Fans of Line of Duty, Black Doves and Happy Valley will have their void soon filled with Secret Service, ITV’s latest espionage drama. They recently unveiled a first-look trailer, and the five-part series looks to be a nail-biting watch (https://www.redonline.co.uk/entertainment/a70770212/best-tv-thrillers-april/).
Led by Gemma Arterton, the series comes from the Oscar-winning director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) and is based on the best-selling novel (https://www.redonline.co.uk/entertainment/book-reviews/g28256073/best-books/) of the same name by Tom Bradby (which you might also recognise as ITV’s resident anchorman and friend of Prince William and Harry).
MI6 officer Kate Henderson (Arterton) is a mother to two teenage children and wife to civil servant Stuart (Spall). All seems pretty ordinary, but this is an espionage thriller, after all. Henderson’s concealed career is actually being the head of the Russia desk at the Secret Intelligence Service.
Secret Service immerses us in the murky world of espionage, introducing us to Kate, who to the everyday person seems a loving, caring mum of two who works as a civil servant alongside her husband Stuart.
But behind the illusion, Kate is the Head of the Russian Desk at MI6, regularly travelling for work and burying secrets that should never see the light of da
In her undercover role, Henderson gains the knowledge that a senior UK politician may in fact be a Russian asset.
In a race against the clock, she must find out the politician’s identity, protect herself and her family, all whilst remaining covert - despite a shocking murder throwing her MI6 division under the spotlight.
When an op in Malta leads Kate to discover that a senior UK politician may be a secret Russian asset, it becomes a race against the clock – not just against her superiors, but against time itself – to uncover the politician’s identity, all while protecting herself and her family.
But the deeper she goes, the harder it becomes to separate what’s real from what’s lies, because in this world, information is power… and some people will do anything to control it.
Exploring the enduring pressure between the UK and Russia, Secret Service’s timely political take on the espionage genre guarantees to grip the nation.
Secret Service: Cast
• Gemma Arterton (Funny Woman, St Trinian’s)
• Rafe Spall (Under Salt Marsh, Black Mirror)
• Roger Allam (Endeavour)
• Avi Nash (The Walking Dead, Black Mirror)
• Mark Stanley (Game of Thrones, Happy Valley, Trigger Point)
• Alex Kingston (ER, Doctor Who)
• Amaka Okafor (Greatest Day, Bodies)
• Khalid Abdalla (The Crown)
• Aoife Hinds (Normal People)
• Alma Prelec (Vigil)
• Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty, Amandaland)