Happy Valley meets Sherwood: first look at ITV’s new drama Protection
Protection is ITV’s latest crime offering with leads Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley) and Katherine Kelly (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, The Crow Girl) announced in the first look at the show.
The six-part series follows the story of just how wrong things can go when the witness protection system breaks down.
Also joining the cast are the familiar faces of Nadine Marshall (Sherwood, Trigger Point), Barry Ward (Bad Sisters, Save me) and Chaneil Kular (Sex Education).
Siobhan Finneran will play Detective Inspector Liz Nyles, who finds herself caught in the midst of a security breach in her witness protection unit. Compromised by an illicit affair with a colleague, Nyles must dig deep to discover exactly who is putting her unit – and her family – in danger.
ITV’s synopsis revealed that Detective Inspector Nyles is, "determined to uncover the true source of corruption within the police. Liz will stop at nothing to redeem herself, the reputation of her lover, and to keep her witnesses and her own family safe. Even if it means breaking all the rules."
Of course, it wouldn’t be an ITV crime drama without some additional challenges to face at home: as a single mum, Nyles has to juggle the demands of parenting while navigating a difficult divorce and caring for her sick father.
ITV said that the inspiration for the show came from a real-life witness protection officer who served for 30 years in the Metropolitan Police and acted as a consultant for the series.
Alongside the stellar cast line-up, the drama has been created by writer Kris Mrksa who was responsible for ITV’s dramatisation White House Farm, which received a lot of critical acclaim; and produced by the multi-award-winning team behind the hit show Des (the chilling series starring David Tenant as serial killer Dennis Nilsen) and The Long Shadow.
If you enjoyed Happy Valley as much as we did, it is certainly one to add to the top of the watchlist.
Protection is set to premier on ITV in the spring and will also be available to stream on ITVX.
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