Is ITV’s Protection The New Line Of Duty?

By Olivia Emily

23 seconds ago

Siobhan Finneran’s new witness protection drama has viewers gripped

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If there’s one thing British TV audiences love, it’s a crime drama – especially a procedural one. Think Line of Duty, The Tower, Unforgotten and more; it’s safe to say we love to see the inner workings of our police force. The latest on the scene is Protection, a brand new ITV drama centring on a witness protection officer (Siobhan Finneran) who finds herself at the centre of a breach. Here’s what you need to know.

ITV’s Protection: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

If you loved White House Farm when it aired in early 2020, you should add ITV’s new crime drama Protection to your list: the series were both created by Kris Mrksa.

SIOBHAN FINNERAN as Liz Nyles and KATHERINE KELLY as DCI Hannah Wheatley in Protection. (New Pictures/ITV)

What Is Protection About?

Protection centres on Di Liz Nyles (Finneran), who works in the secretive and high-stakes world of witness protection. While her home life is chock-full of demands – a difficult ex husband, a teenage daughter and a dad recovering from a stroke – Liz never departs from her sense of duty. She’s principled, in control and scrupulous about the security of her witnesses, for whom her challenging front-line job has life or death consequences.

When Protection begins, one of Liz’s high-risk witnesses – criminal turned informant Jimmy (Kris Hitchen) – is preparing to testify against his old boss Eddie (Alec Newman), head of a major organised crime group. But a murder at one of Liz’s safe houses throws everything into turmoil, raising grave questions about the integrity of her unit. She is rocked with accusations of corruption, and the dedicated cop begins to wonder with horror if she has unwittingly compromised herself.

Thus ensues an official investigation into the incident – while Liz secretly embarks on an investigation of her own.

SIOBHAN FINNERAN as Liz Nyles and ACE BHATTI as DCI Mike McKinley in Protection. (New Pictures/ITV)

The Cast Of Protection (& Why You Recognise Them)

Protection has a huge cast – and it’s stacked with familiar faces. Here’s the full list, plus a few TV shows you might recognise them from.

Siobhan Finneran as DI Liz Nyles – you might recognise her from Happy Valley, Alma’s Not Normal, Time, The Stranger, A Confession and plenty more
Nadine Marshall as DCI Amanda Kelman – you might recognise her from Champion, Sherwood or Trigger Point
Katherine Kelly as DCI Hannah Wheatley – you might recognise her from The Long Shadow, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, or Coronation Street way back when
Barry Ward as DS Paul Brandice, known for his role in Bad Sisters
Chaneil Kular as DS Raj Kholi, who played Anwar in Netflix’s Sex Education
David Hayman as Sid Nyles, best known for Sid and Nancy
Nichola Burley as Gemma Brandice, who recently starred in The Gold
Akiya Henry as DS Sue Beardsley, best known for her work on stage
Catherine Tyldesley as Helen McLennan, who you might recognise from Coronation Street
Andrew Knott as DI Richard Bewley, who you’ll know as Dirtbox from Gavin & Stacey
Kris Hitchen as Jimmy McLennan
Alec Newman as Edward Crowther
Tom Christian as DI Tommy Jardine
Jodie Price as Jasmine Nyles
Ace Bhatti as DCI Arun Kapoor

SIOBHAN FINNERAN as Liz Nyles. And ANDREW KNOTT as DCI Richard Bewley in Protection. (New Pictures/ITV)

Is Protection Based On A True Story?

No, Protection isn’t based on one true story, but series creator Kris Mrksa’s inspiration for the series stemmed from a conversation with a real former witness protection officer – so Protection is rooted in truth. ‘When the team at New Pictures [the series’ production company] first introduced me to a former witness protection officer with some incredible stories to tell, it was immediately obvious that his experiences would provide the basis of an exciting police drama,’ Kris says. ‘But as I learned more about the day-to-day realities of witness protection, it became evident that this is an area of policing that has more in common with the world of espionage and spying, than the operations of a traditional police unit.

‘Witness protection police inhabit a clandestine world of false identities and hidden safe houses, where secrecy and subterfuge are part of the daily routine, and security breaches can lead to life-threatening disaster,’ Kris says. ‘In other words, the perfect setting for a le Carrè-esque conspiracy thriller, rather than a straight-forward crime drama; one in which the protagonist’s murder investigation peels away layer after layer of mystery, leading them not just to a perpetrator, but down an ominous rabbit hole of paranoia.’

While this world is far removed from the life of the general public, there’s a facet of Liz’s character that certainly resonates more with audiences: her care duties. ‘So many of my friends and associates are members of the so-called sandwich generation: caring for children who are still young enough to need support, while also managing parents who require care,’ Kris explains. ‘It’s a problem that’s particularly acute for professional women, who are still so often expected to shoulder the caring roles in our society.

‘Given how common this experience has become, I was interested in depicting a character who finds themselves forced to balance such double-barrelled domestic responsibilities with a high-pressure, high-stakes job,’ Kris says. ‘And so, DI Liz Nyles, witness protection officer, was born. A woman who juggles a complex domestic life with her incredibly demanding professional responsibilities; doing a job that requires the very highest levels of professionalism, discipline and discretion.’

KATHERINE KELLY as DCI Hannah Wheatley in Protection. (New Pictures/ITV)

Where Was Protection Filmed?

Protection was filmed in Liverpool from July to September 2023, with additional filming in Ainsdale, Birkenhead and Runcorn.

‘I loved filming in Liverpool,’ says lead star Siobhan Finneran. ‘It’s a great place to potter about and look at buildings. It was great to work with Katherine [Kelly] again, and working with Nadine [Marshall] was great as well – I’d not done so before, but we’ve got some great scenes together. I just enjoy being on set with good actors and being able to play with the scenes. Although I’ve never done a job this intense. I was in every day and pretty much every scene, so it was exhausting. Your day starts at five and doesn’t finish till 10. But I loved it.’

When Is Protection On TV?

Episode 1 of Protection aired at 9pm on Sunday 16 March 2025 on ITV1, with episode 2 airing the following evening. However, the release schedule is affected by football fixtures, so it won’t be the same every week. Here’s when every episode is expected to air on ITV1.