Series synopsis
Spooks is a British drama action & adventure crime television series that premiered on BBC One on May 13, 2002. It ended on October 23, 2011. It was created by David Wolstencroft. It stars Peter Firth, Miranda Raison, Nicola Walker and Hugh Simon.
Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.
Premise
Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.
Premise: It's a fine line between safety and terror. Meet the rulers.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Peter Firth as Harry Pearce
- Miranda Raison as Jo Portman
- Nicola Walker as Ruth Evershed
- Hugh Simon as Malcolm Wynn-Jones
- Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter
- Keeley Hawes as Zoe Reynolds
- Hermione Norris as Ros Myers
- David Oyelowo as Danny Hunter
Supporting cast
- Max Brown as Dimitri Levendis
- Lara Pulver as Erin Watts
- William Hope as Jim Coaver
- Anna Chancellor as Juliet Shaw
- Sophia Myles as Beth Bailey
- Shauna Macdonald as Sam Buxton
- Gemma Jones as Connie James
- Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Quinn
- Alex Lanipekun as Ben Kaplan
- Naoko Mori as Annette
- Geoffrey Streatfeild as Calum Reed
- Rory MacGregor as Colin Wells
Guest cast
- Richard Armitage as Lucas North
- Lindsay Duncan as Angela Wells
- Alicya Eyo as Raoula
- Harriet Walter as Deep Throat
- Todd Boyce as Troy
- Nina Fry as Nurse Jenny
- Lennie James as David Newman
- Karen Westwood as Karen Lynott
- Annabelle Apsion as Bridget Sands
- Rupert Graves as William Sampson
- Anthony Stewart Head as Peter Salter
- David Calder as Sergei Lermov
Episodes
This series spans 10 seasons with 86 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | May 13, 2002 | June 17, 2002 |
| Season 2 | 10 | June 2, 2003 | August 11, 2003 |
| Season 3 | 10 | October 11, 2004 | December 13, 2004 |
| Season 4 | 10 | September 12, 2005 | November 10, 2005 |
| Season 5 | 10 | September 17, 2006 | November 13, 2006 |
| Season 6 | 10 | October 16, 2007 | December 18, 2007 |
| Season 7 | 8 | October 27, 2008 | December 8, 2008 |
| Season 8 | 8 | November 4, 2009 | December 23, 2009 |
| Season 9 | 8 | September 20, 2010 | November 8, 2010 |
| Season 10 | 6 | September 18, 2011 | October 23, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Thou Shalt Not Kill An abortion doctor is executed by an American pro-life terrorist; Mary Kane. An informant reveals that this is just the tip of the iceberg as Mary has 20 more bombs and plans on using them. To make matters worse she has started training more pro-life groups, within the UK. |
May 13, 2002 |
| 2 |
Looking After Our Own Tom and Helen must go undercover and befriend the wife of a suspected hardcore racist in order to prevent a racewar. Meanwhile Zoe and Tessa learn that a boatload of refugees is due to dock at Dover in the next few days. Things worsen when the operatives realise the two things may be connected and their covers may be blown. |
May 20, 2002 |
| 3 |
One Last Dance Whilst on a routine check of the bugs in the Turkish Embassy, Zoe and all the other people in the embassy are taken hostage by terrorists who wish to negotiate the release of their parents from prison. If Zoe's cover as a PR consultant is blown she will almost certainly be killed. Things worsen when Harry realises that the attack on the embassy was all just a distraction from something much, much bigger. |
May 27, 2002 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Legitimate Targets With Tom's family trapped in his house with a bomb, and nothing Tom or the other spooks can do but watch on. There is a huge explosion and the credits begin. However, there is no time to focus on these events as a Serbian warlord has been seen entering the UK vowing revenge for the death of his sons in a NATO bombing raid. Zoe is sent undercover to track him down, and stop any more deaths. |
June 2, 2003 |
| 2 |
Nest of Angels A fellow agent informs Tom that young boys and men from a mosque in Birmingham are being trained as suicide bombers. They need an undercover spook, but who should or can go? |
June 9, 2003 |
| 3 |
Spiders MI5's mainframe has been hacked into. But Tom and his team think they have found a lead in the form of an I.T. teacher, so Zoe is sent undercover to get close to him and find out his secrets. Will they be able to stop the culprit before the inner sanctum is breached and every agents' identity revealed? |
