Will there be a second series of Bodyguard?

Hit series Bodyguard drew to a close on Sunday evening with a nail-biting finale that drew 11 million viewers - the biggest audience for a BBC drama in a decade.

The episode saw main protagonist Sgt David Budd wake “in the middle of London wearing a suicide belt operated by a ‘dead man’s switch’” - designed to detonate the explosive if he lifted his thumb off trigger button, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The extended 75-minute special went on to reveal who assassinated home secretary Julia Montague, played by Keeley Hawes.

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The first series of the show, starring Richard Madden as bodyguard David Budd, has proven popular with both viewers and critics - even if the Telegraph pokes a few holes in the explosive belt scenes.

According to the BBC, none of the broadcaster’s dramas have drawn a bigger audience since the 2008 Christmas Day episode of Doctor Who, which was seen by 11.7 million people.

The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan describes Bodyguard as a “retro-rush”.

“Weekly, unbingeable episodes parcelled out like old times. Cliffhangers you talked about the next day on Twitter, the gig economy’s water-cooler. An ancient story – soldier fails in noble duty, runs towards danger and atonement, sword aloft – in modern dress captured our imaginations once again,” Mangan writes.

The Sun’s TV editor, Andy Halls, is also a fan. Reviewing the final episode of the six-parter, he says: “There were moments last night where, for a good 30 seconds or so, I genuinely held my breath. Don’t get me wrong, there were moments of genuinely ludicrous action... But is it the best new drama we’ve had in years and the best thing on TV in 2018? Yes, ma’am.”

In the Daily Mail, Jan Moir writes: “There is a fine line between great drama and absurdity, and there were moments when Bodyguard and its bloodied Caped Crusader nearly fell into total farce.

“Yet it never did. The tense scenes managed to be both gripping and touching.”

And it seems much more excitement is set to follow.

“We have been very fortunate with the success of series one,” show creator Jed Mercurio told The Sun yesterday. “It’s probably fair to say we would probably approach any thoughts of a second series with the idea that it would create an opportunity for a third or fourth.

“If the ratings hadn’t been quite so high, then possibly everybody involved including the BBC would have said, ‘Well that was a nice little series but we’re just going to leave it at that and there won’t be any more’.

“We do feel very privileged and fortunate that there’s been such a response that it gives us that opportunity to at least think about doing more.”