'Bodyguard': Creator Jed Mercurio reveals why this character had to die

Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio has revealed to the Radio Times why he had to kill off a major character in the dramatic fourth episode of the incredibly popular series.

The six-part show, which is the biggest BBC drama of the last decade, has become known for its shocking twists and unexpected turns.

*Warning: Major Bodyguard spoiler ahead*

And perhaps there was no more prominent example of this when Keeley Hawes’ character Home Secretary Julia Montague appeared to be killed off during episode four.

Mercurio told Radio Times he took the drastic decision to kill off the central character because he likes to ‘move the story on.’

“I think there’s a certain expectation with series TV that it will always orbit around an equilibrium, in which nothing much changes for the main stars, and there are no drastic changes to the set-up.

“I like to try to do things that move the story on, and with Bodyguard I wanted to have this event mid-series that would completely alter the dynamic,” he said.

Many Bodyguard fans across Twitter seem convinced that Montague is still alive, and Mercurio appeared to hint that this could be a possibility when he used this Star Trek analogy:

“Even though you’d just seen a completely crazed Mr Spock strangle Captain Kirk to death (in Star Trek), you’d know that a few minutes later there would be some bizarre twist involving the time-space continuum and Kirk would be alive on the Starship Enterprise,” he said.

And despite the show’s massive ratings success, he added that it might be difficult to make a second series due to Richard Madden’s increasing star appeal.

“He’s the genuine article, a real leading man. And I think this role has put him very much in the spotlight for bigger things.

“So the practicality may be that we have to work around his availability, if we are lucky enough to get him back.

The Game of Thrones and Cinderella actor is one of the rumoured contenders to play the next James Bond and he has a string of projects in the works.

Bodyguard continues Sunday at 9pm.

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