
Bodyguard entertains new audiences during lockdown
Second Window rights to BBC One's Most-Watched Drama Since Records Began Snapped Up by Worldwide Buyers
2 June 2020 - Created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions for BBC One and Netflix, the Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning Bodyguard is making its way around the world for a second time following a flurry of deals with international broadcasters brokered by ITV Studios.
Applauded by critics the world over, second window rights to the six-part event TV series have been acquired by Seven Network in Australia, Vision TV in English-speaking Canada, Telequebec in French-speaking Canada, TVB in Hong Kong, Tohokushinsha Japan, Cineplex Thailand, CJ&M South Korea, TVNZ in New Zealand, France 2, ZDF and Edel Germany, RAI Italy, Paramount Network Spain, Friday! TV Channel Russia, RTS for French-speaking Switzerland, Virgin Media Ireland, HRT Croatia, RTV Slovenia, Latvian TV and Lithuanian Radio and Television. Sitting outside of Netflix's global footprint, China's Huanxi acquired the show in May last year.
Ruth Berry, Managing Director, Global Distribution at ITV Studios, said:
Bodyguard is a drama which needs little introduction, we're honoured to represent one of the UK's most phenomenal hits thanks to the brilliance of Jed Mercurio and World Productions and are delighted that it is being enjoyed by an even wider audience as a result of these additional sales.
ITV Studios has sold a range of its new, returning and classic scripted titles to international broadcasters in recent months. Sony Liv in India has acquired the BBC One dramas World on Fire, Noughts + Crosses (Mammoth Screen), The War of the Worlds (Mammoth Screen and Creasun), Oscar-nominated Jeff Pope's A Confession (ITV Studios Factual Drama for ITV), as well as all seasons of Agatha Christie's Poirot (a co-production of ITV Studios and WGBH Boston in association with Agatha Christie Ltd.) and Miss Marple (ITV Studios for ITV).
Seasons 1 - 5 of Mammoth Screen's Poldark have been picked up in China (AMC Encore), Russia (Yandex) and Greece (ERT); and seasons 1 - 6 of Endeavour in Korea (KTH) and South East Asia (BBC Player). Calamity Films' hit comedy for Sky, Brassic has been acquired in Russia (Yandex), Spain (Filmin), South East Asia (BBC Player), Korea (KTH) and Australia (ABC Comedy). Seasons 1-6 of the multi award-winning comedy from Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy Schitt's Creek (Not A Real Company Productions Inc. for CBC and Pop) have been sold to Scandinavia in a pan-regional deal with CMORE/TV4. Isolation Stories, a collection of four stories produced by Jeff Pope Drama during lockdown, has been acquired in Israel (DBS), Belgium (VRT) and Korea (KT Corp.)
The recipient of more that 15 prestigious awards globally and the BBC's biggest drama launch in more than a decade, the finale of Bodyguard consolidated to 15.2m (including non-TV viewing) making it the most watched drama since current records begun.
Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd (Richard Madden), a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), whose politics stand for everything he despises, Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, is he actually her biggest threat?
Bodyguard was created and written by Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty) who also serves as executive producer alongside Simon Heath (Line of Duty, Save Me). It is directed by Thomas Vincent (The Tunnel) and John Strickland (Line of Duty, Bodies) and produced by Priscilla Parish (Line of Duty) and Eric Coulter (Shetland, Our Girl).
[end]
About ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a creator, producer and distributor of world-leading programmes that people can't get enough of. We connect millions of people every day and shape and reflect the world they live in, we are More Than TV.
ITV Studios is home to some of the best creative minds, crafting over 8,400 hours of original programming across 55 production labels. Our global footprint spans 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, The Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands and our global distribution business sells our catalogue of 46,000+ hours to broadcasters and platforms around the world.
ITV Studios is part of ITV PLC, which includes the UK's largest commercial broadcaster.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
13/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/04/2026
Explore new Disguise plugins, including Sony's VP integration; Listen to panels across partner booths at Sony and B&H
Disguise, the company powering everyt...
13/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, the leading IP-native Realtime Media Platform, has announced its participation in the Media Exchange Layer (MXL) interop initiative. TAG has ...
13/04/2026
Today, Chaos launched V-Ray for Blender Community Edition at BCON Austin 2026, making its production-proven 3D renderer free for all Blender users. The same Aca...
13/04/2026
Additions strengthen LTN's leadership as broadcasters scale satellite-to-IP transition
LTN today announced the appointments of Mark Romano as Vice Presiden...
13/04/2026
LEEDS, UK, APRIL 13, 2026 NUGEN Audio releases Halo Vision v1.2, a significant update to its real time, customizable audio analysis suite for 3D, surround and...
13/04/2026
Atomos today announced the acquisition of Flanders Scientific (FSI), one of the most respected names in professional reference monitoring. This strategic move r...
