Spooks series 7 (forthcoming)

Richard Armitage's next role will be as MI5 officer Lucas North in the BBC's long-running spy series, Spooks.

He joins a cast that includes Peter Firth and Rupert Penry-Jones in the seventh series of the BBC's popular and critically acclaimed drama about MI5, the UK's security intelligence agency.

Filming is already under way in and around London (see below), and the series is due for transmission on BBC One in the autumn.

Richard's character, Lucas North, is an MI5 officer who has just spent eight years in a Russian prison. His old friend Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), who is MI5's Head of Counter-Terrorism, helped secure his release. Producer Katie Swinden described Lucas as a "complex and intriguing character" [1]. A hardened spy, he is still in love with his Russian ex-wife. After being tortured while in Russia, he will have difficulties coming home to his former life in Britain, although he is keen to return to work straight away.

Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones and Hermione Norris in Spooks.

Richard said, "Joining Spooks is a fantastic opportunity and I'm particularly pleased to be playing the hero for a change! Lucas North is certainly a nicer piece of work than Guy of Gisborne, although he does have a dark side too. Plus I'll be able to get out of wearing head-to-toe leather for this role, unless of course I didn't read the small print..." [1]

Katie Swinden commented that "[Richard] has that dark and brooding quality which make him perfect for the role of Lucas North." Sarah Brandist, executive producer of the show for the BBC, added, "Spooks 7 promises to be a spectacular series. Along with our much loved gang, we are so thrilled to be welcoming the brilliant Richard Armitage to the team. Audiences are going to be intrigued and engaged by the rather compelling force of Lucas North!"

In recent interviews with online TV blogs in America, Richard Armitage said of Lucas North, "He’s definitely a good guy, but there’s an element of mystery concerning who he’s really working for." [2]

"They do a spy swop at the beginning of the series and [he] returns from Russia with a lot of dirt on him, and it sets off a chain reaction." [3]

"Series 7 has a very Russian flavour to it and it has a re-emergence of the cold war. It’s slightly retro; there’s a hark back to the old spy-espionage thrillers of the ’60s. There’s lots of old-fashioned trade craft going on there. The technological side of it is still there but there’s lots of the old-fashioned lock picking and putting a hair over the door to see if people get in." [2]

Spooks was created by David Wolstencroft and was first broadcast in spring 2002. Set in Section 12 of MI5, it was successful with both the public and the critics, attracting average audiences of 7.5 million. Its high production values, intelligent scripts and excellent casts - both main cast and guest stars - have won it millions of fans in more than 20 countries around the world. (In the USA, it is broadcast by A&E and BBC America with the title 'MI-5', the word 'spooks' having racial connotations.)

Spooks won the award for Best Drama Series at the British Academy Television Awards in 2003 ('the BAFTAs'), also winning in the same category that year at The Royal Television Society Awards and the Broadcast Awards.

Its initial stars included Peter Firth, Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes. The latter two left the show in its third series, and Macfadyen's character, Tom Quinn, was replaced as Senior Case Officer of Section 12 by Adam Carter, played by Rupert Penry-Jones.

After four series, Rupert Penry-Jones is to leave the show part way through this series. It's thought that Richard's character will replace him as Senior Case Officer.

Peter Firth, Hermione Norris, Gemma Jones and Hugh Simon return to continue their roles in the new series, which is written by Neil Cross, Russell Lewis, Richard McBrien, Christian Spurrier and David Farr.

This is not Richard Armitage's first appearance in Spooks. Back in 2002, at the beginning of his television career, he had a small role as an armed policeman in the fourth episode of the first series (left).

Filming Spooks

The new series of Spooks is currently being filmed in various locations in London. These photographs, taken recently, are courtesy of C19 member Trud. (More pictures can be seen on the C19 messageboard.)

Links

BBC Spooks website
A&E's MI-5 website
BBC America's MI-5 website
Official website of the 'real' MI5
Kudos (production company)

For further information about the show, including episode guides for past series, see the Spooks pages at Wikipedia, IMDB and TV.com.

Sources

[1] BBC Press release, 17th March 2008
[2] Show Patrol, 27th April 2008
[3] Daemon's TV, 2nd May 2008

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