Bonnets v bombs and a bare bottom ...so who won the battle for Sunday night TV?
As Sunday TV dramas go head to head, Bodyguard hots up in the face of Vanity Fair challenge
OPULENCE was pitted against fire and flesh last night in the battle of the Sunday TV drama.
ITV’s lavish adaptation of Vanity Fair competed for viewers in a head-to-head with the BBC’s Bodyguard.
The Napoleonic-era series features flirtatious social climber Becky Sharp played by Olivia Cooke, while the BBC’s high octane political thriller stars Keeley Hawes as a headstrong Home Secretary targeted by assassins.
Bodyguard drew 6.5million viewers for its second adrenalinfuelled episode but yesterday’s first instalment of Vanity Fair may have dented audience figures for the third – as both shows went out at 9pm.
Hoping to see off the competition, Bodyguard ramped up the drama last night.
Heartthrob Richard Madden, who plays David Budd, protection officer to the Home Secretary, bared his behind while sneaking out of bed.
Madden, from Elderslie, Renfrewshire, has quickly become the BBC’s new hunk, filling the boots
‘Series of steamy trysts’
left by The Night Manager’s Tom Hiddleston and Poldark’s Aidan Turner.
The episode saw Budd continue his relationship with Miss Hawes’s character Julie Montague.
However, at one point, the former army officer, suffering from PTSD following time in Afghanistan, attempts to strangle her after she wakes him in the night – before he realises who she is.
The sinister themes continued when the Home Secretary suffered another assassination attempt. She is delivering a speech about plans to increase surveillance powers when a bomb is detonated, causing her and Budd to be thrown into the air. He is seen crawling through debris to reach the minister, whose charred body appears lifeless.
Destined to become this autumn’s must-watch drama, Bodyguard was created by the BBC’s star writer, Jed Mercurio. He was also responsible for Line of Duty, which starred Miss Hawes, 42, as well as medical series Bodies.
It remains to be seen how ITV’s latest big hitter fares, but the competition may be stiff – the production company behind Vanity Fair is the same one that created favourites Poldark and Victoria.
Michael Cole – Page 17 Bodyguard review – Page 57