Happy Valley star Siobhan Finneran leads the cast of a new thriller for ITV1.
Polly Hill, Head of Drama at the network, has commissioned the compelling thriller Protection, written and created by Kris Mrksa and produced by award-winning production house New Pictures.
The series will also star Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly.
ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill:
“The clandestine world of witness protection creates a thrilling backdrop for this intriguing crime thriller written brilliantly by Kris Mrska. We’ve attracted an amazing cast including Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly and I’m delighted to commission the series from Willow Grylls and her team at New Pictures.”
Based on the first-hand experiences of a long serving witness protection officer, Protection is about what happens when the system breaks down. It’s about a police officer, Detective Inspector Liz Nyles (Siobhan Finneran), who finds herself at the heart of such a breach; personally compromised by an affair with a colleague, but determined to fight back, and uncover the true source of corruption within her unit.
Navigating the morally-grey, clandestine world of witness protection, Liz’s mission to find the truth will take her deep into the heart of the criminal underbelly and beyond as she becomes more and more torn between caring for her family, her loyalty to her lover and her duty as a police officer.
The cast also includes Barry Ward, Chaneil Kular, David Hayman, Nichola Burley and Akiya Henry.
Writer Kris Mrksa:
“Protection is a suspenseful conspiracy thriller, but it also explores some complex moral questions, about how far we should be prepared to go in order to serve the greater good. The murky world of witness protection, where hardened criminals are often sheltered, in the hope that they will help bring down other criminals, provides the perfect context for examining these thorny issues. I’m incredibly excited to be working with the team at New Pictures again, in bringing this complex world to life.”
Filming has commenced in Liverpool and the series will air on ITV and ITVX next year.