ITV’s new MI5 drama starring Shaun Evans has arrived but where was the spy thriller filmed?
Megan Nisbet Content Editor
20:30, 08 Feb 2026
Shaun Evans as John Hughes in ITV’s Betrayal (Image: ITV)
ITV‘s brand new drama Betrayal kicks off on Sunday, February 8, replacing After the Flood in the primetime spot.
The thriller, starring Shaun Evans, Romola Garai, Zahra Ahmadi and Nikki Amuka-Bird is about trust, truth, and the personal cost of secrecy in the modern intelligence world.
The gripping four-part thriller is set against the backdrop of MI5, and explores the fragile, tangled web of human relationships, where loyalty and deception collide.
A synopsis reads: “At the heart of the story is John Hughes (Shaun Evans), a mid-career MI5 officer navigating a rapidly evolving intelligence landscape while struggling to keep his personal life intact. On a hunch John meets a British Iranian man with links to the Stockport gangland who claims he has intelligence about a plot on UK soil.
Romola Garai as Claire Wardley in Betryal on ITV(Image: ITV)
“Before he can share intel, the informant is executed, and John kills the assassin in self-defence. John soon finds himself under internal investigation, facing scrutiny from his superiors, including Simone Grant (Nikki Amuka-Bird), while his partner Claire (Romola Garai) grapples with the secrecy that defines his world.
“John’s efforts to save his marriage are complicated by his inability to let the case go. And when he meets Mehreen Askari-Evans (Zahra Ahmadi), an intelligence operative who is tasked with taking over John’s duties, he finds an unlikely ally. As John becomes increasingly convinced of the involvement of a hardline faction of the Iranian regime, he also starts to worry there are enemies closer to home. But can he identify the target and avert the attack before it’s too late?”
Betrayal is set in Liverpool and filmed in and around Liverpool and Manchester, with many of the cast discussing the cities and their stunning landscapes.
Speaking about what it was like to film on home turf, Shaun Evans, who plays intelligence officer John Hughes, said: “I spend a lot of time in Liverpool because my family are all there, so to be up north was brilliant. They were a really funny, hard-working crew, and to be seeing parts of Liverpool in a way that I hadn’t seen them, having access to certain parts of the city, that was just amazing. A very special time in my life.”
Zahra Ahmadi as Mehreen Askari-Evans in Betrayal (Image: ITV)
While Romola Garai echoed: “I had a very nice little apartment right by the docks, so I’d go on walks and go to all the museums, which was great. It was a city I don’t know very well, so it was a real treat to explore the food scene and galleries.”
Zahra Ahmadi, who plays intelligence operative Mehreen Askari Evans, has also spoken about the stunning architecture and musical history she enjoyed while shooting her scenes. She said of filming in Liverpool and Manchester: “I loved it. I’d worked in Manchester before for quite a considerable amount of time and I’m a big fan, but I had only ever been to Liverpool once (and only for a week) before Betrayal I was working that whole time, so I didn’t get to know it at all really. But what I do remember fro that week was how every single Scouser I met was really engaged, eloquent and energised which I loved.
“This time round however, I got more time to explore, and I’d never realised what a beautiful city it was. The architecture is stunning, and then of course there’s the musical history and the food scene too, which is incredible. I ate the most amazing cauliflower dish that blew my mind – Maray’s Disco Cauliflower – you need to try it…”
Betrayal starts on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Sunday, February 8.