ITV confirms new Leeds-set crime drama with 'determined detective' starring Bridgerton fan favourite

Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh is set to star in a new Leeds-set ITV crime drama. Protect and Serve will see the Doctor Who icon appear as a detective "determined to pursue the truth regardless of the obstacles", according to a synopsis.

The six-part series focuses of DI Araba Dadzie, played by Andoh, a woman "squeezed in the middle, juggling profession, elderly parents and children, and a woman of colour in the police force".

She is drawn into a national scandal of Britain's unregulated children's care homes following the shooting of a teenage boy.

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Protect and Serve is created by Andoh and Helen Black, with filming slated to begin in Leeds in early 2027.

A synopsis teases: "The series finds Detective Inspector Araba Dadzie embarking on an investigation into the tragic shooting of a teenage boy, who has been living in a privately owned children’s care home with his brother since his grandfather fell ill.

"Determined to discover why the boy has been targeted, Araba and her murder squad team begin to piece together his life in the care home as they strive to bring his killer to justice. With a reputation as a fearsome investigator, it’s taken unrelenting focus, a bleak sense of humour, a passionate love for the job and personal sacrifice for Araba to stay at the top of her game.

"Uncompromising and often obsessive, she is driven by her desire to offer protection to the vulnerable and retribution to those criminally abusing their power in the city she loves."

Speaking ahead of the series beginning production, Andoh expressed how thrilled she was to be starring in a show set in the town she was raised.

"Protect and Serve our crime show is set in the great city of Leeds. I love this city and I love the city’s football club Leeds United," she said.

"I lived in Leeds as a child, and half my English family have been Yorkshire sheep farmers going back to the 1600’s - hence the setting."

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She continued: "I am thrilled by the team behind Protect and Serve. Polly Hill at ITV, Big Talk Studios, Jenny van der Lande, and fabulous writer Helen Black of Time fame.

"As mothers, the national disgrace of our unregulated children’s homes is something we are all shocked by. How do we as a society protect our children? It’s a question that drives Araba, that drives our first season, and with amazing director Nimer Rashed at the helm, hot off Netflix’s Harlen Coben thrillers, the highs and lows of this propulsive cop show, we hope, will drive audiences to keep watching and caring."

ITV’s director of drama, Polly Hill, added: "I'm delighted to commission Protect and Serve as I have been wanting to find a show with Adjoa Andoh for some time.

"We have a shared ambition, together with Big Talk, to make a great police series that also has something to say. Helen Black’s scripts uncover the scandal in privatised children's care homes while Araba lets us see what cost there is to becoming a high-ranking black policewoman. It's a show we are very proud to be making for ITV with such a great team."

Protect and Serve will be released by ITV.

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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specializes in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more. Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club. LinkedIn