ITV1 has commissioned Protection, a new crime thriller starring Siobhan Finneran, Nadine Marshall and Katherine Kelly, currently filming in Liverpool. 

Kris Mrksa has written the 6 x 60’, that is produced by All 3 Media-owned New Pictures. Barry Ward, Chaneil Kular, David Hayman, Nichola Burley and Akiya Henry co-star.

The drama explores the complex world of witness protection, in which many protected people are themselves criminals. False identities, lack of trust even among colleagues and moral compromise are all in the mix…

Writer 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.”

Protection is based on an idea by a witness protection specialist who served in the Met for 30 years. During his time in witness protection, he looked after a number of high-profile cases and informants, including, war criminals, terrorists and criminals of all kinds.

New Pictures’ Willow Grylls and Charlie Hampton executive produce alongside Elaine Pyke and Mrksa. The series is produced by Rebecca Davies and line produced by Tracy Chapman. Simen Alsvik and Sasha Ransome direct from scripts by Mrksa (Episodes 1, 3 and 6), Polly Buckle (Episodes 2 and 4) and Giula Sandler (Episode 5).