Latest news with #Spooks
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The anti-Bond: Why Keeley Hawes' new assassin is the spy we need now
More than two decades ago, actor Keeley Hawes and I met on the set of David Wolstencroft's television spy thriller Spooks. That series, about a group of intelligence officers working in Section D of the British spy agency MI5, was hailed for the way it upended the established espionage genre. Since the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953, that franchise had defined the way stories about spies and assassins were told. But if Spooks gave the genre its light and shade, the new thriller series, The Assassin, flips the script again, in favour of something more resembling a rollercoaster. ' The Assassin feels a bit like the opposite of Bond in every way,' Hawes explains, when we reconnect to talk about the new series. 'Julie is a kind of anti-hero. Obviously when we meet her as a young woman she's obviously been very, very good at her job. But even then, she's this person who's a bit sort of worn down with it. 'She is real in a way that James Bond is not,' Hawes adds. 'And I think even though they're so different, both of those shows would appeal to the same sort of person who loves a high-octane show.' Created by Harry and Jack Williams – the sibling writing partnership behind The Missing and its spinoff Baptiste, Liar and The Tourist – The Assassin is a crime thriller about a retired assassin (Hawes' Julie) who is living a quiet life on a remote Greek island and trying to reconnect with her son, Edward (Freddie Highmore). The hiccup? Mum's past has caught up with her. When Hawes sat down to begin work on the series, the scripts and the story framework were still in an evolutionary state, she says. 'So you have an idea of where the show is going to go,' she says. 'But then that can change. It is also organic. And particularly with Jack and Harry, there are some curveballs that are thrown. 'Once you've established who the character is, [and] how you'll play that person, it's quite exciting to then not know which direction they're going to go,' Hawes says. 'In this case, it just gets more and more exciting. And I just loved the work. 'I know everybody always says this, but this really was a joyful job,' Hawes adds. 'Freddie and I had this amazing chemistry from the beginning. I immediately knew that it was going to be OK. We met and had a coffee, and we did the read-through [of the scripts] and I felt like I had known this person for much longer than I have.'
The Age
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
The anti-Bond: Why Keeley Hawes' new assassin is the spy we need now
More than two decades ago, actor Keeley Hawes and I met on the set of David Wolstencroft's television spy thriller Spooks. That series, about a group of intelligence officers working in Section D of the British spy agency MI5, was hailed for the way it upended the established espionage genre. Since the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953, that franchise had defined the way stories about spies and assassins were told. But if Spooks gave the genre its light and shade, the new thriller series, The Assassin, flips the script again, in favour of something more resembling a rollercoaster. ' The Assassin feels a bit like the opposite of Bond in every way,' Hawes explains, when we reconnect to talk about the new series. 'Julie is a kind of anti-hero. Obviously when we meet her as a young woman she's obviously been very, very good at her job. But even then, she's this person who's a bit sort of worn down with it. 'She is real in a way that James Bond is not,' Hawes adds. 'And I think even though they're so different, both of those shows would appeal to the same sort of person who loves a high-octane show.' Created by Harry and Jack Williams – the sibling writing partnership behind The Missing and its spinoff Baptiste, Liar and The Tourist – The Assassin is a crime thriller about a retired assassin (Hawes' Julie) who is living a quiet life on a remote Greek island and trying to reconnect with her son, Edward (Freddie Highmore). The hiccup? Mum's past has caught up with her. When Hawes sat down to begin work on the series, the scripts and the story framework were still in an evolutionary state, she says. 'So you have an idea of where the show is going to go,' she says. 'But then that can change. It is also organic. And particularly with Jack and Harry, there are some curveballs that are thrown. 'Once you've established who the character is, [and] how you'll play that person, it's quite exciting to then not know which direction they're going to go,' Hawes says. 'In this case, it just gets more and more exciting. And I just loved the work. 'I know everybody always says this, but this really was a joyful job,' Hawes adds. 'Freddie and I had this amazing chemistry from the beginning. I immediately knew that it was going to be OK. We met and had a coffee, and we did the read-through [of the scripts] and I felt like I had known this person for much longer than I have.'
