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
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
Bodyguard entertains new audiences during lockdown
