The Tower season 3 has 'shocks', 'surprises' and a moral compass that's "shaken"

This time round, many of the familiar faces in the cast return, but things are slightly different for lead DS Sarah Collins, as actress Gemma Whelan teases that her character may have a bit of a shaky moral compass this season.

Talking to RadioTimes.com and other press in a Q&A for the new season, Whelan said: “Of course, as we know, her moral compass is so – although, it’s quite possibly a bit shaken this season but her moral compass is very north-south.

"She’s unwavering in her policing by the book but I think this calls that into question a bit this season. It hits her personally this kid and how she can’t – normally she can make a difference because she follows the police book and things work out because you follow the rules.

"And this time, it’s so messy. She’s shown a mirror this season and for the first time, Sarah can’t fix it.”

The series sees Sarah faced with the case of a stabbing of a young teenager and in the midst of it, she crosses paths once again with Lizzie (Tahirah Sharif) who is juggling being a new detective and a mother.

According to the official synopsis, Sarah is also brought "into conflict with DI Kieran Shaw who is running Operation Perseus, an undercover police task force set up to bring down South London drug kingpin Shakiel Oliver".

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It continues: "Kieran is working with DC Steve Bradshaw who has gone undercover to infiltrate Shakiel’s empire. The focus of Sarah and Kieran’s conflict is 15-year-old Ryan Kennedy who witnessed the fatal stabbing but is also a key part of Shakiel’s inner circle – as Perseus heads to its shocking climax, Ryan will have a surprising role to play.”

Teasing what's to come in this new third season, Harbinson said: "I remember reading all three books together and Gallowstree Lane, I thought: ‘If we ever get to this point with The Tower, this one will be a delight to adapt’ because the movement of it is just so intensely dramatic and the way it brings personal stories together along with the crime, the big world of crime which is knife crime."

Harbinson continues: "The people behind knife crime as well as the foot soldiers of knife crime – all that felt, to me, I knew I’d have fun adapting it.

"What we added to it – which I would say is the richness of it rather than the complexity – is that we’re able, to a degree, finish the story of The Tower itself with Lizzie and Hadley at the top of the tower and everything that happened right in the first five minutes of the series three years ago.

"So, I think if audiences who know The Tower come to this, they’re going to find it very surprising and moving and rather shocking as a story.”

The Tower season 3 airs on ITV1 and ITVX from Monday 2nd September to Thursday 5th September at 9pm.

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