Elle
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
'The Veil': Elisabeth Moss's New 'Slow Horses' Style Thriller Series Is A Must For 'The Handmaid's Tale' Fans
The Apple TV+ series Slow Horses single-handedly revived our love of a British spy thriller (though we still think early series Spooks walked so it could run). For fans desperate for a new fix while we await season five, fear not, The Veil is here. And for those who are also missing Elisabeth Moss after the finale of The Handmaid's Tale, it's doubly good news as she leads the show, playing a British MI6 spy called Imogen Salter. If the idea of all that is already whetting your appetite, you'll be glad to know you've got viewing options - The Veil starts on Channel 4 from Sunday July 20 and will be available on its streaming platform. But if you have a Disney Plus membership, the whole series is available there too. Moss plays MI6 agent Imogen Salter who is known for being an incredible undercover agent (and has a British accent throughout). She is asked to get a women called Adilah El Idrissi (played by Yumna Marwan) out of a Turkish-Syrian refugee camp and get the details and secrets they believe she holds to prevent an attack. The Veil is set amidst a Bond-esque array of international locations, and you never know who you can trust - at one point, Adilah is accused of being a terrorist. How much can the women trust each other and their individual motivations? When the CIA and French service demand she bring Adilah in, Imogen goes rogue - and a classic thriller chase ensues. With the new season of Slow Horses due to start on Apple TV+ on September 24, this should keep you going until then. One fan of the show reviewed The Veil online, saying: 'The Veil is an absolute triumph in both acting and storytelling. From the very first episode, the cast delivers stunning performances that make you feel every ounce of emotion the characters experience.' The Veil airs on Channel 4 from Sunday July 20. The whole series is available to stream on Disney Plus. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
Daily Mirror
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BBC fans praise 'fantastic' iPlayer show for controversial 'ahead of its time' scene
Fans of a TV show produced by the BBC have praised it for being 'ahead of its time' and have recalled the controversial moment in its first series which went on to define the programme A TV show available to stream on BBC iPlayer has been praised for being "ahead of its time" thanks to its controversial first series. The second ever episode of the show - which ran for 10 seasons - attracted hundreds of complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission when it first aired. At the time of its release, it received the highest amount of complaints for a television programme that year. Though it was controversial at the time, the television watchdog suggested the polarising scene was necessary to the narrative. Spooks, featuring Matthew Macfadyen, ran from 2002 to 2011 but landed itself in hot water almost immediately. A post to the r/BritishTV Reddit page had users praising the show, decades after it was first aired. One user wrote: "I'm super late to the party but this was a great show during its run. Definitely ahead of its time. I recommend!" The show is still available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Fans believe Spooks was "ahead of its time" may be because of the very scene which landed the show its 250 complaints. The second episode of their first series depicted the harrowing death of character Helen Flynn, played by Lisa Faulkner. Faulkner, who had taken part in press interviews in the lead-up to broadcast and was advertised as a main cast member, was bumped off early into the show's run. Viewers at the time were stunned, with critics at the time saying the show's early controversy cemented its place as one of the must-watch shows from the BBC. TV critic and Black Mirror writer Charlie Brooker wrote at the time: "...Here was a major BBC drama series that actually had the nerve to confound expectation." Fans have since agreed with the need for a bold opening for the show, with many saying they still have flashbacks to the brutal scene. One fan wrote: "That was such a clever move, she was well known and you would not have guessed they'd kill her in episode two, really good way of telling the audience that main characters were not safe." Another added: "I still have flashbacks to the face in the deep-fat fryer scene." Other users are noting the strong cast is a reason to return to Spooks, with many careers launched by the show. A fan wrote: "People don't realize this launched the careers of so many big names; Mathew Macfayden and Keeley Hawes (who are married), David Oyelowo, Rupert Penry Jones, Richard Armitage, Nicola Walker, Miranda Raison, Max Brown, Raza Jaffrey, Hermoine Norris. "The cast was absolutely stacked as is also had established stars like Peter Firth, Robert Glennister, Tim Mcinnerny, Anna Chancellor, Jenny Aguter, etc." Another agreed, adding: "Benedict Cumberbatch was in this, AND Alexander Siddig (Bashir from DS9). Was a fantastic show for breaking out lots of actors and actresses and putting in some fantastic storylines."
