“A Happy Valley replacement”: Protection is Siobhan Finneran’s “outstanding” ITV crime drama to watch tonight

If you’re a diehard Happy Valley fan, you’ve probably searched high and low for a worthy replacement. Us too, which is why we’re here to tell you about one of its stars other brilliant dramas, Protection. The ITV crime, which first aired last year and won over an army of fans in the process, features an outstanding lead performance from Siobhan Finneran and tells a gripping story of just how wrong things can go when the witness protection system breaks down.

The series sees Siobhan, who many will remember as Catherine Cawood's (Sarah Lancashire) sister in Happy Valley, steps into the shoes of Detective Inspector Liz Nyles, who finds herself caught in the midst of a security breach in her witness protection unit. She’s also, rather unfortunately, compromised by an illicit affair with a colleague, which makes the job of determining exactly who's putting her unit - and her family - in danger, even trickier.

With all six episodes now available to stream on ITV tonight, here's everything you need to know about the Protection before you dive in, including the full plot, cast and how to watch it.

What is Protection about?

The six-part series, which first aired on ITV last year, introduces us to witness protection officer Detective Inspector Liz Nyles (Siobhan Finneran), a single mum who’s juggling a difficult divorce and a sick father. She’s also about to find herself caught in a situation at work that could destroy her reputation – and end her career.

When a family is murdered in one of her safe houses, it seems there’s been a security breach within her unit – and Liz starts to suspect her own allies. To make matters worse, she’s also professionally compromised by a secret affair with a colleague, which makes her job of uncovering the true source of corruption within the police even more challenging.

Navigating the morally-grey, clandestine world of witness protection, Liz will stop at nothing to redeem herself, the reputation of her lover – and to keep her family safe. But as she gets deeper into her investigation, she becomes more and more torn between caring for her family, her loyalty to her lover and her duty as a police officer.

Interestingly, while it's not a true story, the series is based on the first-hand experiences of a long-serving witness protection officer. Screenwriter Kris Mrksa shared in an interview with ITV: “When the team at New Pictures first introduced me to a former witness protection officer with some incredible stories to tell, it was immediately obvious that his experiences would provide the basis of an exciting police drama.

"But as I learned more about the day-to-day realities of witness protection, it became evident that this is an area of policing that has more in common with the world of espionage and spying, than the operations of a traditional police unit.

“Witness protection police inhabit a clandestine world of false identities and hidden safe houses, where secrecy and subterfuge are part of the daily routine, and security breaches can lead to life-threatening disaster. In other words, the perfect setting for a le Carrè-esque conspiracy thriller, rather than a straight-forward crime drama; one in which the protagonist’s murder investigation peels away layer after layer of mystery, leading them not just to a perpetrator, but down an ominous rabbit hole of paranoia.”

Siobhan Finneran shared more about the deeply unenviable position her character finds herself in: “Liz is a witness protection officer in a unit called Protected Persons, a woman in her fifties with a 16-year-old daughter, and she’s just become a full-time carer to her dad,” she told ITV. “Like hundreds of thousands of women, Liz is trying to keep a balance between personal and professional, so hopefully her character will resonate with loads of people – until that all gets blown up of course!

“She went from being a regular detective to Protected Persons so she could spend more time at home – it's a different ballgame to normal policing. When the murders happen, the situation is blown out of control because she's embarked on an affair – her lover is taken out on a stretcher, everything’s up in the air. Sometimes people do something totally out of character and hope it works out for the best, but she ends up completely compromised. It’s a great premise.”

Who’s in the cast of Protection?

The cast of Protection includes:

• Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley) as DI Liz Nyles
• Katherine Kelly (The Crow Girl) as DCI Hannah Wheatley
• Nadine Marshall (Trigger Point) as DCI Amanda Kelman
• Barry Ward (Bad Sisters) as DS Paul Brandice
• Alec Newman (The Hunted) as Edward Crowther
• Chaneil Kular (Sex Education) as DS Raj Kholi
• David Hayman (Trial & Retribution) as Sid Nyles
• Akiya Henry (Macbeth) as DS Sue Beardsley
• Andrew Knott (Black Beauty) as DI Richard Bewley
• Ace Bhatti (The Effects of Lying) as DCI Arun Kapoor
• Nichola Burley (Wuthering Heights) as Gemma Brandice
• Tilly Kaye (Last Tango in Halifax) as Amy McLennan
• Charlotte Mills (Behind Her Eyes) as DS Rachel Gordon
• Jonathan Cake (Out of the Ashes) as John Gibson
• Ian Pirie (Winter Ridge) as Assistant Chief Inspector Rory Davenport
• Zora Bishop (Hijack) as Rezan Crowther

Is Protection any good?

Yes, it’s a fantastic series, which is made all the more watchable by the fact that it has roots in real life. Siobhan Finneran is absolutely superb in the lead role and it’s hard not to find yourself rooting for her as the episodes go on. If you enjoyed Happy Valley and are (still) looking for a replacement, Protection will do the job nicely.

How can I watch Protection?

All six episodes of Protection are available to watch now on ITVX.

What other Siobhan Finneran dramas can I watch now?

If you’re yet to watch the BBC’s hit prison drama, Time, it’s a good place to start. The latest series (series 3) takes us inside a Young Offenders Institution, where disillusioned Prison Chaplain Marie-Louise (played by Siobhan) has lost her faith in the system. You can watch Time now on BBC iPlayer. If you’re a detective drama fan, we’d suggest The Loch. Siobhan stars alongside Laura Fraser as detective duo, Lauren and Annie, who find themselves hunting down a serial killer – and it’s a nightmare neither of them want to be in. The Loch is available to watch on ITVX.