Protection: New ITV drama to star Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly

Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly will lead new ITV drama Protection.

The six-part thriller has been created and written by acclaimed screenwriter Kris Mrksa and produced by multi award winning production company, New Pictures (Des, The Missing, The Long Shadow, Dalgliesh).

Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley, Alma’s Not Normal, Time, The Stranger, A Confession) stars in the leading role with Nadine Marshall (Champion, Sherwood, Trigger Point) and Katherine Kelly (The Long Shadow, Bloods) also take starring roles.

Protection will premiere on ITV1 and be available for streaming on ITVX.

Additional casting includes Barry Ward (Bad Sisters), Chaneil Kular (Sex Education), David Hayman (Sid and Nancy), Nichola Burley (The Gold) and Akiya Henry (Silent Witness).

A teaser shares: “Witness protection is often glamorised as keeping innocent witnesses safe from harm but the truth is darker, murkier, and far more complex. Many protected people are themselves criminals. It’s a life of moral compromise. It also involves maximum secrecy, false identities, and a world where you can’t trust your own colleagues.

“Based on the first-hand experiences of a long serving witness protection officer, Protection is about what happens when the system breaks down. 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. To redeem herself, the reputation of her lover, and to keep her witnesses safe. Even if they don’t always deserve it. ”

Creator and writer Kris Mrksa said: “Protection is a suspenseful conspiracy thriller, but it also explores some complex moral questions, about how far we should be prepared to go in order to serve the greater good. The murky world of witness protection, where hardened criminals are often sheltered, in the hope that they will help bring down other criminals, provides the perfect context for examining these thorny issues. I’m incredibly excited to be working with the team at New Pictures again, in bringing this complex world to life.”

ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill added: “The clandestine world of witness protection creates a thrilling backdrop for this intriguing crime thriller written brilliantly by Kris Mrska. We’ve attracted an amazing cast including Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly and I’m delighted to commission the series from Willow Grylls and her team at New Pictures.”