CHARMED GUARD
How new BBC TV drama Bodyguard starring Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden copies Line of Duty’s hit formula
BRACE yourselves for Bodyguard – expected to be the Beeb’s hit drama series this autumn, with an all-star cast, fast-and-furious action and brimming with sexual tension.
It’s written by Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio and stars Keeley Hawes as Home Secretary Julia Montague, battling a terror threat and shadowed by her Met Police security man, played by Richard Madden.
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Hawes, as well as Gina McKee who plays Police Commissioner Anne Sampson, both starred in ratings giant Line of Duty – and bosses hope Bodyguard will be even bigger.
The six-parter echoes real-life London, where this week a terror suspect in a Ford Fiesta mowed down cyclists outside Parliament. Jed says: “The important thing was to draw on events in the real world – that heightens credibility.”
The Beeb are confident – airing the first two episodes over the August Bank Holiday, before going to weekly Sunday slots.
Telly writer ROD McPHEE looks at the similarities we can expect to see between Bodyguard and its Line Of Duty stablemate.
Leading ladies
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THE sexual tension sizzles between handsome David and Julia from the very start. A “will they, won’t they?” relationship develops, much like that between Line of Duty’s DS Arnott and DS Kate Fleming is played by Vicky McClure.
Although David is opposed to Julia’s views, she is clearly an attractive woman. Keeley was also keen to show all the qualities of the smart and powerful woman.
She says: “Researching this changed my view of politicians — because you need to scratch beneath the surface to see what they’re like and in everyday life you don’t get to see that very much.”
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Julia admires David’s bravery and quick wit — as well as physical charms.
In one scene he reveals his buff body as he whips off his shirt to replace Julia’s blouse after she has an accident with a cup of coffee just before a big TV interview.
His daily duties also include taking divorced Julia home to her apartment late at night — and by the end of episode one their discussions while there are already heated.
Leading men
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LIKE DS Steve Arnott in Line Of Duty, played by Martin Compston, bodyguard David is a handsome hero — but he struggles with his past.
An ex-squaddie, he suffers post-traumatic stress syndrome but is determined not to let it affect his job as a Met Police protection officer.
That is put to the test when he is asked to guard Home Secretary, Julia Montague whose political views helped leave him with the scars he still bears.
He is also struggling with breaking up from the mother of his two young kids, and often turns to late-night boozing.
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Richard Madden, who plays David, spoke to real-life bodyguards, who were hired as advisers to the series, to get into character.
But it did not help much. Richard says: “The nature of their job is that they give very little away — and they ended up giving very little away to me. But that was interesting as it gave me a chance to get more into the head of David as dad and husband.”
BBC release the official trailer for new drama series Bodyguard starring Keeley Hawes as the UK's home secretary and Game of Thrones' Richard Madden as her bodyguard
Police backdrop
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WITH its heady mix of crime and power play, Line Of Duty turbo-injected the cop drama genre by setting it in police anti-corruption unit AC-12, led by DI Arnott, DS Fleming and Supt Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar.
Bodyguard now takes things a step further by adding the shadowy world of politics into the mix.
Though it contains less of the police procedural background of Line of Duty, it is still a cop thriller at heart and shows the courage of officers who are willing to lay down their lives in a heartbeat.
But for writer Jed, the subtle difference from Line Of Duty is important.
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He says: “A bodyguard is a selfless character whose fundamental role is not to investigate crime but to protect an individual.
“That’s what attracted me to looking at a branch of the police that doesn’t normally feature in crime drama.”
Despite his military past, David Budd works for the Met and considers himself a dedicated copper through and through.
But his job looking after the Home Secretary presents him with a major dilemma that he must wrestle with as he finds her policies unacceptable.
As a policeman, does he swallow the rage he feels towards his boss? Or ditch the professionalism and tell her what he thinks?
Shady characters
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IN Line Of Duty, viewers were baffled. Who were the good guys, the bad apples and who were decent characters who had been led astray?
Bodyguard keeps us guessing, too. Julia seems upstanding but quickly proves herself ruthless — competing with equally unscrupulous rivals.
There is also her ex-husband, MP Roger Penhaligon played by Nicholas Gleaves. He’s a nasty character who immediately rubs David up the wrong way.
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And then there is David’s big boss, the ambitious and power-obsessed Police Commissioner Anne Sampson, played by Gina McKee.
But it is never obvious who David needs to watch out for — and could our hero turn out to be his worst enemy as well as Julia’s?
Actor Richard says: “There are contradictions in David’s character - there’s this man who cares deeply and wants to protect but also has very strong political opinions.
“There’s this inherent good within him, but he’s constantly fighting within himself.”
Gripping action
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JUST when you thought Line Of Duty was all about police procedure, it hit you with a shocking scene of violence or a burst of action that got your pulse racing.
Bodyguard kicks off with similarly high drama — and does not let up over its entire six episodes.
The show’s opening scene — which, unusually for TV, runs to an epic 20 minutes — features David trying to prevent a disaster which could leave hundreds of innocent people dead.
It is guaranteed to terrify viewers because the drama unfolds in the everyday setting of a train.
You can imagine yourself right there with your life on the line.
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Writer Jed says: “That’s the thing about putting the action in a real-world setting.
“It makes it seem more plausible and certainly more authentic for viewers.” It also sets the tone for what is in store during the rest of the all-action series because the pulsating drama does not stop there. Far from it.
Expect a fully locked-and-loaded David, above, chasing after murderous criminals and resolutely placing himself, time after time, between the Home Secretary and the various baddies who would like to see her dead.
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Central stars
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LINE Of Duty quickly established its central characters — anti-corruption cops Arnott, Fleming and Hastings.
They were then mixed in to superb effect with central suspects who changed each season to keep viewers interested and trying to guess what would unfold next.
The list of suspects included the likes of Lennie James as bent copper DCI Tony Gates Daniel Mays’ Sgt Danny Waldron, Thandie Newton playing DCI Roz Huntley, and, of course, Keeley Hawes herself, who was DI Lindsay Denton in series two and three.
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Jed, the creator of both dramas, has already teased fans by indicating that he might repeat that casting formula if Bodyguard gets another run after the gripping opening series.
That would probably mean our hero, battling body- guard David, being kept on, too — although the person he would be protecting might be changed.
Which could see him minding a foreign dignitary, perhaps, or keeping his expert eye on a member of the Royal Family.
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