Thirteen-year-old Leeds actor Tilly Kaye has taken on her most challenging role to date with a starring role in the major new upcoming ITV drama, Protection.
Set to debut this weekend, Kaye stars alongside Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley), Katherine Kelly (The Long Shadow) and Barry Ward (Bad Sisters) in the gritty crime drama.
Protection follows a witness protection officer who finds herself at the heart of a dangerous breach and vows to uncover the source of the corruption within her unit.
One of the fastest rising child actors in the UK, Kaye’s breakthrough came when she landed the title role of Biff in CBeebies Biff & Chip, based on the beloved children’s books.
Further recent work includes playing Calamity in the Sally Wainwright hit-series Last Tango in Halifax for the BBC. She also played Amy Sowden in Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack for HBO/BBC and has had roles in The Feed (Amazon). Her commercial credits include McDonald’s, Iceland, and Leapfrog.
Kaye said: “Working on Protection was such an incredible experience. Acting amongst such a talented cast and crew and shooting emotional scenes was challenging but a great learning process. I made some great memories.”
The young star is one of many children and young people represented by West Yorkshire’s Articulate Agency being cast in high profile roles.
Stacey Burrows, founder of Articulate Agency, said: “Tilly is phenomenal and incredibly prolific at such a young age, but this role is truly groundbreaking for her. The gripping, high-stakes thriller pushes Tilly’s acting skills to new heights in a role that takes audiences on an emotional rollercoaster. Protection showcases a whole new side of Tilly, proving she has the range and talent to take on complex, emotionally demanding performances.”
Protection also features another young talent from Articulate Agency, 16-year-old Reuven Walker from Bradford. In Protection, he plays the role of Arlo, and has also subsequently worked on Sky’s Brassic.
The newcomer said: “I found out I got the role in the best way possible, my agent came over to my house and surprised me with the news. It was a surreal moment, especially since it was my first ever role. Being part of Protection as my first acting job was an incredible experience. It was a huge opportunity to break into the industry, and I learned so much from it. It definitely set a high bar for what I want to continue doing in my career. I really enjoyed working with fellow Articulate, Tilly. She’s a very talented actress and has a natural confidence that makes her stand out.”
Walker’s agent Lucy Millington, a child casting agent at Articulate, said: “I am incredibly proud of Reuven’s involvement in such a brilliant new project. He works so hard at his craft and displays exceptional potential – I am so excited to see what else this year may bring him.”
Articulate Agency works with the top UK and US casting directors, producers and showrunners to secure high-profile roles for its clients in TV, film, commercials, and radio, with a strong reputation representing children (4-15) and young adults (16-25). Its talent stars across all major TV networks, studios and streamers, including Netflix, Sky, ITV, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO, Universal, Fox and the BBC, as well as independent UK and US studios and producers.
You can watch Protection on Sunday evening, March 16. The first episode will be available to watch at 9pm on ITV and ITV X. The second episode will air the following night (Monday, March 17) at 9pm. There will be six episodes in total.
