Both Montague's political ambition and her controversial 'Snoopers' Charter' RIPA 18 bill, which infringes civil liberties, have resulted in many enemies. Julia Montague MP, the Home Secretary and Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the fictional constituency of Thames West. David's unpredictable moods and issues with PTSD since returning from Afghanistan resulted in their being estranged.

Sophie Rundle as Vicky Budd, David's wife and the mother of their two children, who works as a ward sister at a London hospital.Assigned to protect Montague, whose politics he loathes, Budd is conflicted over his loyalties. His wartime experiences have left him struggling with PTSD, prone to volatile behaviour, and mistrustful of politicians. Richard Madden as PS David Budd, a Scottish veteran of the Afghanistan war and now dedicated Principal Protection Officer (PPO) at Protection Command.At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series and a second series is in development. The series received numerous award nominations including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, with Madden winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

The series was met with critical acclaim, particularly for Madden's performance. Netflix agreed to a distribution deal to broadcast the show outside the United Kingdom and Ireland. Since ITV Studios Global Entertainment acquired the company in 2017, they have handled international distribution for the series. The BBC commissioned the series from the then-independent World Productions in 2016. The series began broadcasting on BBC One on 26 August 2018, achieving the highest viewing figures for a new BBC drama in the multichannel era and the highest BBC viewing figures since 2008. The series draws attention to controversial issues such as government monitoring of private information and its regulation, the politics of intervention and terrorism, and PTSD. He is assigned as the principal protection officer (PPO) for the ambitious Home Secretary Julia Montague ( Keeley Hawes), whose politics he despises.

The six-part series centres around the fictional character of Police Sergeant David Budd ( Richard Madden), a British Army war veteran suffering from PTSD, who is now working for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Bodyguard is a British political thriller television series created and written by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions as part of ITV Studios for the BBC.

Emmaline's Bodyguard by NNS