June 16, 2003 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Project Friendly Fire Tom Quinn has disappeared after shooting his boss Harry Pearce. He also stands accused of assassinating the Chief of Defence Staff. Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee Oliver Mace uses this a pretext to launch a punitive investigation of MI5. Zoe, Danny and the team must prove Tom innocent and save the service from government takeover. |
October 11, 2004 |
| 2 |
The Sleeper Harry reawakens sleeper agent Fred Roberts, a renowned chemist and family man. As Fred becomes more deeply involved with deadly terrorists, Tom has a crisis of conscience which could jeopardise his career. |
October 18, 2004 |
| 3 |
Who Guards the Guards? Danny and the team must uncover the truth behind an assassination attempt on a famous novelist. |
October 25, 2004 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Special (1) When a devastating bomb explodes in central London, causing multiple deaths, a terrorist group with a hatred for human life claim responsibility. With their leader facing extradition, the bombers announce that crippling attacks will be launched at ten hour intervals until he is released. |
September 12, 2005 |
| 2 |
The Special (2) Zafar and Adam race against the clock to uncover the latest bomb. As a new ultimatum is issued and Tash mysteriously disapears, the team is forced to deal with the possibility of a mole within their own organisation. |
September 13, 2005 |
| 3 |
Divided They Fall Far-right political party The British Way is threatening democracy so Adam and Fiona go undercover to infiltrate and destroy its campaign. |
September 22, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Gas and Oil (Part 1) The government introduces Draconian emergency measures in response to a series of terrorist attacks. MI5 fears that influential establishment figures are behind the attacks and may be planning a coup. |
September 17, 2006 |
| 2 |
Gas and Oil (Part 2) MI5 has foiled an attempt to murder the Home Secretary, but the plotters use the new emergency powers to imprison Harry. The team must try to frustrate the coup before Harry is executed. |
September 17, 2006 |
| 3 |
The Cell Zaf goes deep undercover to infiltrate an Al-Qaeda cell that is planning an attack on the UK. When Adam learns that the terrorists are on a suicide mission he tries to prevent them from reaching their target, but events soon spiral out of control. |
September 18, 2006 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Virus: Part 1 Zaf and Adam participate in a mission in Tehran that goes wrong. As the investigation advances, the team realizes they've been lied to as to the goals of their mission. |
October 16, 2007 |
| 2 |
The Virus: Part 2 The country faces a plague outbreak. In a race against time, the officers from Section D have to track down and quarantine everyone who might be infected, while preventing a panic. |
October 16, 2007 |
| 3 |
The Kidnap A British plane is thought to have been hijacked and taken to an American airstrip. Ros is captured by the Yalta organisation when the team shows up and they learn of an international cover-up. |
October 23, 2007 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
New Allegiances The team steps in when a British soldier is kidnapped by Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, an old protégé of Harry's returns to the fold after eight years in a Russian prison - but whose side is he really on? |
October 27, 2008 |
| 2 |
Split Loyalties Harry vows revenge by taking down the head of Russia's intelligence service in Britain with the help of Lucas North. Lucas's loyalties, however, are secretly no longer with MI5 and he exploits Harry's trust to help a Russian submarine destroy Britain's communications system, causing financial and social chaos. |
October 27, 2008 |
| 3 |
The Tip-Off With Lucas back within MI5 he reveals that the Russians interrogated him about Operation Sugar Horse, the most secret ongoing spy operation MI5 ever had. If the Russians know about it, then MI5 has a very high level mole. Harry seeks out his mentor, The Spycatcher, to help him find the mole. Ben is undercover with an Al-Qaeda cell; they are planning to bomb London and what looks like a dry run unexpectedly turns live. |
