Katherine Kelly shares real reason for tackling ITV Protection role ahead of series debut: ‘Not done in a while!’

ITV Protection actress Katherine Kelly has opened up about the reason she decided to take on the role of DCI Hannah Wheatley in the new gritty thriller.

Airing on Sunday night, viewers will see Police officer DI Liz Nyles (played by Siobhan Finneran) work in the secretive and high-stakes world of Witness Protection.

She juggles her challenging front-line job alongside her demanding family life, attending to the needs of a teenage daughter, a difficult ex, and a dad recovering from a stroke.

One morning, a murder at one of her safe houses raises grave questions about the integrity of Liz’s unit, which is rocked with accusations of corruption: it is believed that someone has been leaking information to organised crime.

She begins to wonder with horror if she has unwittingly compromised herself, if indeed her secret lover, Brandice, has sinister motives and has been using her.

Whilst the police team, led by the formidable DCI Wheatley, investigates the incident, Liz secretly launches her own unofficial investigation to find the leak.

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As the series progresses, single mum Liz becomes increasingly torn between her dedication to her family, her loyalty to her lover, and her duty towards her witnesses.

As the threat gets closer to home, she becomes more and more uncertain about whom she can trust.

Kelly recently sat down to discuss how she felt about starring in the series alongside Finneran and explained the show’s creator was one of the main reasons behind her saying yes to the part.

“Kris Mrska has such fantastic credentials,” she began. “He writes hit shows. Reading his script felt more akin to reading a novel because he’s so descriptive. It was a real page-turner, which was definitely exciting to me, having not done something like that for a while.

“But the plot is very much the star of the show, along with Siobhan. You see everything through her lens, you don’t journey off into any other characters’ thoughts.

“It’s a pleasure to be just a cog in the wheel of a thriller, a real ride like this, because recently I’ve done quite a lot of character-based stuff and a few state-of-the-nation pieces. I enjoy getting on the speeding train!”

When describing her character, Kelly added: “Well, technically this should be Hannah’s case, but because Liz is looking after the witnesses, the two parameters bleed into each other somewhat.

“In fact, Liz should be Hannah’s subordinate, but Liz is an old-school maverick copper, whereas Hannah is very by the book.

“A modern-day police officer who knows your paperwork has to match what you’re doing. Within that, she’s highly skilled, very efficient and honourable.

“All the things that you would want a police officer to be, especially when the stakes are as high as this. Hannah is very aware of the ticking clock.”

The ensemble cast also includes Barry Ward (Bad Sisters), Chaneil Kular (Sex Education), David Hayman (Sid and Nancy), Nichola Burley (The Gold) and Akiya Henry (Silent Witness).

The six-part drama, each episode running for approximately an hour, will premiere at 9pm on Sunday, March 16 on ITV1 and ITVX.

The second episode will air at 9pm on Monday, March 17 on ITV1.