Former home secretary ‘gripped’ by TV Bodyguard

IT’S the show that has gripped the nation, with 6.7 million tuning in to see a fictional home secretary’s steamy affair with her close protection officer.

Now Keeley Hawes’s compelling portrayal of the beguiling politician Julia Montague in BBC One’s Bodyguard has received rave reviews from the last woman to hold the post.

Amber Rudd, who resigned as home secretary in April after two years in the office, admits she has been “gripped” by the hit BBC drama, which she says is a “pretty accurate depiction” of the second most powerful job in government.

While bodyguards do have an “incredibly close” relationship with their “principals”, she stressed the sex scenes between Hawes and her co-star Richard Madden, who plays Sergeant David Budd, “may be a little far-fetched”.

Miss Rudd, Tory MP for Hastings and Rye, said: “Like everyone I have been absolutely gripped by Bodyguard. I love it. And it is a pretty accurate depiction of what the relationship is like between a home secretary and their bodyguard in the sense that they are incredibly close to you a lot of the time – although obviously not that close!”

But Miss Rudd’s enthusiasm is not shared by her predecessor Theresa May, who was home secretary from 2010 until becoming Prime Minister in June 2016. Mrs May reportedly switched off after viewing 20 minutes of the explosive first episode.