Force for good

Siobhan Finneran stars as a witness protection officer caught up in a case that ends in murder in ITV's new crime thriller

- JO BERRY

Happy Valley star Siobhan Finneran’s role in the ITV thriller series Protection proved to be her toughest job ever, thanks to its long emotional scenes.

"I've never done a job this intense. I was in every day and pretty much every scene, so it was exhausting," she reveals. "Your day starts at five and doesn't finish till 10. But I loved it."

Siobhan plays DI Liz Nyles, a police officer who works in the witness protection department, shielding those who have given evidence against criminals and are then hidden in safe houses.

However, she realises one of her team could be leaking information when there is a murder at one of the safe houses, and as DCI Hannah Wheatley (Katherine Kelly) arrives to look into possible corruption of the unit, Liz starts her own investigation.

She focuses on her younger, married colleague DS Paul Brandice (Barry Ward), who she has been having a secret affair with.