Daily Mirror
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
John Torode's wife Lisa Faulkner 'petrified' of him until he seduced her with sweet move
John Torode, who was sacked from MasterChef yesterday after an historic accusation of racism which he denies and claims he has no memory of, met wife Lisa Faulkner in 2010 Lisa Faulkner admitted she was "petrified" of John Torode when she met on him MasterChef. The Spooks star, 53, appeared on the celebrity version of the show in 2010 when she and John, 59 – who has been sacked from the BBC series following an historic allegation of racism, which he denies – were both still married to other people. After Lisa, who previously married to Chris Coghill, was crowned the winner of Celebrity MasterChef, she and the Aussie chef, who was previously married to Jessica Thomas, insisted their relationship was purely platonic. However, when they split from their respective partners the following year, they embarked on a romance, before tying the knot in 2019. John Torode sacked from MasterChef after racism allegation as BBC share damning statement Despite appearing to have one of the strongest marriages in showbiz now, Lisa didn't get a good first impression of the father-of-four. Last year, she told the Mail: "He was a judge on a show I loved and I was petrified of him. "He was brilliant and gave us all tips so you didn't want to let him down. All I could think was, 'That sauce hasn't worked'." Revealing she never thought about "me and him", Lisa claimed she and John actually met for the first time on This Morning almost 20 years earlier, when she was a guest and John was cooking, but said he didn't remember. 'He didn't remember me at all. He used to say: 'Oh, all right, yeah,' like he didn't believe me," Lisa said. "And then he did an interview on This Morning where they showed the clip and he came home and said, 'I did meet you!' And I went, 'I know, I did tell you.' "I remembered it so well. It's really funny. He said he was nervous because it was his first time on telly. I thought he just seemed really arrogant." However, John won Lisa over in very romantic way when he wrote her a love letter. Their simmering friendship eventually blossomed into romance when the newly divorced chef invited the mum-of-one out for dinner in the form of a romantic note. "Neither of us thought of it as anything else until... I don't know how things change, but something does," Lisa admitted at the time. "He asked me on a date. We went out for dinner. Then it was slightly different." John later admitted the reason behind the letter was because he was concerned Lisa would turn him down, so wanted to avoid any awkwardness that may have occurred if he asked her face to face. He said: "I'd separated from my wife [Jessica] which was awful, and I was reluctant to approach Lisa face to face as I didn't fancy the prospect of her saying no, so I wrote her a letter. "If I'd got no response, it wouldn't matter. Cowardly? S***, yeah. I'm as cowardly as they get." However, the letter turned into a date which eventually blossomed into love. After getting married in a star-studded bash in 2019, John supported Lisa last year when she claimed that axed MasterChef judge Gregg made "rude joke after rude joke" during her stint on the show in 2010. And now it looks like she'll be supporting her husband after John took to Instagram saying he found out he too had been sacked from the show - after watching the news. In bombshell statement, John, who has hosted MasterChef with Gregg for nearly 20 years, confirmed yesterday he was the person alleged to have used racist language after an investigation into his former co-star. However, John said he had no memory of making the comment and denies it ever happened. Following the furore, he has now been sacked from the long-running show, with the BBC confirming yesterday: "John Torode has identified himself as having an upheld allegation of using racist language against him. This allegation, which involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace, was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm, Lewis Silkin. John Torode denies the allegation. "He has stated he has no recollection of the alleged incident and does not believe that it happened. He also says that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. "The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and, as we have already said, we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode's contract on MasterChef will not be renewed."
