Protection is a thriller about what happens when the clandestine and morally grey witness protection system breaks down. This compelling series is created by Kris Mrksa, the acclaimed writer of White House Farm and No Escape. The series stars Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley, Alma’s Not Normal, Time, The Stranger), Nadine Marshall (Champion, Sherwood, Trigger Point) and Katherine Kelly (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, The Long Shadow, Criminal:UK). With additional cast including Barry Ward (Bad Sisters, Save Me) and Chaneil Kular (Sex Education).
Detective Inspector Liz Nyles (Finneran); a single mum, juggling a difficult divorce and a sick father, finds herself at the heart of a security breach within her witness protection unit. Professionally compromised by a secret affair with a colleague, she is determined to uncover the true source of corruption within the police. Liz will stop at nothing to redeem herself, the reputation of her lover, and to keep her witnesses and her own family safe. Even if it means breaking all the rules.
This is the story of a tough, but increasingly isolated and under suspicion police officer, as she is pulled into a dangerous conspiracy where nothing is as it seems.
What drew you to Protection?
When I read the first episode, within minutes, there’s a big event, a major disaster that draws you in immediately. From early on you’re ready to go on a journey with Liz to find out what’s going on. It’s a great hook and the story is so complex. It’s fascinating to me that a writer can fit all that together and it still makes sense at the end.
Who is Liz Nyles?
Liz is a witness protection officer in a unit called Protected Persons, a woman in her fifties with a 16-year-old daughter, and she’s just become a full-time carer to her dad. Like hundreds of thousands of women, Liz is trying to keep a balance between personal and professional, so hopefully her character will resonate with loads of people – until that all gets blown up of course!
She appears to be really good at her job.
She went from being a regular detective to Protected Persons so she could spend more time at home – it’s a different ballgame to normal policing. When the murders happen, the situation is blown out of control because she’s embarked on an affair – her lover is taken out on a stretcher, everything’s up in the air. Sometimes people do something totally out of character and hope it works out for the best, but she ends up completely compromised. It’s a great premise.
What’s the attraction between Liz and DS Paul Brandice (Barry Ward)?
DS Paul is a new officer in the protection unit, he’s fun and makes a play for her and she falls for it. It’s a bit of fun for both sides even though she knows it’s morally wrong, then feelings come into play. Like a lot of people, she’s probably quite lonely, going home to a teenager and an elderly parent, so she did something just for her as a bit of an escape.
How influential is Liz’s dad Sid (David Hayman) on her life?
When her mum died when she was young Liz stepped into the role of housekeeper, mother to her older sister, and now carer for her dad. Driven by a desire to earn her father’s approval—having grown up hearing about his brilliance as a policeman—life on the force has always had an appeal. To this day Liz is still seeking his approval, but now he has dementia, she’s not going to get that.
Liz’s line of work must require quite a level of emotional detachment, but how does she react to Amy, who is just 12 when her parents are killed?
Liz feels maternal towards her, but also a huge amount of guilt because of those questions she can never answer: if I’d not had that affair, the killers might not have known where this family were. Shame is a horrible emotion to carry around, but she got involved with somebody she shouldn’t have. As a result that little girl has been orphaned in horrific circumstances, so she’d have to be a robot to not feel anything. Liz does really look after her – but then, Amy is one of her witnesses and that’s her job.
What was your understanding of witness protection before working on the series?
Probably just the basics: people get moved to safe houses and then they’re looked after. I didn’t realise it became such a relationship between those people. Looking back, I suppose this was naive because the witnesses have to feel comfortable enough to tell the officer everything. That said, I don’t think anybody really knows about it, because it’s all hidden away as it should be. I know that, within the police force, it’s a very separate unit: all their cars are leased to different private companies so you can’t trace people, and so on. It’s not a job I’d ever even think about doing. What do you talk to your neighbours about over the garden fence?
What sort of research did you do?
I read a really great article and the gentleman whose experiences inspired the series, he even came on set one day. However, even if you do talk to someone from the world you’re portraying, you’re never going to be fully immersed in it – ultimately, we’re dependent on the scripts. Understanding you have switch off emotion is something I understand, in that I can be having a really awful day then go to work and be doing scenes where I’m having to be having fun. But not to the extent these people have to, where it has to be a complete shutdown. To go home and take that back with you must be incredibly difficult.
What does Liz make of Wheatley (Katherine Kelly) and Kelman (Nadine Marshall)?
Wheatley may have taken a job that Liz had applied for before she decided to go into Protected Persons. I wouldn’t say there’s a rivalry, but there is a history there. From Wheatley’s point of view, Liz has always been a great police officer. From Liz’s point of view, she knows Wheatley is a good police officer, but once the murders happen, everybody comes under suspicion. Liz can never be sure if there’s a mole within the unit, what information they’ve got about her and what they might be passing on. With Kelman, Liz initially thinks this is somebody she can trust because they’re trying to find out the same things, but then of course things shift around.
How did you enjoy working with Amy McLennan (Tilly Kaye)
I loved her. We’ve worked together before, but I had no clue that we had. She’s really good at what she’s doing and she’s only 12. It’s almost a bit annoying how good she it! We had fun together, even in the scenes that weren’t fun.
How did you manage that?
We just chat. I’ve got kids so I know how to talk to children. You can’t mess about, but it’s just keeping the chat light: who you like, what groups they’re into, all of that stuff.
What were the highlights of the shoot?
I loved filming in Liverpool, it’s a great place to potter about and look at buildings. It was great to work with Katherine again, and working with Nadine 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 ten. But I loved it.
Protection starts Sunday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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