Happy Valley star Siobhan Finneran has landed her next leading role in a new ITV police thriller.
The actress, who most recently reprised her role as Clare in the beloved BBC One crime series, will play Detective Inspector Liz Nyles in new drama Protection, who is in charge of a present-day Witness Protection branch.
The Long Shadow and Liar star Katherine Kelly and Trigger Point actress Nadine Marshall also star in the six-part series which will premiere on ITV1 and ITVX soon.
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Protection is based on the first-hand experiences of a long-serving witness protection officer and explores the "darker, murkier, and far more complex" of the system, which protects both innocent witnesses and convicted criminals.
"Protection is about what happens when the system breaks down," teases the show's official synopsis. "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.
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"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.
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"This is the story of a smart, tough cop, out of her depth in a world where nothing is as it seems."
Sex Education star Chaneil Kular, Barry Ward of Bad Sisters' fame, plus actors David Hayman, Nichola Burley and Silent Witness's Akiya Henry have been confirmed as additional cast members.
The series has been created and written by screenwriter Kris Mrksa and is produced by New Pictures, the same production company behind Des, The Missing, The Long Shadow and Dalgliesh.
Protection will premiere on ITV1 and ITVX.
Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
