Protect and Serve: Bridgerton star to lead New ITV Crime Drama About Britain’s Care Home Scandal

Adjoa Andoh is set to lead Protect and Serve, a new six-part ITV crime drama following a determined detective investigating the murder of a teenage boy living in a privately run children’s care home.

The new series, created by Andoh and screenwriter Helen Black, will explore the scandal surrounding unregulated children’s homes while examining the personal and professional pressures facing a senior Black female police officer.

Protect and Serve: What you need to know

• Cast: Adjoa Andoh stars as Detective Inspector Araba Dadzie.
• Channel: ITV, with the series also expected to be available on ITVX.
• Episodes: Six.
• Setting: Leeds.
• Filming: Scheduled to begin in early 2027.
• Production company: Big Talk Studios, part of ITV Studios.

The project has been commissioned by ITV’s Director of Drama, Polly Hill, and promises a police investigation with a wider social story at its heart.

What is ITV’s Protect and Serve about?

Set in Leeds, Protect and Serve follows Detective Inspector Araba Dadzie, a highly regarded investigator whose latest case begins with the tragic shooting of a teenage boy.

The teenager has been living in a privately owned children’s care home with his brother after their grandfather became ill. Determined to understand why the boy was targeted and bring his killer to justice, Araba and her murder squad begin investigating his life inside the home.

As the inquiry develops, the detective uncovers a story connected to the wider national scandal surrounding Britain’s unregulated children’s care homes.

The investigation is particularly personal for Araba, whose determination to protect vulnerable people is a defining part of her character. She is known as a formidable investigator, but maintaining her position has required years of hard work, personal sacrifice and an uncompromising approach to her job.

The drama will explore the abuse of power within the care system, asking difficult questions about who is protecting children who have already experienced significant vulnerability.

Who is Adjoa Andoh playing in Protect and Serve?

<text>Adjoa Andoh as Detective Inspector Araba Dadzie.</text>

Andoh plays DI Araba Dadzie, a senior detective leading a Homicide and Major Enquiry Team in central Leeds.

Araba is a woman balancing several demanding roles. Alongside her responsibilities as a police officer, she is a mother and a daughter, managing the pressures of raising children while also caring about her elderly parents.

She has worked hard to rise through the police ranks and understands the additional challenges of being a woman of colour in a senior position within the force.

Her professional reputation is built on relentless focus, a bleak sense of humour and an intense commitment to solving cases. She can be uncompromising and obsessive, but her motivation is rooted in a desire to protect vulnerable people and hold those who exploit their power accountable.

The series will also explore the personal cost of her career, including the demands of family life and the sacrifices required to remain at the top of her profession.

Andoh is best known to television audiences for playing Lady Danbury in Netflix’s Bridgerton. Her other credits include The Red King and Doctor Who, while she has also enjoyed a distinguished career as a writer and theatre director.

What has Adjoa Andoh said about Protect and Serve?

Andoh is one of the show’s creators and has been instrumental in bringing Araba Dadzie’s story to television.

She has described the series as a crime drama that examines the challenges of balancing family responsibilities with the demands of investigating serious crimes. The character’s experiences as a Black female detective, mother and daughter are central to the story.

Andoh has also explained her personal connection to Leeds. She lived in the city as a child, has family connections to Yorkshire and is a supporter of Leeds United.

The issue of unregulated children’s homes is another major motivation behind the project. The series aims to explore how society protects children in care and what happens when organisations entrusted with their welfare fail them.

Who is making Protect and Serve for ITV?

Protect and Serve is created by Adjoa Andoh and Helen Black, with Black writing the series.

Black’s previous television work includes Joan, Time II and The Wives. She also wrote the crime novel Damaged Goods, published in 2005.

Before becoming a screenwriter, Black practised as a solicitor, advocating for children in care. That professional experience has informed her writing on the care system, including her work on Jimmy McGovern’s Time II and the award-winning drama Life and Death in the Warehouse.

The series is produced by Big Talk Studios, part of ITV Studios. The company is behind television hits including Ludwig and The Outlaws.

Executive producers include Big Talk Studios chief executive Kenton Allen, Adjoa Andoh, Helen Black, Jenny van der Lande and Chris Clough.

Van der Lande, whose previous credits include Strike, Mrs Wilson, Too Close, You Don’t Know Me and Joan, originally introduced and developed the drama.

Who is directing Protect and Serve?

Nimer Rashed will direct the series, bringing experience from the recent Harlan Coben thriller adaptations Run Away and Missing You.

Stella Nwimo, whose production credits include Virdee, Three Little Birds and Gangs of London, is the producer.

The creative team brings together experience in crime drama, character-led storytelling and socially relevant television.

When does Protect and Serve start filming?

Filming on the six-part ITV drama is scheduled to begin in early 2027.

The production will be set in Leeds, with further casting announcements expected closer to the start of filming.

ITV has not yet confirmed a broadcast date, so viewers will have to wait for more details about when the series will arrive on screen.

How many episodes of Protect and Serve are there?

The first series of Protect and Serve will consist of six episodes.

The story will follow Araba and her murder squad as they investigate the teenager’s killing and uncover the circumstances surrounding the privately owned care home.

With the criminal investigation connected to a much wider national scandal, the series promises to combine the suspense of a police procedural with a story about institutional responsibility and the protection of vulnerable children.

Protect and Serve is coming to ITV, with filming due to begin in early 2027. Further casting and transmission details are expected to be announced in due course.

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