, the pair are seen at work together alongside McClean’s Blue Lights co-stars Joanne Crawford and Bernadette Brown, whose characters Nicola and Fidelma also work within the Beacon Fold social care facility.

The show’s synopsis teases that the pair "flirt, clash and overshare," with each other while making sure they deliver the best duty of care they can.

However, it notes: "The real adversary won’t be the complexities of supporting their clients – but rather some of their colleagues' unique approaches to the job, the endless bureaucracy of social care and their own crumbling personal lives."

The series features a cast of disabled, neurodivergent and learning-disabled talent, including Industry’s Faith Alabi and TV newcomers Lee Snodgrass and John Moffatt.

They will play Martina, Cal and Joe, respectively, three of the clients Sinead and Francis care for.

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Rewarding draws on the lived experience of those who have worked, or have needed, social care in order to "bring authenticity and nuance" to the portrayal of the sector.

McClean takes over from Seána Kerslake, who portrayed Sinead in the 2025 pilot episode last year as part of BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen’s Green Lit scheme.

The series is written by Matthew McDevitt, Paddy Campbell, and Faebian Averies, and will be directed by David Moody.

Rewarding is coming to the BBC this autumn.

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Authors

Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist whose coverage ranges from reality shows like Love Is Blind to sci-fi shows like Fallout. She is an NCTJ Gold Standard accredited journalist, who has previously worked as Deputy TV Editor (maternity cover) at Digital Spy, and Deputy TV & Showbiz Editor at Daily Express US.