The new crime drama follows one officer's fight for the truth when a witness protection system breaks down
The veil is about to be lifted on the secretive world of police witness protection.
Crime thriller Protection comes to ITV this weekend exposing the subterfuge and complexity of this clandestine part of police operations.
Created by Kris Mrksa, it stars Siobhan Finneran as single mum and detective inspector Liz Nyles who is increasingly torn between her dedication to her family, her loyalty to her lover, and her duty towards her witnesses.
A murder at one of her safe houses draws her into a complex web of opaque organisations operating at cross-purposes in which she becomes more and more uncertain about whom she can trust.
The series is inspired by a real-life witness protection officer, who also acted as a consultant for the series.
What is Protection about?
Detective Inspector Liz Nyles works in the secretive and high-stakes world of police witness protection.
She’s juggling a challenging frontline job alongside a demanding family life with a teenage daughter, a difficult ex-husband and a dad recovering from a stroke.
Principled and scrupulous about the security of her witnesses, she is particularly concerned about the safety of high-risk criminal turned informant Jimmy McLennan (Kris Hitchen) and his family.
Jimmy is about to testify against the head of a major organised crime group, which has so far evaded prosecution.
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Both at work and at home, Liz has always put others first and being from a policing family she is driven by a great sense of duty.
But recently she has launched into a secret affair with married colleague, DS Paul Brandice.
A murder at one of her safe houses raises questions about the integrity of the witness protection unit, with suspicions someone has been leaking information to organised crime.
Liz begins to question whether she has unwittingly compromised herself with her secret lover.
So while the police team investigates the murder, Liz secretly launches her own unofficial investigation to find the leak.
Pursuing her off-the-books inquiry, brings the DI into further conflict with the officers investigating her and sparks concerns not only about Brandice but also her team and her colleagues in the wider police force.
And as she chases clues to which she shouldn’t have access, the detective finds herself breaking rules she would never normally and drawing danger ever closer to her door.
Who is in the cast of Protection?
Siobhan Finneran
Siobhan Finneran stars as Detective Inspector Liz Nyles, who works in secretive world of witness protection.
Describing her character, she said: “Liz is a witness protection officer in a unit called Protected Persons, a woman in her fifties with a 16-year-old daughter, and she’s just become a full-time carer to her dad.
“Like hundreds of thousands of women, Liz is trying to keep a balance between personal and professional, so hopefully her character will resonate with loads of people – until that all gets blown up of course!”
The 58-year-old actress is well known to television audiences as Janice Garvey from Benidorm and Sarah O’Brien from Downton Abbey.
She has also starred in Coronation Street, Clocking Off, Happy Valley and Alma’s Not Normal.
Katherine Kelly
Katherine Kelly plays Detective Chief Inspector Hannah Wheatley, head of the Major Investigations Team.
Speaking about her role, the actress said: “Hannah is very by the book.
“A modern-day police officer who knows your paperwork has to match what you’re doing.
“Within that, she’s highly skilled, very efficient and honourable, all the things that you would want a police officer to be, especially when the stakes are as high as this.”
The 45-year-old rose to prominence playing Becky McDonald in Coronation Street.
She has since starred in Mr Selfridge, Happy Valley, The Night Manager, Gentleman Jack, Mr Bates vs. The Post Office and The Crow Girl.
Nadine Marshall
Nadine Marshall takes on the role of Detective Chief Inspector Amanda Kelman, a senior officer in the Professional Standards Department which investigates corruption in the police.
Talking about her role, she said: “She’s shrewd and can be manipulative when she wants to be, but super smart.
“Kelman knows how to turn on the charm when she needs to appear non-threatening.”
The actress, 53, recently starred in the film Bob Marley: One Love.
On television, she has appeared in The Smoking Room, The Commander, Hounded, Trigger Point and Champion.
Barry Ward
Barry Ward appears as Detective Sergeant Paul Brandice, ex-military and a new recruit to the witness protection unit.
The Irish actor said: “I think the most appealing thing about Paul Brandice for me was the duplicity.
“You question is it a case of what you see is what you get or is there a much darker thing at play here.
“I just think that gives so much depth to a character.”
Ward started his career as a child actor in Ireland in shows such as Family and Plotlands.
In the UK, he has starred in The Fall, Britannia, Save Me, The Capture and Anne Boleyn.
The cast of Protection also includes:
- Chaneil Kular as Detective Sergeant Raj Kohli (Sex Education, Accused)
- Tom Christian as DI Tommy Jardine (Gangs of London, Silent Witness)
- Akiya Henry as Detective Sergeant Sue Beardsley (Silent Witness, De-Lovely)
- Andrew Knott as Detective Inspector Richard Bewley (Gavin & Stacey, Maryland)
- Ace Bhatti as Detective Chief Inspector Arun Kapoor (Alex Rider, Baptiste)
- Charlotte Mills as Detective Sergeant Rachel Gordon (A Very Royal Scandal, Behind Her Eyes)
- David Hayman as Sid Nyles (Fisherman’s Friends, Hatton Garden)
- Jodie Price as Jasmine Nyles (One Day, Alma’s Not Normal)
- Alec Newman as Edward Crowther (Shetland, Unforgotten)
- Nichola Burley as Gemma Brandice (Virdee, The Gold)
- Tilly Kaye as Amy McLennan (Gentleman Jack, Last Tango in Halifax)
Where is Protection filmed?
Filming for Protection began in July 2023 and ended in September the same year.
Much of the series was filmed in the north-west of England, in particular in Runcorn in Cheshire and Merseyside’s Birkenhead and Liverpool.
Actress Finneran said: “I loved filming in Liverpool, it’s a great place to potter about and look at buildings.”
Among the other areas where filming took place were Knowsley, Sefton and Halton.
When is Protection on and how many episodes are there?
A six-part series, Protection debuts on ITV on Sunday 16 March at 9pm with an hour-long episode.
The second episode will be shown at the same time on Monday 17 March and the remaining four episodes will air on successive Sunday and Mondays.
The series will also be available to stream on ITVX.
