It's the show that has gripped the nation with 6.7 million tuning in to see a fictional Home Secretary’s steamy affair with her close protection officer.

Now Keeley Hawes’s compelling portrayal of beguiling politician Julia Montague in Bodyguard has received rave reviews from the last woman to hold the post.

Amber Rudd, who resigned as Home Secretary in April after two years in office, admits she has been “gripped” by the hit BBC drama, which she says is a “pretty accurate depiction” of the second most powerful job in Government.

While bodyguards do have an “incredibly close” relationship with their “principals” - she stressed the sex scenes between Hawes and her co-star Richard Madden, who plays Sergeant David Budd, “may be a little far fetched.”

Miss Rudd, Tory MP for Hastings and Rye, said: “Like everyone I have been absolutely gripped by Bodyguard. I love it. And it is a pretty accurate depiction of what the relationship is like between a Home Secretary and their bodyguard in the sense that they are incredibly close to you a lot of the time - although obviously not that close! The sex scenes may be a little far fetched.