It was one of the most shocking and talked-about moments in recent TV memory – and it turns out it almost didn't happen.
The decision to kill off Keeley Hawes' Bodyguard character Julia Montague mid-series was certainly a brave one, although Jed Mercurio has admitted they did consider another option.
Asked whether he had thought about keeping her on, the writer told the BFI & Radio Times Festival: "Oh sure, of course.
"We examine everything, and there certainly was that discussion."
Montague died off-screen after succumbing to her injuries from a bomb blast, and Mercurio revealed that they thought about showing her death at one point.
"Yeah we did. We did consider that as well," he continued. "It was purely actually about the point of view, and I think we're all familiar with some shows where you're watching it and you're thinking, hang on, how is that person witnessing – you know what hospitals are like!
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"Try getting into an operating theatre, it's not easy. So it felt like if we were staying true to the idea that it was David Budd's point of view, there was no circumstance in which he would be allowed in.
"So, what we created was a sense of him observing the news being given, and then it kind of plays on his mind about whether – firstly that he's been excluded from that moment and he feels tremendous responsibility for it, but then, yes, it also opens up that other possibility, which is: he hasn't seen the body.
"It's not so much that the audience hasn't, it's that David Budd hasn't seen the body. So that was something that was useful to us if we wanted to exploit it."
He added of the off-screen death decision: "Well, there was definitely intentional ambiguity… The choice was that it was instant or there was something to play with dramatically by having an aftermath. We felt that the best way to go was to create an aftermath."
However, Mercurio further explained of the ambiguity beforehand and fan speculation: "Well, it was something that did take us by surprise. And Keeley, as well – we were quite overwhelmed by the theories that were coming out. So we did, I suppose, milk it."
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
