The Bodyguard finale
Going out with a bang ... or not? Clamour for second series after agonising ending
IT WAS the most watched new drama on British television for a decade.
And the clamour for a second series of the BBC’S political thriller Bodyguard reached fever pitch last night as millions tuned into watch the featurelength finale.
Jed Mercurio, the Bodyguard writer, has confirmed that talks with the BBC regarding a follow-up have already begun, expressing confidence that the show will return.
He told Radio Times he “absolutely” would want a second season, but added: “The broadcaster holds all the cards.”
After weeks of speculation, fuelled in part by writers and actors deliberately misleading viewers over the plot, the six-part drama ended with confirmation that Sgt David Budd, played by Richard Madden, was one of the good guys as he helped bring down the coterie of villains responsible for the murder of Home Secretary Julia Montague, played by Keeley Hawes.
By keeping Sgt Budd alive, Mercurio has left the door open for the character to return, potentially with a new VIP to protect.
But the writer has also admitted that the show might be a victim of its own success, making such a star of Madden that he might be too busy fending off film offers to reprise his role.
“He’s the genuine article, a real leading man,” he said. “And I think this role has put him very much in the spotlight for bigger things. So the practicality may be that we have to work round his availability, if we are lucky enough to get him back.”
The actor’s father, also called Richard, heightened those fears by revealing that his son harboured a desire to play James Bond, a role for which his odds have been slashed since Bodyguard exploded on to television screens last month.
“I’m quite sure he does want that to be on his CV one day but he’s not making a song and dance about it,” Mr Madden, 65, a former senior fire officer from Elderslie, near Paisley, told the Daily Record.
“During a question-and-answer session, somebody asked about James Bond and Richard told them, ‘I’m saying nothing’. Because what can you say?
“Do you do an Idris [Elba, often tipped as the next 007] and have everybody talking about you and asking you that question all the time, or do you keep your head down?”
Up to 12 million viewers were expected to tune into the finale last night to see the complex web of twists and turns untangled, the lengthy string of questions finally answered.
Mischievous hints from the cast that Montague’s death had been faked turned out to be a clever ruse, with few guessing that would-be train bomber Nadia, the trembling and “oppressed” Muslim wife, was the mastermind who built the bombs that had caused so much carnage.
In another twist, senior police figures were drawn into a complex conspiracy behind the murder of the fictional home secretary.
Such has been the popularity of the show that counter-terror police revealed that thousands had flocked to its recruitment page since it began.
Deputy assistant commissioner Lucy D’orsi, the UK’S most senior female counter-terror officer, said: “We have seen thousands of people visiting our recruitment page as a result of Bodyguard.
“Although the drama stretches reality to the limit, the programme does capture the passion and drive of our officers and staff as they work to keep the public safe.”