Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio reveals he almost killed off ANOTHER major character
We could have waved bye-bye to Budd
Jed Mercurio has proven he’s a heartless killer (when it comes to writing, that is), choosing to off Keeley Hawes’ ruthless Home Secretary Julia Montague in the middle of smash hit BBC drama, Bodyguard.
But the Line of Duty frontman has now revealed he was also playing with the idea of killing off the show’s lead character David Budd, played by Richard Madden, in the show's dramatic denouement.
Remember when Budd had to keep calm and defuse the suicide bomb vest he was unwillingly strapped into by gangster kingpin Luke Aitkens? Mercurio says he initially planned to kill off the troubled bodyguard in those very scenes.
Speaking to Vulture, he explained, “It was something that we very definitely played with as being a possibility.
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"I think once you do the unexpected and you take the viewers to a position of discomfort about being able to rely on characters surviving, then it does completely affect the way in which the drama is viewed.
“That real sense of jeopardy is something that we worked really hard to create.”
Mercurio added he was inspired by classic 70’s political thriller, The Parallax View, where a shock twist saw lead character, newspaper reporter Joe Frady (played by Warren Beatty), fall victim to the organisation he’d been chasing in the final scenes.
However, the 52-year-old ultimately decided to swerve actually killing off his leading man.
“I know it’s been done before,” he said. “But I felt that for this TV show, it was probably too nihilistic to go down that route.”
With Bodyguard being this year’s most-watched drama (and now impressing audiences stateside on Netflix), it’s little surprise that Mercurio is considering possibilities for a second series of Bodyguard, with Madden confirming a meeting with the showrunner about a mooted follow-up.
Speaking to Deadline, the 32-year-old explained, “I’m going to meet Jed in a couple of weeks to have a chat and see what’s in his brilliant brain.
“What can happen next? He had a hell of a couple months there. Where do you go with this guy?"
We can’t wait to find out…
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