The fate of Bodyguard's lead character David Budd, played by Richard Madden, was not only a surprise to fans – but to its creator too.
Jed Mercurio has revealed that he toyed with the idea of waving goodbye to the main man in the show's finale, where David was placed in a booby-trapped bomb vest against his will by gangsters working for crime boss Luke Aitkens.
Speaking to Vulture, the creator said: "It was something that we very definitely played with as being a possibility."
Through the death of the show's other focal character – Keeley Hawes' ambitious politician Julia Montague – Mercurio wanted followers to believe anything could happen, even to David.
"I think once you do the unexpected and you take the viewers to a position of discomfort about being able to rely on characters surviving, then it does completely affect the way in which the drama is viewed," he added.
"That real sense of jeopardy is something that we worked really hard to create."
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In fact, Mercurio was even going to take inspiration from his favourite shock twists.
"I loved the film from the '70s called The Parallax View, with Warren Beatty, which has that kind of arc to it," he revealed.
Despite Mercurio's temptations, he felt he couldn't end the story that drew so many millions of viewers in on such an abrupt note, saying: "I felt that for this TV show, it was probably too nihilistic to go that route."
It was revealed recently that Mercurio will be meeting with Richard Madden to discuss possibilities for a second series of Bodyguard – so it seems the choice not to off the leading actor was the correct one...
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