Cast announced for new drama created by Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio

Richard Madden (Game Of Thrones, Electric Dreams) and Keeley Hawes (Line Of Duty, The Durrells, The Missing) will lead the cast of Bodyguard, a timely original six-part drama, created and written by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions for BBC One.

Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd (Madden), a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch (RaSP) of London’s Metropolitan Police Service.

When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague (Hawes), whose politics stand for everything he despises, Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, is he actually her biggest threat?

On being cast in Bodyguard, Richard Madden says: "I’m very excited to be working with Jed Mercurio again and thrilled to be working with Keeley Hawes for the first time. Jed has created a remarkable story that resonates with the very heart of modern-day London and real characters trying to survive in this world."

Keeley Hawes adds: “I’m delighted to be working with Richard Madden and once again with Jed Mercurio, and the hugely talented team behind Line Of Duty. Bodyguard is such an exciting project. I can’t wait to get started.”

Creator, writer and Executive Producer Jed Mercurio says: "I'm hugely flattered by the superb cast who've joined Bodyguard, led by Richard Madden and Keeley Hawes, both of whom I’m delighted to be working with again, and I’m immensely grateful to the BBC and World Productions for their unstinting support for the series."

Further cast include Gina McKee (Line Of Duty, Our Friends In The North), Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders, Jamestown), Vincent Franklin (Happy Valley, Cucumber) and Rowena King (Trauma, The Wrong Mans).

Bodyguard is expected in 2018 on BBC One