October 28, 2008 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Uranium Harry is still missing, and there is one question on everyone's mind: is he dead, or alive? Section D discovers that Harry thwarted a clandestine operation to smuggle weapons-grade uranium into Iraq to justify the war. Now the rogue officers who masterminded the operation want their uranium back, and they are prepared to go to any lengths to get it. If Harry isn't dead already, is it too late to save him? |
November 4, 2009 |
| 2 |
Energy The country reaches crisis point when energy supplies are threatened by an explosion at a gas processing plant. With reserves on the verge of running out, Britain is forced to turn to Tazbekstan for help. But in return for energy, the Tazbek Trade and Industry Secretary, Urazov, wants carte blanche to wipe out his enemies on British soil. Is this a price worth paying or can Section D get rid of Urazov in order to secure the deal? |
November 6, 2009 |
| 3 |
Tycoons The pressure is on for Section D when a secret meeting of powerful tycoons is stormed by armed terrorists and eight of the world's richest men are taken captive. But this is no normal hostage situation - undercover at the time, Ros is one the hostages. As events spiral out of control, it looks like no one will make it out alive. Is this the end of the road for Ros? |
November 13, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Plymouth Reeling after the explosion at the hotel, Section D is left considering the sacrifices they make as spies. But they are soon back in action, tracking Somalian AQ terrorist Abib on a boat from Tangier. When it becomes clear that the boat is carrying a lethal load, the team fears it is headed to Plymouth for the launch of the newest addition to the Royal Navy's fleet. But is the real target elsewhere, and is it too late to find the UK source of the plan? Lucas's own faith is challenged when he is visited by an unwelcome ghost from his past. |
September 20, 2010 |
| 2 |
Oil Baron The pressure is on for Beth when she goes undercover for MI5 for the first time. She is tasked with protecting an influential oil baron, Robert Westhouse, when the team receives intel that an assassination attempt will be made on him at a meeting of top oil dealers. But an unexpected ambush throws things off course, and threatens to dredge up her murky mercenary past. Meanwhile, Lucas visits someone who never expected they would see him again. |
September 27, 2010 |
| 3 |
Paroxocybin Section D is forced to welcome an FSB officer onto the Grid to help track down Aibek, a rogue nationalist from the ex-Soviet state of Azakstan. Aibek is in the UK to find the last known sample of the nerve agent 'Paroxocybin'. The chase is on, but will the team find a way to stop the nerve agent falling into the wrong hands without ruining Anglo-Russian relations? Meanwhile, Lucas's personal life takes a passionate turn. |
October 4, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Garden Leave The team has been left shocked by Lucas's betrayal, and with Harry Pearce on gardening leave, Section D has a new leader called Erin Watts. She has brought Calum Reed with her into the team. Harry Pearce manages to win his MI5 employment tribunal and is soon back on the Grid in the thick of the action. Secrets end up being discovered after Max Witt, a retired spy and Harry's colleague in Berlin during the Cold War, is discovered to have been murdered. |
September 18, 2011 |
| 2 |
Stolen Laptop Calum is attacked by a gang of street muggers during a routine intelligence-sharing exercise with MI6. The laptop he was carrying is stolen, and contains highly-classified information on MI5's undercover assets. Their names are soon plastered all over the internet, making MI5 look incompetent and putting those top assets' lives in danger. |
September 25, 2011 |
| 3 |
Dirty Bomb MI5 receives a red flash: radioactive material has been detected at an airport. They have intelligence that a highly dangerous anarchist with a penchant for dirty bombs has secretly entered the country. They enlist Dimitri to honeytrap the anarchist's only known contact, his sister Natalie. It is a morally tough operation for Dimitri, but through Natalie he gets close to the dirty-bomber. Dimitri's personal connection to them both proves invaluable in the tense and potentially lethal endgame. |
October 2, 2011 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | BBC One |
|---|---|
| First aired | May 13, 2002 |
| Last aired | October 23, 2011 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Monday at 21:00:00 |