Keeley Hawes reveals real reason why Bodyguard didn't confirm Julia Montague's death
After her character Julia Montague met her end in 'Bodyguard', Keeley Hawes has revealed there nearly was a "big funeral" scene to confirm the Home Secretary had indeed been killed off.
Keeley Hawes has spilled that a “big funeral” to confirm her character Julia Montague had died in ‘Bodyguard’ was scrapped because the BBC “didn't have the budget to shoot it”.
The 49-year-old actress played the Home Secretary in the thriller TV show until the character’s explosive death in the first series, though that didn’t stop viewers from theorising Julia had escaped and was set to return in the future.
Keeley has now spilled that the programme would have confirmed Julia’s death with a funeral but financial constraints meant it was never filmed.
During an appearance on the ‘Dish Podcast’, Keeley said: “The reason everybody thought I was still alive was because actually in the script there was, not a state funeral, but a big funeral because of her being the Home Secretary. But then they didn't have the budget to shoot it.
“So, if there had been more of a budget, there wouldn't have been that question about whether I was coming back. It was simply budget reasons.”
As well as ‘Bodyguard’, Keeley is best known for playing DI Lindsay Denton in the drama ‘Line of Duty’ and Louisa Durrell in the comedy-drama ‘The Durrells’.
Reflecting on her iconic roles, Keeley says when she meets the public they feel as though they “immediately think they know [her]” due to the characters she has portrayed on screen.
She said: “I think it changes in that people are very familiar with you. Yeah, people immediately think they know you when you're in their living rooms.
“People call me Mrs. Durrell a lot. For people, that is the thing that they call me, ‘Oh, Mrs. Durrell!’ I mean, people fall back into racks of clothes and things and go ‘Mrs. Durrell!’ Which I always find very flattering.
“But mostly it changes in that people will just come out with things like, ‘Oh! You're taller than…’ you know, ‘Oh! You’re …’ you know, bigger or smaller, or whatever it might be the first thing that comes to their heads.”
Keeley - who is married to ‘Succession’ star Matthew Macfadyen - insists it is “lovely” to be recognised for her roles.
She said: “It’s lovely actually to be part of, you know, Matthew had it more recently with ‘Succession’, but something like ‘Bodyguard’ or like’ Line of Duty’, where literally people are shouting things from vans and people and, you know, it becomes part of the culture for that week or whatever. It's really exciting. It's really flattering, and really lovely.”
Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers.
