The most popular British drama of the decade, "Bodyguard", may have a second season with the male lead expected to return

The BBC's most-watched original series in a decade, "Bodyguard," is developing a second season, and the leading actor David Budd, played by Richard Madden, is expected to return.

The show's screenwriter and producer Jed Mercurio recently confirmed that the second season of "Bodyguard" is in the works, saying that he is negotiating with the BBC about renewing the second season, "and is currently progressing to the stage of negotiating the legal contract."

After the series became a big hit last year, Mercurio expressed to the British media his desire to continue producing the second season. Richard Madden also told the media last year that he was willing to return to continue starring, but the second season would not start filming soon.

Madden told The Hollywood Reporter: "We have discussed continuing filming. A month after "Bodyguard" aired in the UK, I talked to Jed and we decided to give the show at least a year's break to figure out how to make better content than the first season."

"Bodyguard", which aired last summer, had over 10 million viewers at the start of its run, becoming the most popular new drama in the UK in the past decade. After the series was aired, its reputation and ratings soared, with a full 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 8.3 on IMDB.

The series revolves around David Budd, a veteran who returns from the battlefield, played by Richard Madden. Budd suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and is assigned to serve as a close bodyguard for a female cabinet minister (played by Keeley Hawes) who supports the Iraq War and has radical strategies. The two people with different political views are tit-for-tat when they first meet. After a series of unexpected events, the relationship between the male and female protagonists gradually crosses the boundaries of work...