13/04/2026
How Mei Semones Built Her Sound from J-Pop, Jazz, and Bilingual Songwriting The indie-pop artist combines agile guitar lines, rhythmic shifts, and lyrics that...
13/04/2026
Cue the Change: Jonathon Heyward Is Making Classical Music More Relatable Nicknamed the Converse Conductor, the Boston Conservatory alum holds top conductin...
13/04/2026
Heat Wave: Inside Miamis Sizzling, Boundary-Blurring Latin Music Scene In a city shaped by migration and exchange, Berklee alumni are helping drive a Latin mu...
13/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/04/2026
DHD audio, developer and manufacturer of digital audio systems for professional broadcast, has launched a comprehensive brand update to mark its 30th anniversar...
13/04/2026
Stegawave, an Irish technology company specialising in forensic watermarking for video content, today announced the launch of its anti-piracy platform for live ...
13/04/2026
New version of Quortex PowerVu delivers a standards-based approach to satellite-to-IP transitions, eliminating the need for baseband workflows and complex infra...
13/04/2026
Grass Valley LDX camera systems enable leading German production company to support broadcast and cinematic live production within a single environment.
Grass ...
13/04/2026
London, UK, 13 April 2026 Techex and MediaKind today announced a partnership to integrate Techexs IP transport and orchestration technology, tx edge, directly...
13/04/2026
In today's hybrid education environments, there is no one-size-fits-all' AV solution. Lightware's extensive AV portfolio addresses this challenge, ...
13/04/2026
Mediaproxy, the global standard for software-based IP compliance monitoring and multiviewing solutions, has developed a new suite of AI-powered tools designed t...
13/04/2026
Freelance Video Cameraman - Los Angeles
Brie Clayton April 13, 2026
0 Comments
Freelance Video Cameraman
April 8, 2026COW Jobs: Director Needed for ...
13/04/2026
Atomos to Acquire Flanders Scientific
Brie Clayton April 13, 2026
0 Comments
Strengthening commitment to precision monitoring, from camera to delivery...
13/04/2026
Digital Anarchy Announces ShotNotes, A Notepad and Task Tracking Panel for Premi...
13/04/2026
NAB 2026 Live Demo at HP Booth Highlights JALI Powered Interactive AI Character ...
13/04/2026
Manifold Introduces AT300 Multiviewer Support at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 13, 2026
0 Comments
and adds HDR-SDR conversion to the recently announced...
13/04/2026
RT Radio 1 has today launched a significant step in its ongoing strategic evolution. Following the launch of its brand-new schedule late last year, RT Radio 1...
13/04/2026
The Late Late Show Opening Act, the search for Ireland's newest country musi...
13/04/2026
RT has today announced the appointment of Annemarie Britz to the position of Chief Financial Officer, RT following a public competition.
Annemarie Britz is c...
12/04/2026
Headphone system designed for immersive monitoring
With the demand for immersive audio showing no signs of slowing down, lots of companies are turning their...
12/04/2026
Beeble expands AI production workflow ahead of NAB 2026 with background remover
Brie Clayton April 11, 2026
0 Comments
Ahead of its upcoming participa...
12/04/2026
Like and Transcribe Mei Semones BM '22 blends languages and techniques to create her singular style.
April 10, 2026
By
Bryan Parys
Mei Semones BM '...
12/04/2026
Cue the Change Nicknamed the Converse Conductor, Jonathon Heyward BM '14 is making classical music more relatable.
April 10, 2026
By
Sarah Godcher Murp...
12/04/2026
Heat Wave Inside Miamis sizzling, boundary-blurring Latin music scene.
April 13, 2026
By
Ricardo Herrera Bandrich
Image by Stella Levi
Down there: Thats ...
11/04/2026
Engineer collective welcome Freddy Knop
Infrasonic, an award-winning collective of audio engineers operating out of Nashville and Los Angeles with credits r...
11/04/2026
Combining launched effects with a proven mission aircraft, Red Wolf and SKY RAI...
11/04/2026
3D printed RL10 rocket engine combustion chambers shown in the manufacturing are...
11/04/2026
Sachtler Highlights Comprehensive Camera Support Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 11, 2026
0 Comments
Sachtler showcases advanced camera suppo...
11/04/2026
Sohonet Launches Media Fabric: A Unified Managed Infrastructure Suite for Film, ...
11/04/2026
AJA Unveils BRIDGE LIVE IP with SMPTE ST 2110 I/O
Brie Clayton April 11, 2026
0 Comments
New IP video solution streamlines modern productions, providi...
11/04/2026
InSync Unveils Advanced Video Processing and Frame Rate Conversion Solutions at ...
11/04/2026
Amagi Launches Newspulse: An Agentic AI Platform That Autonomously Turns Live Ne...
11/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...